Why We Need To Stop Thinking Of Singapore As The 'Delaware Of Asia'

Pedestrians cross a road outside the SGX Centre, which houses the Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) headquarters, in Singapore,

“Singapore is the Delaware of Asia.” I hear this truism often from other VCs, journalists, and even my own team. It’s true that companies love to incorporate in both Delaware and Singapore, due to their friendly tax laws and straightforward paperwork. More than 1 million companies, including Silicon Valley tech giants Google and Apple, call Delaware home (legally). But though the comparison has a nice ring to it, it undersells exactly what Singapore is capable of. Maybe it’s vanity, but our fair island deserves better than a comparison to a US state so non-descript its official bird is a chicken.

Of course, it’s true that increasing numbers of foreign startups have chosen to re-domicile here, the same way foreign companies incorporate in Delaware.

But Singapore also gives companies a lot of things that Delaware does not, and I think these tend to get less attention than they deserve

1. Access to VC funding.
2. Access to government funding.

3. Credibility
4. Other startups.
5. Access to the SEA market. 
6. Access to talent.