Singapore

What Singapore is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 119,268 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

119,268 businesses on file · 148 trades · 28 sectors · · built from geonet.singapore on 2026-10-27

Businesses119,268
0% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Places of worship485
Franchise brands135
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Singapore → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density—
Breadth of the base289
broad — 104 industry groups, top three 19%
Survival the mix implies56.6%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS18.4%
of which 67.4% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 26 metro tables worldwide. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

Thin against the national pattern

Common trades that are under-represented here. For someone deciding what to open, this is the more useful half of the table — though a gap can mean unmet demand or a market that does not work here, and this does not tell you which.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
12.4%
2,719 businesses
Caution
68.9%
15,134 businesses
Structure decides
18.7%
4,097 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 99.9% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

No census subdivision is mapped for sg in local/census-map.json, so this page carries no census figures. The mapping is kept explicit because Canada has several places called London, Toronto and Kelowna, and attaching the wrong one would put another city's demographics on this page.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
Chinese 28 11 428
UNITED CHINESE LIBRARY · ANGLO CHINESE SCHOOL PRIMARY · SINGAPORE CHINESE GIRLS SCHOOL
Japanese 11 — 74
HOUGANG JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL ALEXANDRA · HOUGANG JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL HOUGANG · AKIZUKI JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL
Islamic 10 5 92
LEMBAGA MASJID ASSYAKIRIN · ASSOCIATION OF MUSLIM TRAVEL AGENTS S · THIRUVITHANCODE MUSLIM UNION
South Asian 7 3 19
SEMBAWANG TAMIL METHODIST CHURCH · PASIR PANJANG TAMIL METHODIST CHURCH · SINGAPORE TAMIL TEACHERS UNION
Korean 4 3 23
KOREAN CHURCH IN SPORE · FULL GOSPEL KOREAN CHURCH S · SINGAPORE KOREAN SCHOOL LTD
Swiss 3 — 38
SWISS COTTAGE PRIMARY SCHOOL · SWISS SCHOOL ASSOCIATION · SWISS COTTAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL
French 2 — 18
LYCEE FRANCAIS DE SINGAPOUR LTD · ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE SINGAPOUR
Arabic-speaking 2 2 3
MAR THOMA SYRIAN CHURCH IN SPORE · ST THOMAS ORTHODOX SYRIAN CHURCH
Thai 1 1 159
VICTORY THAILAND BUDDHIST ARTICLES
Dutch 1 — 53
HOLLANDSE SCHOOL LTD
German 1 — 39
DEUTSCHE SCHULE SINGAPORE GERMAN SCHOOL
Italian 1 — 33
ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE
Indonesian 1 1 23
INDONESIAN FULL GOSPEL FELLOWSHIP S
Jewish 1 — 3
MEYER MANASSEH HEBREW SCHOOL
Norwegian 1 — 2
NORWEGIAN SEAMENS MISSION
Swedish 1 — 2
SWEDISH BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
Portuguese 1 1 1
ST JOSEPHS CHURCH PORTUGUESE MISSION
Austrian 1 — 1
Austrian Chamber in Singapore
Armenian 1 1 —
ARMENIAN CHURCH OF ST GREGORY
Polish — — 22
Filipino — — 13
Malaysian — — 7
Turkish — — 6
Russian — — 5
Spanish-speaking — — 4
Czech — — 4
Danish — — 4
Afghan — — 4
Irish — — 3
Persian — — 2
Caribbean — — 2
Vietnamese — — 1
Greek — — 1
Latvian — — 1
Finnish — — 1
Scottish — — 1
Welsh — — 1
Indigenous — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 119,268 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Living 2,776 2.3% furniture (1314) · place of worship (485) · appliances (247) · cleaning (212) · daycare (194) · fire safety (106) · janitor (72) · laundry (54)
Retail 1,979 1.7% gifts (378) · flowers (364) · photography (329) · jeweler (285) · office equipment (174) · antiques (140) · department store (107) · toys (74)
Construction 1,789 1.5% heating and cooling (417) · machinery (369) · plumbing (249) · painting (210) · electrician (195) · roofing (172) · carpet (68) · concrete (42)
Realty 1,403 1.2% real estate (1363) · realtor (35) · orchard (2) · vineyard (1) · fruit (1) · auction (1)
Dining 1,307 1.1% restaurant (1031) · pubs (171) · fast food (35) · pizza (30) · steakhouse (24) · diner (12) · orchard (4)
Sports 1,157 1% boating marine (911) · martial arts (170) · golf equipment (29) · golf course (26) · insurance (13) · vegetable (2) · fruit (2) · bank (2)
Logistics 1,072 0.9% truck transportation (643) · packaging (308) · storage (77) · wholesale (17) · forklifts (13) · railroad (12) · towing (1) · fruit (1)
Education 1,020 0.9% school (900) · library (64) · writing (48) · orchard (5) · garden (2) · insurance (1)
Manufacturing 931 0.8% chemical (345) · industrial supplier (320) · fabrication (95) · machinery (88) · pulp and paper (57) · pallets (12) · salvage (7) · ice (5)
Travel 925 0.8% travel agent (525) · hotel (273) · motel (53) · airline (39) · parking (26) · real estate (5) · orchard (3) · fruit (1)
Business 880 0.7% consulting (366) · accounting (243) · association (205) · foundation (24) · auction (15) · government (12) · vending (10) · real estate (2)
Finance 834 0.7% insurance (469) · bank (297) · stock broker (46) · loans (13) · orchard (5) · mortgage (3) · real estate (1)
jobs 785 0.7%
Media 776 0.7% advertising (388) · signs (382) · books (4) · printing (2)
Food 746 0.6% seafood (304) · grocer (255) · catering (85) · baker (79) · ice cream (20) · fruit (1) · vegetable (1) · orchard (1)
Automotive 720 0.6% auto repair (304) · autos (231) · scooter (89) · auto parts (45) · tires (41) · truck repair (8) · motorcycle (2)
Beauty 717 0.6% hair stylist (678) · dentist (34) · orchard (5)
Tech 668 0.6% telecom (379) · computers (253) · wireless (36)
Entertainment 491 0.4% aquarium (143) · video (124) · video producer (69) · amusement (47) · games (37) · music instruments (33) · zoo (17) · nightclub (13)
Energy 275 0.2% petroleum (222) · fuel (51) · pipelines (2)
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

82 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
7-Eleven convenience 63 30,000
Pizza Hut pizza 14 10,000
Shop 'n Save supermarket 11 37
Salvation Army retail 8 —
Burger King fastfood 4 11,000
Calvin Klein mensunderwear 3 —
Harley Davidson locations motorcycle 3 —
Nine West retail 3 —
St. John retail 3 —
CD Plus retail 2 218
General Motors auto 2 —
Holiday Inn businesshotel 2 —
Liz Claiborne retail 2 —
Planet Hollywood food 2 18
Salvatore Ferragamo retail 2 —
Sunglass Hut retail 2 —
Thomas Cook travel 2 700
Toys "R" Us retail 2 1,400
West Marine specialty 2 400
Worldwide Express post 2 —
Alamo Rent A Car car 1 1,000
ANA Hotels upscalehotel 1 —
Budget Rent A Car car 1 1,900
California Pizza Kitchen pizza 1 210
Carlson Wagonlit Travel travel 1 4,300
Cash Converters retail 1 16
Chicken Delight fastfood 1 50
Christian Dior fashion 1 —
Computer Troubleshooters specialty 1 440
Crowne Plaza upscalehotel 1 —
Disney Store retail 1 —
Fantastic Sams hair 1 1,350
Fresh City deli 1 10
Hard Rock Cafe food 1 140
Hollywood Video video 1 2,700
I Vision retail 1 12
Jani-King cleaner 1 115
La Vie en Rose retail 1 150
Laura Ashley retail 1 —
Leading Hotels of the World accommodation 1 400
Max Mara retail 1 —
Movie Gallery video 1 4,700
Oberoi Hotels hotelresorts 1 18
Polo Ralph Lauren — 1 —
Regent Hotels accommodation 1 14
Rotary Club club 1 —
Sharper Image retail 1 190
Sports World retail 1 —
St. Regis luxuryhotel 1 —
Super 8 economyhotel 1 —
Super Wash auto 1 288
Taco Bell tacos 1 5,845
World Hotels accommodation 1 500
Raffles name only luxuryhotel 159 8
Limited name only retail 86 —
Esprit name only retail 18 —
Mitsubishi name only auto 18 —
InterContinental name only luxuryhotel 16 —
Coach name only luggage 14 —
Roxy name only retail 13 —
Renaissance name only upscalehotel 12 —
YMCA name only fitness 12 —
HSBC name only bank 11 —
Progressive name only supermarket 10 150
Champion name only supermarket 9 1,000
Midas name only auto 9 1,800
Isetan name only retail 7 18
Jeep name only suv 7 —
Khalsa name only fuel 7 —
Sheraton name only upscalehotel 7 —
AEON name only retail 6 —
Daimaru name only retail 6 52
Diana name only supermarket 6 3
Hallmark name only greetingcards 6 5,600
Michaels name only retail 6 805
Mothercare name only retail 6 —
Roots name only retail 6 145
Tiffany name only retail 6 150
Westin name only luxuryhotel 6 —
Armani name only fashion 5 —
SuperCuts name only inc 5 2,000
Wellcome name only retail 5 240
AllState name only insurance 4 —
Jacob name only retail 4 200
Kinokuniya name only book 4 56
Mikasa name only retail 4 —
MONTBLANC name only retail 4 —
Origins name only haircare 4 —
Aldo name only retail 3 —
Bebe name only retail 3 —
Carrefour name only supermarket 3 2,455
Centra name only convenience 3 350
Clarion name only businesshotel 3 —
ExxonMobil name only — 3 13,000
Michelin name only auto 3 —
Netto name only supermarket 3 371
Safeway name only supermarket 3 1,767
Benetton name only retail 2 —
Debenhams name only retail 2 126
Fossil name only retail 2 —
Gucci name only — 2 207
Honda name only car 2 —
Hyatt name only upscalehotel 2 —
IKEA name only retail 2 250
Lacoste name only — 2 —
Lexus name only luxurycar 2 —
Starbucks name only coffee 2 3,500
Toyota name only car 2 —
Volkswagen name only — 2 —
AutoZone name only auto 1 3,800
Blackwell name only book 1 6
Burberry name only retail 1 —
Cartier name only retail 1 —
CIBC name only bank 1 —
Cintas name only specialty 1 350
Daiei name only supermarket 1 3,000
Eason name only retail 1 58
FastFrame name only specialty 1 300
Gymboree name only retail 1 550
Hooters name only food 1 435
Husky name only fuel 1 —
Intermede name only hair 1 —
Intersport name only retail 1 60
Kingfisher name only home 1 680
Manor name only retail 1 —
Marriott name only upscalehotel 1 2,800
Morrisons name only supermarket 1 368
Nissan name only auto 1 —
Oilily name only retail 1 —
Radisson name only upscalehotel 1 —
Sears name only inc 1 2,300
Tesco name only retail 1 1,780
UPIM name only retail 1 340
Versace name only designerclothing 1 61
Wolford name only retail 1 —
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
1,618 firms · LQ 1.31

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • AYALA INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LTD
  • CAVALIER REAL ESTATE
  • EM SERVICES P L
  • G M T REALTY PTE LTD
  • HONG LEONG PROPERTIES PTE LTD
  • INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATED CO PTE LTD
  • JONES LANG LASALLE PROPERTY CONSULTANTS PTE LTD
  • LAUW and SONS PTE LTD
  • LIANG INVESTMENT PTE LTD
  • NAKANO SINGAPORE PTE LTD
  • NEHSONS PTE LTD
  • NEW FOUNTAIN REALTY PTE LTD
  • OAKLAND PROPERTIES PTE LTD
  • RE MAX REAL ESTATE SERVICES

Owning and letting

5311
26 firms · LQ 0.13

Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.

Named in the register
  • ASCOTT INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT 2001 PTE LTD
  • BEAUTY APARTMENT HAIR DRESSING and PERMANENT WAVE SA
  • FRASER SERVICED RESIDENCES PTE LTD
  • GREAT WORLD SERVICED APARTMENTS
  • INTERNATIONAL SERVICE APARTMENTS
  • LIANG COURT REGENCY
  • LIM TUNG HEE ARTHERO
  • MERITUS HOSPITALITY SERVICES PTE LTD
  • NEWTON SERVICE APARTMENTS
  • OAKWOOD ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD
  • OPH RIVERSIDE PTE LTD
  • PARK AVENUE SUITES
  • PLAZA PACIFIC SERVICE APARTMENT PTE LTD
  • SHANGRI LA APARTMENTS

Building new homes

2361
1 firms

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register

Financing it

5222
16 firms · LQ 0.13

Mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders.

Named in the register
  • AIK SENG MONEYLENDER
  • AKB MONEYLENDERS
  • ARIKSHA MONEY LENDER
  • AUSTRALASIAN MORTGAGE FUNDING
  • ENG WAH HIN CREDIT PTE LTD
  • HWA LIAN KEAT VEHICLE TRADING
  • ISLAND CREDIT S PTE LTD
  • LOAN MATTERS PTE LTD
  • MONEYMIND MONEYLENDERS
  • ON LINE CREDIT PTE LTD
  • PROPERTY LOANS PTE LTD
  • SDL LEASING S PTE LTD
  • SPECIALIST MORTGAGE
  • UNITED OVERSEAS FINANCE LTD

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the Singapore property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work on the go, mobile services

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you. Each service opens a page on Ultimate 411 to request a quote or book a time.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 186 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 1 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 186 Service=1 rows in search.local: work on the go, mobile services, where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

InstitutionTypeStudentsFounded
ACE University — —
NBS University — —
NTU University — —
National University of Singapore (NUS) University — —
Singapore Management University (SMU) University — —

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 900daycare 194
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics20
Pharmacies64
Dental practices34

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • I P HEALTH CENTRE
  • SINGAPORE GENERAL HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • DELIGHT HEALTH CENTRE
  • ST ANDREWS MISSION HOSPITAL
  • K and I HEALTH CENTRE
  • PARKVIEW HEALTH CENTRE
  • GRAND HEALTH CENTRE
  • ST ANDREWS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
  • MOUNT PLEASANT ANIMAL HOSPITAL
  • GOLDHILL HEALTH CENTRE
  • WHAMPOA HEALTH CENTRE
  • JAMES TAN VETERINARY HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • HMI BALESTIER HOSPITAL PTE LTD  
  • SHOE HOSPITAL
  • HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT and SERVICES INTL 1996 PTE LT
  • TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • WEST POINT FAMILY HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • VIEW ROAD HOSPITAL
  • MIKADO HEALTH CENTRE
  • GOLDEN GARDEN HEALTH CENTRE
  • FORTUNE HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • KK WOMENS and CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
  • MERLIN HEALTH CENTRE
  • DICKSON HEALTH CENTRE
  • KANDANG KERBAU HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • DIAMOND HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • HOSPITAL HOLDINGS PTE LTD
  • KWONG WAI SHIU HOSPITAL
  • RAFFLES HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • BUGIS HEALTH CENTRE
  • NEW PENINSULA HEALTH CENTRE
  • ILLUSION EXECUTIVE HEALTH CENTRE
  • EXCELSIOR HEALTH CENTRE
  • PRINCESS HEALTH CENTRE
  • LK HEALTH CENTRE
  • CHANCE HEALTH CENTRE
  • EAST SHORE HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • IRIS HEALTH CENTRE
  • MOUNT ALVERNIA HOSPITAL
  • P B HEALTH CENTRE
  • SOLID GOLD COAST HEALTH CENTRE
  • REN CI HOSPITAL and MEDICARE CENTRE
  • REN CI HOSPITAL
  • WOODBRIDGE HOSPITAL and INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
  • ODEANIA HEALTH CENTRE
  • PARKWAY HEALTH CENTRE
  • LEISURE HEALTH CENTRE
  • TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL REHABILITATION CENTRE
  • ANG MO KIO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • BUKIT INN HEALTH CENTRE
  • ADAM ROAD HOSPITAL
  • SHERATON HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL
  • GLENEAGLES HOSPITAL LTD
  • MUSTIKA RATU BEAUTY and HEALTH CENTRE
  • JOYFUL HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • PAN ISLAND HEALTH CENTRE
  • NEW CENTURY CHINESE THERAPY HEALTH CENTRE
  • ST LUKES HOSPITAL FOR THE ELDERLY LTD
  • SCOTT VIEW HEALTH CENTRE
  • GALAXY HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • MIKO HEALTH CENTRE
  • TANGLIN HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • JAPAN GREEN HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • ORCHARD EXECUTIVE HEALTH CENTRE
  • NICE HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • PISSA HEALTH CENTRE
  • V I P HEALTH CENTRE
  • HOLISTIC HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • TROPICAL HEALTH CENTRE PTE LTD
  • CASALA HEALTH CENTRE
  • NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL S PTE LTD
  • CHANGI GENERAL HOSPITAL PTE LTD
  • HOMOEO PHARMA and NATURAL HEALTH CENTRE

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

14

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • No census figures on this page: this region is not mapped to a census subdivision in local/census-map.json, so the community counts here are business-register institutions, which is a different measurement and cannot substitute for a population.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 100.0% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 0%.

Built from

  • geonet.singapore — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands