Singapore held its second position after the Netherlands for trade connectivity on the back of its policies that leverage on global connectedness, according to DHL’s latest Global Connectedness Index (GCI).
The GCI report, which assessed the globalisation developments across 169 countries and territories since the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom and the 2016 presidential election in the United States, found that Singapore was also one of the five countries where international flows exceeded expectations. The other countries included Cambodia, Malaysia, Mozambique and Vietnam.
But the Lion City is expected to benefit from initiatives aiming to improve logistics and harmonise regulations. As one of the world’s most open and connected economies, Singapore is expected to benefit from the continued implementation of initiatives set forth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Master Plan on Connectivity 2025, which aims to improve logistics, harmonise regulations, reduce non-tariff barriers and improve mobility of people, according to Christopher Ong, managing director for DHL Express Singapore in a statement.
He further added that global trade pacts including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is expected to be concluded in 2019, may help increase ASEAN’s trade connectedness and economic integration moving forward.