Was chatting to a tech friend the other day about why Singapore, unlike HK, has thrived as a tech hub even though it's pretty autocratic.

His takeaway was Singapore makes clear where the red lines are.

In Hong Kong those lines are ever more opaque with each passing year.
The visa and business regimen remains the same in Singapore, he said. And Singapore is sovereign.

Hong Kong's government answers to Beijing and increasingly there seems to be little difference between the two which is why tech remains wary of HK.
He said Singapore remains careful not to take political steps that could worry international businesses.

Their focus is purely on domestic politics.

Singapore, he said, would never dare to do what Beijing has done to Cathay or HSBC, for example.

Was an interesting take.
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