Singapore's Talent and Housing Policies

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2024-09-12

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Singapore’s Talent Attraction Strategies

Singapore effectively utilizes its college entrance examination system to screen talents and offers full scholarships to outstanding university students who are willing to commit to working for six years after graduation. This strategy not only attracts top domestic students but also naturally selects those willing to settle or naturalize over the six-year work period, thus maintaining population growth without increasing the cost of nurturing. Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) model adopts a dual-track pricing system, with prices about half that of condominiums. Although the appreciation of HDB flats is typically less than that of condominiums, most citizens choose to purchase HDB flats for their first home. This is essentially a form of national welfare aimed at reducing the initial housing costs for young people while also ensuring the preservation and appreciation of property value.

Future Population Attraction Policies to Learn From

In terms of future population attraction policies, Singapore’s model is worth emulating. Currently, many cities in China are still at the primary stage of lifting purchase restrictions, and Singapore’s model may become a trend in the future. In attracting overseas talents, China can learn from Singapore’s logic of educational introduction. Of course, if there is an ample supply of domestic talents and the issue is merely job demand, then a different approach is needed. Pilots can be gradually implemented before the aging and decline of the working population. For real estate speculators, now might be the time to give up and seek investment logic that preserves value. As the HDB policy becomes clearer, it may become more meaningful in the future. Singapore’s urban model has significant implications for Hong Kong. Although the two cities are similar, Singapore has clearly outperformed Hong Kong in maintaining competitiveness, never giving up on the physical economy and managing housing prices better than Hong Kong.