In the latest released 2024 IMD World Talent Rankings, Singapore has once again demonstrated its leading position in global talent competition with outstanding performance, jumping from 8th place globally last year to 2nd place, second only to Switzerland, becoming a leader among Asian economies. This achievement not only demonstrates Singapore's outstanding ability to attract, cultivate, and retain top global talent, but also reflects its strong appeal as a global center for innovation and high-tech.

This ranking is released by the World Competitiveness Center of IMD in Switzerland, covering 67 countries and regions worldwide, and comprehensively evaluating each country's performance in three key areas: "investment and development", "attractiveness to talent", and "readiness". Singapore continues to top the list in terms of readiness, demonstrating its outstanding achievements in providing infrastructure, education system, and policy environment for talent development. At the same time, Singapore has made significant progress in the areas of "investment and development" and "attraction to talent", ranking 22nd and 5th respectively, an increase of 9 places compared to last year.

The Singapore government has always attached great importance to talent strategy, attracting a large number of international enterprises and high-end talents to settle here through a series of policy measures and incentive mechanisms. From technological innovation to financial services, from biotechnology to digital economy, Singapore is gradually building a diversified and high value-added industrial system, providing vast development space and infinite possibilities for talents.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's performance in the global talent rankings has remained relatively stable, maintaining 33rd place for three consecutive years. Despite Malaysia's achievements in attracting foreign investment and promoting economic development, further efforts are still needed to enhance talent competitiveness and innovation capabilities. The report points out that Malaysia has declined in both the areas of "investment and development" and "readiness", ranking 43rd and 27th respectively. This suggests that Malaysia still has significant room for improvement in optimizing the business environment, strengthening infrastructure construction, improving education quality and innovation capabilities.

Singapore and Malaysia, as two important economies in Southeast Asia, face both cooperation and competition in talent competition. The rise of Singapore undoubtedly sets an example for Malaysia, but also brings pressure. In the future, Malaysia needs to actively respond to the challenges of global talent competition, strengthen cooperation and exchanges with the international community, continuously enhance its talent competitiveness and innovation capabilities, in order to occupy a more advantageous position in the global economic landscape.