China's 2025 Exports Near RMB 27 Trillion; ASEAN Share Hits 17.64%

In 2025, China's annual goods exports approached RMB 27 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. During the same period, exports to ASEAN accounted for 17.64% of China's total exports, maintaining double-digit growth for several consecutive years. Chinese investment in ASEAN focuses on electronic manufacturing, new energy vehicles and components, digital economy, cross-border logistics, and green photovoltaic industries. As Chinese companies shift from exporting products to Southeast Asia toward building local factories, establishing networks, and hiring locally, the selection of regional headquarters has become a key strategic decision.

Singapore's port, one of the world's busiest transshipment hubs, has more than 50 deep-water container berths and over 22 kilometers of container quay, capable of accommodating the largest 24,000-TEU container ships. Singapore covers about 744 square kilometers, with office rents among the highest globally. According to Jones Lang LaSalle data for the fourth quarter of 2025, average prime office rents in Singapore's central business district stood at approximately SGD 11.98 per square foot per month.

In terms of corporate cases, Global Transport and Logistics serves more than 2,600 large multinational corporations and officially established its international operations headquarters in Singapore in 2016. By the end of 2025, the company had set up branches in 18 cities across 7 Southeast Asian countries, forming a regional team of about 250 people. In October 2025, the logistics volume handled by Global Transport and Logistics for exports from Southeast Asia to the United States reached 1.3 times the volume of China's exports to the United States. Haidilao's overseas business covers more than ten countries and regions, including Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America, and Europe. ByteDance chose Singapore as its global second headquarters, with thousands of local employees, and core management such as TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has long been based in Singapore.

On the institutional front, Singapore's nominal corporate income tax rate has been reduced from 26% in 1997 to 17%, and it has signed more than 90 double taxation avoidance agreements with various countries. The International Headquarters (IHQ) program, led by the Singapore Economic Development Board, grants approved companies a preferential corporate income tax rate of 10% on incremental income from qualifying headquarters business. Under the global minimum tax framework, companies with consolidated annual global revenue exceeding EUR 750 million will face a minimum effective tax rate of 15%.

On costs, Singapore is the only overseas country with an ethnic Chinese majority and one of its official languages, but living costs are high. According to ECA International data, Singapore has ranked among the world's most expensive cities for expatriates for several consecutive years. Global Transport and Logistics has addressed this by splitting headquarters functions: retaining core decision-making in Singapore while relocating cost-sensitive operations such as production, warehousing, and management to neighboring countries, forming a regional network of "Singapore headquarters, Thailand industrial hub, and Malaysia service center."