Singapore ranks 4th worldwide in Forbes’ best countries for business

In a recent Forbes report, Hong Kong has been ranked Asia’s best country for doing business, followed by Singapore and Taiwan.

Forbes is one of today’s leading financial media companies, and is a trusted resource for the world’s business and investment leaders. The company recently published its own curated list of the best countries for business. Topping the list is New Zealand, followed by Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada.

On why Singapore ranked fourth, Forbes wrote:

Singapore comes in at No. 4, ranking in the top 20 in all but one of the 11 metrics we measured. The only thing keeping Singapore from the top spot is a low score on personal freedom, as measured by watchdog organization Freedom House. Singapore’s economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics and IT products. Its trade surplus was 24% of GDP in 2011. The $240 billion economy grew 4.9% last year.

Looking at the breakdown of the individual scores, Singapore ranked number 1 in Trade Freedom, 8th in Monetary Freedom, 3rd in Property Rights, 11th in Innovation, 5th in Technology, 4th in Red Tape, 2nd in Investor Protection, 5th in Corruption, 5th in Tax Burden, 16th in Market Performance, and finally, a disappointing 94th in Personal Freedom.

Taiwan’s performance was the third best in Asia, following Hong Kong and Singapore.