Study: S'pore Ranks Among Top 12 Global Technology Powerhouses

It is poised to draw capital, talent needed to develop sophisticated AI ecosystem

- Krist Boo

Singapore has been named one of 12 global technology "powerhouses" and is positioned to draw the capital and talent needed to develop a sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem that will keep it among the elite.

The Republic was cited as having a strong tech ecosystem, rich talent pool and a business environment that draws global talent and investment, despite being the smallest of five Asia-Pacific tech hubs to make the Global Tech Talent Guidebook 2025.

But Singapore is also one of the costliest cities to run a tech business in, ranking 24th out of 115 markets for software engineers' wages and with office rents that are second only to Paris.

Beijing, Shanghai, Bengaluru, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Boston, Toronto, Paris and London complete the top dozen powerhouses in the study compiled by real estate services firm CBRE.

Singapore, with 45 per cent of its 4.3 million working-age population having at least a university degree, ranked behind only Ireland and Switzerland in education levels.

Mr Ravi Nippani, head of regional industries and solutions at Mercer Asia, said CBRE's findings align with its own survey out in March that ranked Singapore third in Asia after China and India in the number of reported tech jobs.

"Singapore's tech ecosystem is quite mature and vibrant in terms of roles, encompassing both front-line and supporting positions," he said. "When compared with the sheer size of the working population in China and India, Singapore is more than punching its weight and can rightly be given powerhouse status."