· City-state followed by Switzerland and Luxembourg to comprise Index’s top 3 · Report ranks nations’ investment attractiveness in COVID era · 111 countries evaluated based on 29 indicators spanning pillars of risk, policy, and market

Singapore ranked number one in the 2021 Global Investment Opportunities Index recently released by Whiteshield Partners, a global strategy and public policy advisory firm, making the country the leading investment destination worldwide during this pandemic era. Singapore was followed by Switzerland and Luxembourg to complete the Index’s top three countries.

Whiteshield Partners released the results of the Index, an international measure of countries’ level of investment attractiveness during the COVID-19 crisis, to help companies identify new investment opportunities and new policy and risk trends under the new normal.

According to the report, Asia and Oceania continue to emerge as the next regional investment destinations. Singapore topped the Index’s list of 111 nations evaluated based on 29 indicators spanning the three pillars of risk, policy, and the market.

With an economic framework that favors the new realities of COVID-19, the small city-state ranked strongly in tele-workability and digital footprint. The report also cited the country’s policy measures that have been proven positive for the investment climate, including cutting its central bank interest rate. European countries comprised the majority of the top 10 ranking due to their strong and balanced performance across all Index pillars.

Asian developing countries have emerged as the next regional investment destinations based on the report. Aside from their strong performance on risk and market pillars, these nations have also effectively contained the virus and have infection and death rates from COVID-19 that are about 3 per cent of the global average.

Furthermore, the Index revealed that developing nations with strong growth tendencies have greater development opportunities and, thus, investments. Within the growth sub-pillar, the leading countries are to be found in Africa and developing Asia.

Anthony O’Sullivan, Director and Partner of Whiteshield Partners, said: “Investment prospects changed significantly in 2020, with the global health crisis dramatically altering the way businesses operate and engage with their customers.”

“Some nations have benefited in the current environment because their economies are structurally favored towards the winning sectors. Singapore, which is number one on our list, has demonstrated more favorable conditions for businesses to thrive in the COVID era.  Its economy is strong in the sectors that have grown because of COVID-19. These industries include manufacturing and e-commerce. At the same time, it has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic,” he added.

Tom Flynn, Principal at Whiteshield Partners, also commented: “Investment opportunities exist regardless of market conditions, and they depend just as much on the characteristics and goals of the investors. Our report examines long–rather than short– opportunities at a macro level. The Index can be interlayered with, say, a perspective on sectors to better identify opportunities based on investor profiles. Ultimately, the report aims to help investors who are looking to capitalize on the changes in the world happening because of the pandemic.”

“We created the report to capture the impacts of COVID-19 on the investment world. It notes how the investment climate has changed since 2020. Pre-pandemic, economic conditions were highly different, and investment outlooks reflected a different set of realities. The report presents a new framework for investors to analyze this new reality, making it highly valuable today,” Flynn added.

The Index incorporates the pillars of risk, policy, and the market to ascertain “where” and “what” investment opportunities exist under the new market conditions.  It is a linearly additive composite indicator with equal weight assigned to the three pillars.

The Index is a macro view of investment opportunities by geography. It ranks countries on the investment climate within each country as a result of structural and economic changes because of the ongoing pandemic. The Index does not evaluate specific or investments, either in the form of direct investments or as portfolio investments.