Singapore has been ranked the most “digitally competitive” place in the world by the inaugural World Digital Competitiveness Ranking published by Swiss Business School IMD.
The study measures an economy’s ability to adopt and explore digital technologies leading to transformation in government practices, business models and society in general.
Singapore was placed ahead of Sweden (2nd), the United States (3rd), Finland (4th) and Denmark (5th), according to a report by Todayonline on May 31, 2017. Hong Kong, placed 7th, was the only other Asian economy in the top 10.
“There is no doubt that supportive and inclusive government institutions help technological innovation,” said Professor Arturo Bris, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre. “Singapore and Sweden have developed regulation that takes advantage of the talent they have by adopting, for instance, regulation that facilitates the inflow of overseas talent which complements the locally available pool.”
Singapore was ranked first in two key areas of digital competitiveness: Knowledge and technology. These two areas include factors such as talent, training and education, regulatory framework and investment in technology. However, the country did not fare as well in future readiness – particularly in business agility where the Republic was ranked 14th.
“The readiness of people and companies to embrace digital transformation and the willingness to change reflect a country’s adaptive attitudes and business agility,” said Prof Bris. “Of paramount importance in the digital ranking are issues related to how adaptive and agile economies are when faced with technological change.”
