Singapore among 12 global hubs for tech talent: study

The city-state was noted for its strong tech ecosystem, abundant talent pool, and a business-friendly environment that attracts global talent and investment, despite being the smallest of the five Asia-Pacific tech hubs listed in the Global Tech Talent Guidebook 2025 by property consultancy CBRE.

But Singapore ranks among the most expensive cities for operating a tech business, placing 24th out of 115 markets for software engineers’ salaries, with office rents second only to Paris.

The top 12 powerhouses also include Beijing, Shanghai, Bengaluru, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Boston, Toronto, Paris, and London.

With 45% of its 4.3 million working-age population holding at least a university degree, Singapore trails only Ireland and Switzerland in educational attainment.

A woman rides her bicycle with the Marina Bay Sands hotel and high rise buildings in the background in Singapore on Sept. 4, 2023. Photo by AFP

Ravi Nippani, head of regional industries and solutions at Mercer Asia, said that CBRE’s findings are consistent with consulting firm Mercer’s March survey, which ranked Singapore third in Asia, behind China and India, for the number of tech jobs reported.

"Singapore’s tech ecosystem is quite mature and vibrant in terms of roles, encompassing both front-line and supporting positions," he said, as reported by The Straits Times.

"When compared with the sheer size of the working population in China and India, Singapore is more than punching its weight and can rightly be given powerhouse status."

The Asia-Pacific region boasts the largest tech talent pools, with cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Tokyo each reporting over 500,000 tech professionals.

Labor costs were highlighted as the primary expense for tech companies.

In Singapore, software engineers earn an annual base salary of US$111,000, but with some of the world’s highest rents, they allocate over 29% of their income to landlords.

Jonathan Lasenby, head of technology and telecoms at recruitment company Ethos BeathChapman, pointed out two cost-related concerns in the report: Singapore ranks second globally for office rent and seventh for apartment rent.

"Together, they contribute to higher operational costs, driven by both rental overheads and salary expectations," he said.

This challenges Singapore’s positioning relative to other tech powerhouse markets. Candidates may increasingly weigh cost of living when deciding where to live and work, especially as remote work and distributed teams become more viable, he added.

Rohini Saluja, CBRE’s head of consulting and integrated client solutions for Asia-Pacific, predicts that by 2028, many emerging markets will advance to the "established" tier, though the powerhouse list is likely to remain largely unchanged.

"You start seeing a lot of new tech hubs. When you look at India, for instance, we know that Bengaluru (and) Hyderabad are established tech talent major metros, but they have started putting investments into education, harnessing technology skills and supporting quality of life in locations like Ahmedabad and Jaipur."

She also mentioned Auckland, Ho Chi Minh City, and Jakarta as emerging tech hubs.

Several studies have highlighted Singapore as one of the best destinations in the world for tech adoption and innovation.

The Global Innovation Index 2024 place Singapore in the fourth place, while the International Property Rights Index 2024 put it at the second position behind Finland.