Singapore tops infrastructure investment index

The new Global Infrastructure Investment Index from design and consultancy firm Arcadis, has Singapore as the most attractive country for potential investors.

The list is the third biennial index from Arcadis, which uses a combination of factors, including political stability, business environment and growth potential to devise its rankings.

In compiling the index, Arcadis used data from sources including World Bank, World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index, Heritage Foundation, DHL, Economist Intelligence Unit, Business Monitor Index and Political Terror Scale.

After Singapore in the list come Qatar, the UAE and Canada – demonstrating the pulling power of stable business environments, along with attractive tax rates and government policies.

The quality of existing infrastructure and a solid risk profile are also shown to be strong factors for investors.

Europe’s showing in the index is again strong, with Norway leading the charge (6^th), followed by Sweden (7^th), the UK (9^th) and the Netherlands (10^th).

Within the top ten countries, the UK, however, has the highest Global Terrorism Index – with a score of 5.613, compared with zero ratings for Singapore, Qatar and the Netherlands. This demonstrates a huge swing from the last index, with the UK’s Global Peace Index rating falling to -8, while Qatar’s, for example, has moved to +7.

The strong increase in risk in countries such as the UK and the US (ranked 8^th in the index), highlight the fact that short-term factors such as currency devaluation and commodity prices also play a role in securing infrastructure investment.