Singapore is the leading regional hub for business services, supporting the needs of enterprises throughout their various stages. Singapore business services firms in legal, accounting, consultancy, human resources (HR), and marketing are well-placed to serve the business needs of Singapore-based firms and firms expanding to regional markets from Singapore.
With more than 700 Singapore law practices and networks across the globe, Singapore is a trusted legal hub for dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration. Signed by 46 countries, the 2019 Singapore Convention on Mediation, named after Singapore, is a United Nations Convention that promotes the recognition of mediated settlements. Singapore is also highly recognised as a key Asian node for arbitration. Dispute resolution clauses in business contracts enable enterprises to manage potential conflicts and avoid destructive and expensive legal proceedings.
Other areas including intellectual property (IP) management and mergers & acquisition are also key strengths of Singapore’s legal ecosystem.
Singapore is ranked first in Asia and 12th globally for the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2020. This index measures countries’ rule of law performance over several factors – reinforcing the high standards that Singapore legal firms possess.
Singapore is also an ideal neutral ground for resolving IP conflicts; it is home to the World Intellectual Property’s only arbitration and mediation centre (outside of Geneva). Patents in Singapore also enjoy accelerated filing in more than 40 countries globally.
Singapore has over 700 accounting and advisory firms that cover a variety of services, ranging from business valuation, internal audit, taxation to risk management and corporate governance.
Several of these firms are part of wide international networks or have overseas partners to service both Singapore and overseas enterprises, from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to multinational corporations.
Singapore is the APAC hub of key advertising agencies, due to the access to a large pool of regional and global talent flow. The marketing sector consists of an extensive range of services, including advertising, branding, marketing, and public relations.
Singapore marketing firms have a strong understanding of Southeast Asia, and can enable other businesses that are keen to expand within the region. With specialisations in different sectors and capabilities, these marketing firms possess niche capabilities in target markets. Beyond that, they have a strong understanding of Singapore companies, and will be able to identify appropriate growth and expansion strategies.
Over the years, rapid digitalisation and evolving consumer behaviour have pushed marketing firms in Singapore to innovate and transform to remain competitive. This has led to a robust marketing ecosystem with new technology and capabilities, in areas such as augmented, virtual and extended reality, live-streaming, data analytics & consumer insights, and e-commerce.
HR services firms play a crucial role in enabling the growth of other enterprises through services such as talent acquisition, management, payroll automation, and remote working.
Remote working enables firms to tap talent across the country or globally without the need to set up a physical office. With more having to work from home due to the pandemic, businesses can seek the assistance of HR firms to help source for talent and adhere to local labour laws.