Smart, safe and highly efficient
Singapore serves as a gateway to Asia for German companies
By Andrea Sellmann and Mary Abdelaziz-Ditzow
November 16, 2023, 10:02 a.m
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Singapore is not even as big as Hamburg, but it is one of the richest countries in the world. Many German companies also use the city state as a hub for their ASEAN business.
If you fly to Singapore, you don’t have to allow for a lot of time at Changi Airport. Because the international airport of the small island state functions extremely efficiently. Business people really appreciate this, reports Dominique Herold, who, as managing director of the German Center Singapore, supports German companies in their move to Southeast Asia: “You always try to break the record when you fly back to Singapore,” she says in the “Wirtschaft Welt” podcast & Far”. You can get from the touchdown on the runway to the outside in just 20 minutes.
The airport is a kind of business card for Singapore. The country also likes to turn on the turbo in other ways. For ASEAN expert Daniel Müller, it is part of the island state’s DNA to always be a bit “faster, better and smarter” than others. People are aware of the difficult geopolitical environment and are always trying to at least partially compensate for Singapore’s great dependence on raw materials, energy and food. This way of thinking is also reflected in the business culture, reports Müller: “And the companies benefit from this.”
Over 2,000 German companies are currently active in Singapore. In addition to a good business climate, the proximity to other ASEAN countries also means that the country is considered a springboard for the whole of Southeast Asia. Where exactly does the future potential lie? Which sectors are particularly in demand? And how does multicultural Singapore position itself in the area of tension between the West and China? Host Mary Abdelaziz-Ditzow discusses this and more in the new podcast episode with her guests Dominique Herold and Daniel Müller.
Dominique Herold has been living in Singapore for six years. She has been heading the German Center for Industry and Trade there for three years and offers first-hand impressions. Daniel Müller, on the other hand, looks at Singapore from the outside and always keeps a close eye on the neighboring countries: He is regional manager for ASEAN at the OAV – German-Asia-Pacific Business Association.
What does Germany have to do to continue to play an important role in the economic world of tomorrow? Who do we depend on? Which countries benefit from the new world situation? Mary Abdelaziz-Ditzow discusses this with relevant experts in the ntv podcast “Wirtschaft Welt & Weit”.
You can find all episodes in the ntv app or wherever podcasts are available: at RTL+ music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or Deezer. For all other podcast apps you can use the RSS feed.