S'pore retains No. 2 competitive spot

Singapore has maintained its position as the second most competitive economy in the world for the third year in a row, in the latest rankings by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Singapore comes behind Switzerland, which maintained its pole position in the annual Global Competitiveness Report rankings. The WEF said Singapore fared well across all the categories that were studied, scoring especially well in terms of goods and labour market efficiency.

It was also an outstanding performer in financial market development. Finland came in third in the rankings, followed by Germany and the United States. Aside from Singapore, two other Asian economies made it to the top 10 spots - Hong Kong in seventh place and Japan in ninth.