More MNCs choose Singapore for HQ, but outsized workforce no longer a given

SINGAPORE – More multinational corporations (MNCs) are anchoring their global or regional headquarters in the Republic, but the move no longer entails having a larger workforce here as compared with other markets.

The number of foreign HQs has increased from about 770 in 2019 to 1,030 in 2024, reflecting an almost 34% jump, according official statistics.

Over the same period, the number of resident professionals, managers and executives employed by foreign HQs rose by less than 8%, from 12,700 to 13,700.

This is the latest available data, with preliminary figures for 2025 due to be released in early 2027.

Experts told The Straits Times that foreign firms have steadily continued to set up HQs in Singapore, without committing to an outsized headcount.

Patrick Na from professional services firm TMF Group said: “Foreign HQs have been growing since 2019, and Singapore keeps pulling in new ones, especially the higher-value strategic ones. The numbers are still going up.”

He added: “A regional HQ does not automatically mean ‘the place with the most people in the region’ any more. These days, it is often a leaner set-up focused on senior decision-making, strategy and key functions, while a lot of the middle-layer operational and coordination jobs get moved to lower-cost locations.”

Ray Tay, co-founder and managing director at business advisory and immigration firm VIVOS, observed that many foreign companies with Singapore HQs had fewer employees here than in neighbouring lower-cost markets such as Malaysia or the Philippines.

He said the trend, which started around a decade ago, progressively grew as manpower costs in the Republic rose.

“Covid totally supercharged it because every staff from top to junior learnt to use teleconferencing tools, and other remote working or collaboration tools became more prevalent,” he added.

Despite this, Tay said foreign firms still saw value in designating Singapore as HQ, for reasons including its “efficient, no-nonsense image”, neutrality and tax incentives.

He pointed to the Economic Development Board’s International Headquarters Award, which encourages companies to set up or expand their global or regional HQ activities in Singapore.

The incentive offers a concessionary tax rate of 15%, 10% or 5% on a firm’s qualifying income, provided it meets conditions including hiring additional skilled employees.

Local and foreign companies in Singapore are by default taxed at a flat rate of 17% on their chargeable income.

Value beyond headcount

Among businesses with HQs in Singapore is French cosmetics and skincare brand Clarins. Its subsidiary here, which was incorporated in 1992, serves as its regional HQ with nearly 200 employees.

This is fewer than some other regional markets which the firm operates in, such as China, where it has more than 1,000 employees, and Japan, with almost 350 employees.

Clarins president and chief executive Jonathan Zrihen told ST: “Singapore’s importance goes well beyond headcount. It is a place where we develop talent, shape strategy and make decisions that guide our business across the Asia-Pacific and, in travel retail, worldwide”.

He added that Singapore has over the decades remained “the ideal hub” to support the firm’s development in the region.

“It offers a neutral, central and highly efficient base, ideally located within the region, with a strong pool of international talent who can work across cultures.

“It also provides a very stable and trusted business environment. That rationale has held over time,” Zrihen said.

The pharmaceutical subsidiary of Japanese giant Meiji Holdings has also put prominence on Singapore by selecting the country as its ASEAN strategic hub.

Kensuke Hata, managing director of Meiji Pharma Asia, which started operating in Singapore in April, said the Republic supports the company’s marketing and business strategies, as well as initiatives in ASEAN.

He added: “As our activities grow, we will continue to build the capabilities we need in Singapore in a thoughtful and sustainable way.

“We see its value not only in scale and number of employees, but also in the quality of its regional responsibilities and contribution to patient access across ASEAN.”

Meanwhile, San Francisco-based AI start-up Plaud, which operates in 12 markets in the Asia-Pacific, has chosen to maintain its largest team in Singapore – its recently opened regional HQ.

The start-up, which runs an AI note-taking platform, currently has 100 employees here, and plans to grow its workforce to around 150 by the end of 2026.

“Much of that growth will come from expanding our engineering, product and AI capabilities in Singapore,” said Plaud’s head of Asia-Pacific marketing Megumi Yoshinaga. “As Plaud continues to scale, we see Singapore playing an even bigger role in building the next generation of Plaud across engineering, product, AI and regional operations.”

What MNCs look for

In a parliamentary reply in April, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said Singapore must strengthen “attributes such as good governance, rule of law, a well-trained workforce, a strong base in science and technology, and connectivity to the region and globally” to attract and retain MNCs, and create good jobs for Singaporeans.

Tay said he is receiving an increasing number of queries from Asian MNCs looking to set up HQs in Singapore and expand out of the region.

This was different from the past, when US and European businesses made up the majority of requests.

“Singapore used to be a stepping stone into Asia. Now, Singapore is a stepping stone out of Asia,” Tay said.

One company looking to expand its operations is Universal Vapor Jet Corporation (UVJC), a precision manufacturing solutions subsidiary of Universal Display Corporation, a major developer of Oled materials used in the screens of smartphones and TVs.

UVJC established its global headquarters in Singapore in October 2025. It is looking to enter markets including the US in the next few years, said its chief executive Chandran Nair.

“The reason we set up our HQ here is because the ecosystem for electronics and semiconductor manufacturing is very strong. We could get the right people and we felt that the talent was here,” Nair said of the firm, which has around 30 employees.

But formally designating a market as a global or regional HQ does not work for every company.

British medical technology firm Smith+Nephew, which operates in around 100 countries, said it has anchored key global and regional functions in Singapore, without labelling it as a HQ.

This includes a medical education and digital innovation centre at one-north, where surgeons and other healthcare professionals from around the world receive education and training on the latest surgical techniques and technologies.

The firm’s senior vice-president and general manager for sports medicine international Joaquin Lasso said: “Rather than organising every market around a single headquarters label, we locate expertise in strategic locations according to the needs of our business, our customers and the patients they serve.”