Singapore has the world's best business environment&nbsp;for the next five years, as per a report by a leading market intelligence&nbsp;group.&nbsp;

The Economist Intelligence Unit's Business Environment Rankings has named the Southeast Asian city-state as the best business destination due to its high level of economic and political stability.&nbsp;

Canada and Denmark are in the second and third position respectively. The United States, New Zealand and other European countries make up the top 10 list. &nbsp;

Only one other Asian territory finds a place in the top 10 - Hong Kong. The Special Administrative Region of China, a traditional rival of Singapore, occupies the seventh position.&nbsp;

"Our ranking shows that North America and western Europe remain the best regions in the world to do business," Economist Intelligence Unit report quoted Prianthi Roy, country forecast manager and Europe analyst, as saying.&nbsp;

While Singapore and Hong Kong are the only Asian territories in the top 10, several Asian countries have moved up in the rankings.&nbsp;

Vietnam is the biggest gainer, climbing 12 spots in the latest rankings. Thailand has risen 10 places since 2022 while India has managed to move up six places.&nbsp;

Vietnam, in particular, has fared so well due to companies pursuing the policy of having an alternate supply chain&nbsp;in Vietnam. With favourable investment policies and competitive labour costs, Vietnam is being seen as an alternate manufacturing hub to China.&nbsp;

With a stringent zero-Covid policy that ended only last year&nbsp;and the consequent economic distress, it comes as no surprise that the biggest loser in this year's rankings is China.&nbsp;

"The outlook for China’s business environment has deteriorated as a result of greater policy uncertainty, US-China tensions and a more challenging longer-term outlook for growth," the report noted.&nbsp;

China, the report said, now ranks below Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and India for doing business.&nbsp;

Singapore has the world's best business environment for the next five years, as per a report by a leading market intelligence group. The Economist Intelligence Unit's Business Environment Rankings has named the Southeast Asian city-state as the best business destination due to its high level of economic and political stability.

Singapore has the world's best business environment for the next five years, as per a report by a leading market intelligence group. The Economist Intelligence Unit's Business Environment Rankings has named the Southeast Asian city-state as the best business destination due to its high level of economic and political stability. Canada and Denmark are in the second and third position respectively. The United States, New Zealand and other European countries make up the top 10 list. Only one other Asian territory finds a place in the top 10 - Hong Kong. The Special Administrative Region of China, a traditional rival of Singapore, occupies the seventh position. "Our ranking shows that North America and western Europe remain the best regions in the world to do business," Economist Intelligence Unit report quoted Prianthi Roy, country forecast manager and Europe analyst, as saying. While Singapore and Hong Kong are the only Asian territories in the top 10, several Asian countries have moved up in the rankings. Vietnam is the biggest gainer, climbing 12 spots in the latest rankings. Thailand has risen 10 places since 2022 while India has managed to move up six places. Vietnam, in particular, has fared so well due to companies pursuing the policy of having an alternate supply chain in Vietnam. With favourable investment policies and competitive labour costs, Vietnam is being seen as an alternate manufacturing hub to China. With a stringent zero-Covid policy that ended only last year and the consequent economic distress, it comes as no surprise that the biggest loser in this year's rankings is China. "The outlook for China’s business environment has deteriorated as a result of greater policy uncertainty, US-China tensions and a more challenging longer-term outlook for growth," the report noted. China, the report said, now ranks below Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and India for doing business.

Singapore is world's best business hub: Economist Intelligence Unit report

Investors rushed into&nbsp;safe-haven&nbsp;assets on Friday after&nbsp;US&nbsp;airstrikes in Iraq killed a senior Iranian military official, sending the Japanese&nbsp;yen&nbsp;to a three-month high, while the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/new-year-cheer-rupee-rises-15-paise-to-6962-against-us-dollar-in-early-trade-187635">US&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;index</a> was knocked by the weakest domestic factory activity in a decade.

In addition to the&nbsp;yen,&nbsp;US&nbsp;Treasuries, German bunds and gold rallied after the overnight airstrike&nbsp;in Baghdad killed <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/deputy-commander-of-quds-force-to-replace-soleimani-irans-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-271905">Qassem&nbsp;Soleimani</a>, Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East.

"Overall, geopolitical risk premia have risen substantially overnight," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments. Investors were "really looking for&nbsp;safe&nbsp;havens and a port in the storm," he added.

The Japanese&nbsp;yen&nbsp;had risen as high as 107.82 per&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;and was last up 0.48 per cent&nbsp;on the day at 108.04. The&nbsp;yen&nbsp;is often seen as a&nbsp;haven&nbsp;from risk, given Japan's status as the world's largest creditor nation. A holiday in Tokyo also made for thin conditions, exaggerating the move.

The&nbsp;US&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;index&nbsp;initially benefited from the move into&nbsp;safe-haven&nbsp;assets, but those gains were erased after the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the manufacturing sector contracted significantly in December. It was last up 0.03 per cent&nbsp;on the day at 96.873.

The attack sparked concerns about crude supply disruptions, lifting oil prices more than $3. Petrocurrencies gained slightly on the higher crude prices, but those were then largely offset by the overall move away from risk, said Schamotta.

The&nbsp;US&nbsp;manufacturing sector contracted in December by the most in more than a decade, with order volumes crashing to a near 11-year low and factory employment falling for a fifth straight month, according to a report from <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/us-manufacturing-contracts-for-first-time-in-3-years-industry-survey-247442">ISM</a> released on Friday.

"That is a depressing number," said Schamotta.

It suggests "<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-farmers-see-another-bleak-year-despite-phase-1-trade-deal-271864">trade war-related</a> uncertainty has actually damaged the manufacturing sector on a sustained basis and that points to weakness in GDP, particularly in the coming quarter because what you're likely to see is an inventory drawdown as opposed to continued build."

The longer-term effects on the&nbsp;dollar&nbsp;are unclear. Though it weakened Friday, the greenback may ultimately benefit if slower&nbsp;US&nbsp;manufacturing dents hopes for global growth in 2020.

"The idea that other countries that are large exporters to the&nbsp;US&nbsp;might see a large rebound in the near term,&nbsp;that idea is losing traction here," said Schamotta.

Investors rushed into safe-haven assets on Friday after US airstrikes in Iraq killed a senior Iranian military official, sending the Japanese yen to a three-month high, while the US dollar index was knocked by the weakest domestic factory activity in a decade.

Investors rushed into safe-haven assets on Friday after US airstrikes in Iraq killed a senior Iranian military official, sending the Japanese yen to a three-month high, while the US dollar index was knocked by the weakest domestic factory activity in a decade. In addition to the yen, US Treasuries, German bunds and gold rallied after the overnight airstrike in Baghdad killed Qassem Soleimani, Tehran's most prominent military commander and the architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East. "Overall, geopolitical risk premia have risen substantially overnight," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments. Investors were "really looking for safe havens and a port in the storm," he added. The Japanese yen had risen as high as 107.82 per dollar and was last up 0.48 per cent on the day at 108.04. The yen is often seen as a haven from risk, given Japan's status as the world's largest creditor nation. A holiday in Tokyo also made for thin conditions, exaggerating the move. The US dollar index initially benefited from the move into safe-haven assets, but those gains were erased after the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the manufacturing sector contracted significantly in December. It was last up 0.03 per cent on the day at 96.873. The attack sparked concerns about crude supply disruptions, lifting oil prices more than $3. Petrocurrencies gained slightly on the higher crude prices, but those were then largely offset by the overall move away from risk, said Schamotta. The US manufacturing sector contracted in December by the most in more than a decade, with order volumes crashing to a near 11-year low and factory employment falling for a fifth straight month, according to a report from ISM released on Friday. "That is a depressing number," said Schamotta. It suggests "trade war-related uncertainty has actually damaged the manufacturing sector on a sustained basis and that points to weakness in GDP, particularly in the coming quarter because what you're likely to see is an inventory drawdown as opposed to continued build." The longer-term effects on the dollar are unclear. Though it weakened Friday, the greenback may ultimately benefit if slower US manufacturing dents hopes for global growth in 2020. "The idea that other countries that are large exporters to the US might see a large rebound in the near term, that idea is losing traction here," said Schamotta.

Safe-haven yen lifted, US dollar hits in Grim data after Qassem Soleimani strike

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Singapore is world's best business hub: Economist Intelligence Unit report

Safe-haven yen lifted, US dollar hits in Grim data after Qassem Soleimani strike