Doing Business in Singapore vs Germany

Germany is the economic locomotive of Europe. The country has a population of about 82 million people and a world-class infrastructure. Germany is centrally located offering convenient access to over 500 million of the EU consumers. While Germany used to be a super-power militarily in the past, the Germany of today is an economic superpower with leadership positions in many industries. As an export-driven economy, exports fell heavily during the credit crisis. However they are picking up with the global recovery. In February exports were up 9.6% relative to same months of 2009. According to the IMF, the German economy is expected to grow 1.1% this year. The government encourages foreign investment is Germany through attractive tax deductions, financial loans for enterprises investing in research and development and other incentives depending on the sector the investor wants to put money into, but generally the government allows foreign investors are allowed to access all sectors, such as telecommunication and can wholly own German companies. Germany has signed bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with numerous countries and double taxation agreements with about 90 countries.

Dynamic and Innovative Spirit

Germany is becoming increasingly attractive as a location for business in international comparison. The restructuring of the East German economy according to market principles has created a new dynamic nature and innovative spirit. Germany has become the center of Europe. As an economically important member state of the European Union, Germany stands for innovation, advanced technologies and high levels of productivity. From the intelligently structured educational system, which produces a supremely skilled and dedicated workforce, to the business friendly tax policies, Germany’s business infrastructure provides much peace of mind for international investors. Germany’s workforce is both highly educated and motivated, as shown by the minimal strike activity and higher education graduation figures. The major locations of investment are collectively known as the “Big Six”: Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Munich. These cities account for almost 60 per cent of Germany’s total annual investment volume.

Unique Position In The Global Economy

Singapore meanwhile, has a unique position in the global economy and a pivotal role as a business epicenter in the heart of Asia. The city-state is also known for its pro-business environment as well as ability to attract sizeable foreign investments and business entrepreneurs. Its world-class reputation is what makes it a key regional and global hub for entrepreneurs. Singapore is well known in the investment community for its trade and financial sectors. By 2025, CLSA forecasts that the country will overtake Switzerland and handle nearly a third of the world’s agri-commodity trade. The country’s robust financial markets have also become a key source of funding for a total market of 4 billion people within a seven-hour flight radius. The country’s success in global trade is largely due to its location and the fact that it has very little corruption, a skilled workforce, low tax rates, and advanced infrastructure. These attributes have attracted about 7,000 multinational corporations from the U.S., E.U. and Japan as well as an additional 3,000 companies from India and China.

Good Business Environment

Overall, the government has made it easy and comfortable for any business to be set up here, and has much forward thinking to train the local labour pool for advanced services like in the finance and technology sector. Attraction of foreign investment has always been the name of the game for Singapore, and we have made it really comfortable for anyone interested to enter our market. Probably the biggest draw for doing business in Singapore is its investment environment. The national reserves are abundant enough to withstand 10 years of recession,  the government consistently stays stable with 1 party in power and has one of the lowest corruption rates in the world. Investors generally feel pretty secure in Singapore and don’t have to worry about finding the ‘right officials for a meal’ like in some other countries. The law proceedings are fair and unbiased. Registration systems for setting up enterprises are also quite well thought out and straight forward enough for anyone to follow. Anyone can setup a Singapore company without even getting off your computer.