Hanoi (VNA) – Singapore is the world’s leading competitiveeconomy in 2019, according to the annualrankings announced by the International Institutefor Management Development on May 29.
The Southeast Asian nation leapfrogged over HongKong and the US to take the top spot among the world’s most competitiveeconomies for the first time in nine years.
The country rose to first place thanks to its modern technology and infrastructure,as well as highly qualified workforce.
Hong Kong maintained its position in second place from last year, thanks to itsfavorable tax policies.
The US dropped to third place, losing its leadingposition last year, due to high oil prices, low levels of high-tech goodsexports, and fluctuations in the USD exchange rate.
Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark,Sweden, and Qatar are also among the ranking’s top 10.
Among other Asian economies, Indonesia rose to the 32nd position, up 11 placesfrom last year; while Thailand rose 5 places, to reach 25th place. Vietnam wasnot among the 63 economies included in the rankings.
The rankings were made based on a series ofcriteria including growth, unemployment rate, and spending on education and healthcare.–VNA