The city state has become a location of choice for large highly innovative projects
Singapore was the leading destination for greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of 2022 within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trade bloc, as companies continued to choose the relatively small city state for their capital intensive expansion plans.
Foreign investors in Singapore announced 142 projects worth $8.2bn in the first six months of the year, following two consecutive half-year periods in which FDI topped $9bn, according to the latest figures from investment tracker fDi Markets. The estimated capital expenditure of $8.2bn in the city state was double that of Malaysia, the next best-performing southeast Asian country.
The success of the Lion City is in stark contrast to China, where FDI has fallen to a record low in the first half of 2022. Foreign investors have become increasingly weary of making long-term plans in China, due to the detrimental effects of draconian zero-Covid policies and rising geopolitical tensions with the West.
During the first six months of 2022, Singapore attracted more FDI than any other country in the ‘Asean plus three’ group of countries, which includes the southeast Asian trade bloc along with China, Japan and South Korea, fDi Markets figures show.
