Singapore emerges as top market for business environment in nearshoring survey

Its logistics strengths boost its appeal for nearshoring occupiers.

Singapore has been ranked the world's top-performing market for Business Environment in the Savills 2026 Nearshoring Index, highlighting the city-state's strengths in logistics infrastructure, trade facilitation and ease of doing business.

According to Savills, the index evaluates 54 countries on factors important to occupiers seeking to shorten or diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign imports. Singapore ranked 11th globally overall and was the highest-ranked Southeast Asian market, with the assessment covering resilience, economics, business environment and ESG performance.

Savills said Singapore's leading Business Environment score was driven by strong logistics performance, the absence of trade barriers and high global competitiveness, reinforcing its role as a regional hub for trade, logistics and business operations.

"Singapore's logistics space fulfils a different function, serving the region and Australia," said Alan Cheong, Executive Director, Research & Consultancy at Savills Singapore. He added that demand remains strong for efficient ramp-up logistics facilities and temperature-controlled space, while the risk of significant oversupply remains low due to controlled land supply for logistics and industrial development.

Globally, Canada topped the overall Nearshoring Index, followed by Japan, Taiwan, Austria and the UK, with these markets recognised for balancing resilience, cost competitiveness, business environment and ESG factors. Across Asia Pacific, Savills noted that Japan and Taiwan performed strongly across multiple categories, while China and Vietnam continued to benefit from manufacturing scale and cost competitiveness.

Connor Chilton, Associate at Savills World Research, said nearshoring decisions are increasingly shaped by a combination of resilience, energy security, policy settings, labour availability, costs and market access, with the highest-ranked locations typically offering the best balance across these competing factors.