reporter2
22-08-13, 17:40
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/singapore/housing-still-biggest-bugbear-us-firms-20130822
Published August 22, 2013
Housing still biggest bugbear for US firms
It's followed by low-cost labour, office lease: poll
By malminderjit singh [email protected]
HOUSING costs remain the topmost concern among American businesses in Singapore, along with manpower and the price of office space.
Expatriates working in these firms also find getting their children into international schools here a near-term challenge.
These were among the results of a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore and the United States Chamber of Commerce.
AmCham's latest Asean Business Outlook Survey for this year and next, also shows that housing costs continued to be the sharpest thorn in the side of US executives based here, with 71 per cent of respondents polled indicating so.
This was not surprising as housing costs was also the biggest concern for US companies in Singapore for the past two years, although less of them appeared to be irritated by it this time, compared to the 77 per cent last year.
The survey also showed that land and labour costs were factors that featured prominently on the dissatisfaction lists of the respondents.
Of those surveyed, 54 per cent indicated that they were dissatisfied with office lease costs and 48 per cent complained about the unavailability of low-cost labour. These were factors that they were most unhappy with after housing costs. The same three factors topped the list of concerns for the last two years.
Another area that US companies in Singapore raised concern about is finding space in international schools here for their children, 41 per cent of respondents believes it will be a significant problem in the next one to three years, up from 38 per cent last year.
However, 62 per cent of them do not consider the lack of adequate space at international educational institutions in Singapore to have an effect on their companies' decision to hire more local employees over foreign employees.
One of the reasons for this could be that expatriates working in US companies find Singapore an attractive place.
Employee satisfaction is broadly positive in US firms here, with 94 per cent of business executives surveyed reporting that their expatriate employees are generally satisfied with their assignments in Singapore, even though this was slightly lower than the 97 per cent last year.
A majority of respondents surveyed in Singapore - 71 per cent - report that employees based in other locations do request to be relocated here, indicating their employees' interest in moving to Singapore. Of current expatriates posted in Singapore, 83 per cent of them want to extend their time here.
Possible reasons for this affinity could be that US companies in Singapore feel safe and have strong confidence in the stability of the government and institutions here.
Some 90 per cent were happy with the stable government and political system, against 94 per cent last year. Overall, US executives were less pleased about these factors compared to five years ago as they have declined 5 per cent from 2008 to 2013.
Most companies surveyed also listed personal security as what they are most satisfied about, with 93 per cent indicating so, although down from last year's 96 per cent.
Overall, American companies here were satisfied with most of the factors of doing business in Singapore - with the laws and regulations, (the lack of) corruption, tax structure, movement of goods in and out of the country, and the availability of trained personnel all performing well in the survey.
Published August 22, 2013
Housing still biggest bugbear for US firms
It's followed by low-cost labour, office lease: poll
By malminderjit singh [email protected]
HOUSING costs remain the topmost concern among American businesses in Singapore, along with manpower and the price of office space.
Expatriates working in these firms also find getting their children into international schools here a near-term challenge.
These were among the results of a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore and the United States Chamber of Commerce.
AmCham's latest Asean Business Outlook Survey for this year and next, also shows that housing costs continued to be the sharpest thorn in the side of US executives based here, with 71 per cent of respondents polled indicating so.
This was not surprising as housing costs was also the biggest concern for US companies in Singapore for the past two years, although less of them appeared to be irritated by it this time, compared to the 77 per cent last year.
The survey also showed that land and labour costs were factors that featured prominently on the dissatisfaction lists of the respondents.
Of those surveyed, 54 per cent indicated that they were dissatisfied with office lease costs and 48 per cent complained about the unavailability of low-cost labour. These were factors that they were most unhappy with after housing costs. The same three factors topped the list of concerns for the last two years.
Another area that US companies in Singapore raised concern about is finding space in international schools here for their children, 41 per cent of respondents believes it will be a significant problem in the next one to three years, up from 38 per cent last year.
However, 62 per cent of them do not consider the lack of adequate space at international educational institutions in Singapore to have an effect on their companies' decision to hire more local employees over foreign employees.
One of the reasons for this could be that expatriates working in US companies find Singapore an attractive place.
Employee satisfaction is broadly positive in US firms here, with 94 per cent of business executives surveyed reporting that their expatriate employees are generally satisfied with their assignments in Singapore, even though this was slightly lower than the 97 per cent last year.
A majority of respondents surveyed in Singapore - 71 per cent - report that employees based in other locations do request to be relocated here, indicating their employees' interest in moving to Singapore. Of current expatriates posted in Singapore, 83 per cent of them want to extend their time here.
Possible reasons for this affinity could be that US companies in Singapore feel safe and have strong confidence in the stability of the government and institutions here.
Some 90 per cent were happy with the stable government and political system, against 94 per cent last year. Overall, US executives were less pleased about these factors compared to five years ago as they have declined 5 per cent from 2008 to 2013.
Most companies surveyed also listed personal security as what they are most satisfied about, with 93 per cent indicating so, although down from last year's 96 per cent.
Overall, American companies here were satisfied with most of the factors of doing business in Singapore - with the laws and regulations, (the lack of) corruption, tax structure, movement of goods in and out of the country, and the availability of trained personnel all performing well in the survey.