Are you satisfied with Singapore's economic and business competitiveness as indicated by the WEF report, or should more be done? More generally, do you find reports like this helpful to you?

SINGAPORE is always one of the most competitive economic and business-friendly countries in the world. The Singapore government is keenly aware of the need for Singapore to stay relevant in an increasingly globalised world. As a result, there is a constant re-inventing of Singapore, with the latest one being the IR projects. In this regard, I think Singapore is right up there among the most competitive countries.

However, it makes me wonder: What is the relevance of such exact ranking? Does it really matter whether Singapore is ranked sixth or seventh or eighth? Rather, I feel that the WEF should group countries in different bands of say, the top countries followed by another group of 10 and so on. Secondly, I raise the question of whether there is a need to have such reports on an annual basis. While the world is getting more and more dynamic, structural changes in a country's economy takes time and may not be so discernible within a year. It therefore makes more sense to have such reports on a biennial basis. Having said all that, such economic reports makes for useful reading as they offer an idea of how conducive a country's business environment is.

- Wee Piew
CEO, HG Metal Manufacturing Ltd