Singapore the most future-ready economy in Asia: Dell ranking

SINGAPORE - Singapore is the most "future-ready" economy in Asia, according to a new ranking released by technology company Dell.

The city-state was also ranked third out of 50 cities worldwide, behind only San Jose and San Francisco in California, United States.

The ranking is based on a city's ability to enable people and organisations to access new tools and new ideas that deliver better connectivity, better economic performance and a greater ability to attract talent.

The 50 cities were evaluated along three dimensions: equipping people with the right skills to drive meaninful change; having the necessary infrastructure; and providing sustained opportunities for businesses to accelerate innovation, growth and profitability.

According to Ng Tian Beng, vice president and managing director of Dell in South Asia and Korea, Singapore scored highly as a future-ready economy for being a trusted place to do business, its ability to attract talent and ideas and because it provides access to Asia's emerging markets.

"Cities can work towards future readiness in many ways and Singapore has exhibited this capability through numerous initiatives in its drive to build the world's first Smart Nation," he added.

Among cities in Asia, Singapore was followed by Seoul (12th), Beijing (24th), Hong Kong (25th), Taipei (27th), Shanghai (28th), Guangzhou (31st), Tokyo (32nd), Delhi (44th), Suzhou (45th), Jakarta (47th), Tianjin (48th) and Shenzhen (49th).

American cities dominated the ranking, taking up 25 of the top 50 spots.

"The cities where we live are faced with new challenges every day, from supporting a growing population and building a thriving culture, to fueling economic opportunity for everyone," said Amit Midha, Dell's Asia Pacific president.

"By understanding future-ready economies and their attributes, cities, businesses and people can create policies and strategies that will enable them to prosper and achieve strong economic health," he said.

Research for Dell's future-ready economies model began last September, and is based on analysis by forecasting and analytics firm IHS.

seanyap@sph.com.sg