Singapore is most open economy

Singapore leads the world as the most globally connected economy, after edging out regional rival Hong Kong, according to an inaugural study.

The key factor that drove the Republic to the top of the list compiled by Ernst & Young and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was the far-reaching tentacles of trade.

The Globalisation Index 2009 said the "movement of goods and services" in Singapore relative to total output outshone all comers.

With total trade volume of more than 300 per cent of output - since many goods are simply turned around at Singapore ports - the Republic attained a score of 9.59, the highest of all 60 economies. Hong Kong registered 8.66.

This criterion measures the volume of a country's trade as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) - a measure of economic output - and other factors such as trade openness, and any trade barriers, as rated by EIU analysts.

The world's 60 largest economies studied were ranked using five criteria - openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movements, and cultural integration.