Stellar Snippets
Singapore was named the world's freest economy for the first time since the Fraser Institute began compiling the Economic Freedom of the World Index in 1970.
Factors that influenced the report by the Canadian think tank Fraser Institute include ease of international trade and business regulations.
The reports used data from 2021 which had comparable statistics across 165 states.
The report measured individual economic freedom or ability to make independent economic decisions which are also linked to civil and political freedom.
Hong Kong, which held the position for 53 years, slipped to second for the first time because of high business costs and low foreign labor employment.
The United States holds the fifth position with a score of 8.14 and The U.K. and Canada are at 9th and 10th positions at 8 and 7.9 respectively.
Hong Kong's slip has been attributed to the national security law imposed by President Xi Jinping in 2020.
The U.S. too has been cautious about investing in Hong Kong since 2021.