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Singapore
- Introduction
- Singapore boasts one of the most business-friendly regulatory environments in the world, as well as a highly skilled and multilingual workforce. It has a high standard of living, excellent schooling and enjoys easy air connections via Singapore’s Changi Airport. As a result, Singapore hosts a significant number of regional headquarter operations for many of the world’s leading multinationals. It is also the Asia Pacific Japan headquarters of The Chapman Consulting Group.
- Industries
- The key sectors with an in-country presence in Singapore are Financial Services, IT&T and Biotechnology. However, when regional headquarters are added into the industry mix, almost all types of industries are represented, including Hospitality, Manufacturing, FMCG and Professional Services. More investment is going into niche industries such as aviation and solar energy, and the country is beginning to market itself as a competitor to Hong Kong and Japan in Media & Design.
- The Market for HR Talent
- Singapore is looked upon as one of the best markets across Asia Pacific Japan to source both local and international HR talent, with Hong Kong its nearest competitor. Locally-born HR talent tends to be multilingual and well educated. A greater number of Singaporean HR talent than ever before is being 'exported' to the fast developing China market, due the relative shortage of senior HR talent with regional experience on the Chinese mainland. International HR talent from outside Asia Pacific Japan is widely available in Singapore, and the most sought-after tend to be those on local rather than expatriate terms. And regional HR talent originally from other centres across Asia Pacific Japan are also very well represented on the ground in Singapore. In particular, many nationals from India and Malaysia have forged their regional careers out of Singapore, followed by other sizeable contingents from the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Korea, China, Japan and Hong Kong.
- Regional Structures
- Of all the centres across Asia Pacific Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong have the largest proportion of their HR workforce in regional roles. The region is sliced and diced in many combinations depending on the individual company. Some HR Directors will cover the whole of the Asia Pacific Japan region, looking after an area that spans from Korea to Pakistan to New Zealand; others will have counterparts who look after the larger markets such as China and India separately; and some will oversee a smaller region, such as South East Asia. The Regional HR Heads will often functionally report into International HR Heads in North America or Europe.
- A reasonable number of HR practitioners in the Singapore market have domestic roles, often reporting into Regional HR Heads based in Singapore or Hong Kong. These Singapore-focused roles can still be large in terms of the business size, especially in some of the well-established Technology, Financial Services, Manufacturing or government-linked companies.
- Occasionally, global HR roles for multinationals are being based out of Singapore, mainly in the Financial Services and Technology industries. As the word's focus continues to concentrate on the region, further global HR roles may migrate to Singapore in the future.
Search for jobs or Q&A related to "Singapore"
- Interim HR Director, APAC (179/TCCG), IT & Telecommunications
- Singapore, Contract / Interim | 02.01.2009
- Senior HR Business Partner, ASEAN (178/TCCG), Hospitality & Leisure
- Singapore, Permanent | 19.12.2008
- Performance Development Expert, APAC/ME (177/TCCG), Professional Services & Consulting
- Singapore, Permanent | 17.12.2008
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