Singapore has emerged as the world’s best business environment in Savills’ 2026 Nearshoring Index, beating 53 other countries with its strengths in logistics infrastructure, trade facilitation and ease of doing business.
As occupiers look for new locations to shorten or diversify their supply chains, Savills’ assessment places equal weight across resilience, economics, business environment and ESG performance.
According to results released June 11, Singapore is the highest-ranked market in Southeast Asia, placing 11th globally.
Singapore’s leading score is driven by its strong performance in logistics, the absence of trade barriers and broader global competitiveness, reinforcing its position as a regional hub for trade, logistics and business operations, says Savills Singapore.
Alan Cheong, executive director, research and consultancy at Savills Singapore, says: “The findings reinforce Singapore's position as a regional trade and logistics hub, supported by its connectivity, efficient infrastructure and ease of doing business. While US tariffs have hit the region hard, Singapore's logistics space fulfils a different function, serving the region and Australia.”
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He adds: “In this regard, efficient ramp-up logistics and temperature-controlled spaces remain in demand. Given that the supply of land for logistics and industrial development is largely controlled by the authorities, the risk of a significant oversupply situation remains low.”
Other ‘best locations’ for nearshoring
Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Austria, and the UK are the best locations in the world for industrial occupiers looking to reorientate and “nearshore” production in the face of ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Savills Singapore. “These markets perform strongly due to their ability to balance resilience, cost competitiveness, business environment and ESG considerations.”
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Japan and Taiwan rank among Asia Pacific’s top performers in the Index, owing to their balanced performance across the four pillars, according to Savills Singapore.
Meanwhile, China and Vietnam continue to benefit from strong cost competitiveness and manufacturing scale.
Elsewhere, the Americas, Canada and Mexico rank highly in the Index, with Canada topping the overall rankings. Their performance is supported in part by preferential access to the US market, especially amid uncertain trade tariffs.
Across Europe, Austria leads the region due to its central geographic location, highly skilled workforce and strong resilience and ESG metrics. Portugal and the UK follow closely behind, while several other European economies also feature in the top 20, benefitting from a balanced performance across the Index’s four pillars and the region’s access to the European Union.
According to Connor Chilton, associate at Savills World Research, manufacturing location decisions have become increasingly complex as companies weigh factors such as “resilience, energy security and policy environments, alongside labour availability, rents and access to consumers”.
He adds: "Many of these factors pull in opposite directions, so those locations that top our Nearshoring Index tend to be those that manage to strike a balance between all these factors.”
Infographic: Savills Singapore
