Best business bet

ED RICHARDSON
A COMBINATION of affordable labour and low taxes makes Singapore the most cost-competitive place to do business among nine industrialised countries, according to the 2006 edition of KPMG LLP’s biannual study Competitive Alternatives. Canada ranks second overall, retaining its previous position as the lowest-cost country among the G7 countries. France and the Netherlands are the most cost-competitive European countries studied, followed by Italy and the United Kingdom. The United States, seventh in the rankings, has improved its competitive position since 2004, assisted by the lower value of the US dollar relative to other major currencies. Eighth-ranked Japan has also improved its competitiveness since 2004, overcoming its previous cost disadvantage to ninth-ranked Germany. KPMG’s bi-annual Competitive Alternatives study measures 27 key cost components as applied to business operations in industrialized countries. The countries surveyed are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. The study’s basis for comparison is the after-tax cost of start-up and operation for 17 different types of business, over a 10-year planning horizon.