When Singapore’s trade minister Gan Kim Yong revealed that locals owned nearly 90 per cent of registered retail businesses in the city state while Chinese nationals came in second at a distant 3 per cent, the figures drew mixed reactions from the public and analysts.
The discourse online centred on what the statistics implied – critics felt that though the proportion of foreign-owned entities, especially from China, might be minuscule, most could actually be big brands with multiple outlets,…
Singapore’s retail ownership data sparks debate about foreign chains’ influence
