SINGAPORE, May 31 — Singapore came out tops in two global rankings this week, emerging as No 1 in business competitiveness and the best place for children.

This comes about two weeks after another report on quality of life showed that the country had improved its ranking.

On Wednesday (May 29), a yearly report from Switzerland-based think-tank IMD World Competitiveness Centre said that Singapore overtook Hong Kong and the United States to be the world’s most competitive economy, reclaiming a title it last held in 2010.

It attributed Singapore’s rise to its advanced technological infrastructure, availability of skilled labour, favourable immigration laws and efficient ways to set up new businesses.

To rank the 63 countries in its report, the think-tank scores the economies on four categories: Economic performance, infrastructure, government efficiency and business efficiency.

The report noted that 11 of the 14 economies in Asia Pacific either improved or held their ground. Hong Kong came in second, China was 14th, while Malaysia was 22nd. Indonesia saw the region’s biggest improvement, jumping 11 places to 32nd, while Japan fell five places to 30th.

"In a year of high uncertainty in global markets due to rapid changes in the international political landscape as well as trade relations, the quality of institutions seems to be the unifying element for increasing prosperity,” Professor Arturo Bris, the research centre’s director, said.

What makes Singapore attractive for businesses?

Based on responses from mid— and upper-level managers of businesses here, the report noted the following — in descending order of popularity — as key factors that made Singapore’s economy attractive: