A recent poll of global investors shows Singapore is not considered the great gateway to Asia it is often said to be. The investors put Singapore behind Japan, Hong Kong and China in that role.

'Despite its world-renowned gateway position, our survey indicates that Singapore has been unable to attain the highest attractiveness score for HQ and logistics activities, ranking just behind Japan,' the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) says in a report.

Singapore got 14 per cent of votes from investors polled on what they believe is the most attractive location for a headquarters in Asia. That compared with Japan's 20 per cent, making it the No 1 choice.

Hong Kong (17 per cent) was seen as the second most attractive location, followed by China (15 per cent).

As for the most competitive logistics hub, China (35 per cent) topped the league, ahead of Hong Kong (12 per cent) and Japan (9 per cent). Singapore polled on par with India (8 per cent each).

The poll was commissioned by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to gauge how global business leaders view Japan as a location for foreign direct investment (FDI), compared to its Asian competitors.

Carried out by consulting firm Ernst & Young from February to April, the poll covered 209 senior executives, more than half of them financial and sales and marketing directors and about a quarter of them chief executives.

But what investors say and do can differ. Jetro's poll also shows that while Japan is ranked the most attractive Asian country, with China, for FDI, Singapore outdid Japan last year when it came to committed FDI projects.

Jetro points out that Japan secured only 166 FDI projects in 2007, against Singapore's 239 and China's 1,171, India's 676 and Vietnam's 260. 'Japan's positive image has yet to be matched in actual foreign direct investments,' says Jetro.

Still, according to Jetro, the poll shows Japan and China are locked in a battle to be the most attractive destination for FDI in Asia.

Some 54 per cent of poll respondents - split evenly at 27 per cent each - consider Japan and China the top bets for their investment money. India came next with 11 per cent, followed closely by Singapore and Hong Kong (10 per cent each). But Jetro says Japan clearly wins on the quality front, with investors polled putting it ahead of its Asian competitors in terms of labour skills, research and development, quality of life, transparency and stability, transport and logistics, and telecommunications infrastructure.

Japan fell behind only in labour costs, in which China came out tops. China was also ranked top for offering investors the most attractive domestic market, while Japan was second.

Singapore was singled out as least favourable in terms of labour costs, but was deemed to be the second most competitive location in terms of corporate tax - even ahead of Hong Kong, which boasts a lower tax rate. China was seen as the most competitive in terms of corporate tax.

Singapore was rated the third most attractive location for transparency and stability for political and legal environments - after Japan and China.

This article was first published in The Business Times on August 5, 2008.