Americans concerned about rising housing, office costs in Singapore
By Yvonne Cheong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 June 2007 2007 hrs
SINGAPORE: More Americans living in Singapore are concerned about rising housing and office space cost here, according to the latest survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).
It is a double whammy for Americans working in Singapore.
Housing rents and office leasing costs have been going up, plus changes in their home country's income tax laws are leading to a jump in their taxes.
These have made it less attractive for them to work in Singapore and in Asia.
But AmCham says the business community is still bullish about the world economy and remains committed to doing business in Singapore and ASEAN.
Dom Lavigne, Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce, said: "While the labour cost may be slightly on the higher side, productivity is one of the highest in the region. It's something that's really drawing companies back."
Another pressing issue is the shortage of places in international schools in Singapore.
AmCham estimates 200 Americans will relocate to Singapore with their families, which include about 300 school-going children.
They are working with the Singapore government for more space to expand the schools, and exploring the possibility of integrating some children into public schools as a short-term solution.
Also on the American wish list is a more integrated ASEAN where laws are applied more consistently across the board.
The Americans are also looking forward to Singapore taking over the chairmanship of ASEAN in July this year.
AmCham's Dom Lavigne said: "The challenge is coming up with transparent regulations which are streamlined across all markets. Some people have been advocating things like (a) single customers window, to make it much easier for companies to do business throughout ASEAN, just like doing business with EU which is a much more integrated market."
The AmCham survey also found that corruption was a concern for US businesses operating in Southeast Asia.
The survey, which polled AmCham members in six countries, showed corruption was regarded as a significant factor impacting business in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Singapore was the only country polled out of the six where corruption was regarded as a non-issue, the results showed. - CNA/ir