Singapore 4th most desirable place to work: Survey

Singapore, May 2 (IANS) Singapore has moved up two spots to become the world's fourth most desirable place to live and work, while the US, Britain and Australia remained the top three relocation destinations, a survey revealed Wednesday.

Singapore has become a popular destination for multinational corporations over the past few years, the study by recruitment firm Hydrogen and business school ESCP Europe said.

"We have seen companies from sectors as diverse as technology, energy, pharmaceutical and wealth management open offices here. The big question here is whether Singapore will become Asia's Silicon Valley or its Switzerland," said Simon Walker of Hydrogen.

While the three most popular places for survey respondents to live and work remain the US, Britain and Australia, however, their dominance is waning, Xinhua reported.

The report showed that 12 percent picked the US as the top relocation destination, down from 18 percent last year. Britain and Australia each got nine percent of the votes, down from 10 percent and 11 percent respectively.

As Singapore becomes an increasingly attractive relocation destination for expatriates, Hydrogen said employers in the city state are finding that they have the pick of the world's top professional talent.

Walker said: "Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and it offers a clean and healthy environment free from traffic pollution."

"So it is not surprising that 88 percent of those who have moved to Singapore feel that their living conditions have improved."

The report, which interviewed 2,353 people globally, also showed that the workforce was getting more internationalized.

For example, 72 percent of the respondents said their employers see international experience as important or very important, up from 63 percent in 2011.