The World Bank had also ranked Singapore first for the ease of trading across borders in its "Doing Business" report for six consecutive years from 2008 to 2013.

Singapore continues to be highly regarded as a logistics hub and there are several factors reflecting this, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew - Singapore ranked first for efficiency of customs clearance, and for timeliness of shipments delivered.

Speaking at FIATA 2013 organised by the logistics sector, Mr Lui reportedly noted that Singapore ranked first for efficiency of customs clearance, and for timeliness of shipments delivered. This was stated in the Logistics Performance Index 2012 published by the World Bank.

In addition, the World Bank also ranked Singapore first for the ease of trading across borders in its Doing Business report for six consecutive years from 2008 to 2013.

Mr Lui said: "The ranking examines key customs indicators such as the time, cost and number of documents required for export and import in which Singapore has remained consistently competitive.

“For example, the time taken to import and export goods in Singapore is four to five days. This compares favourably with the time taken to import and export goods in East Asia Pacific and OECD, which are 21 to 22 days and 10 days respectively."

In the aviation sector, plans are already underway to strengthen infrastructure, expand capacity and enhance connectivity to meet future demand, especially by 2018 when Changi Airport's handling capacity will be able to accommodate up to 85 million passengers a year.

Similarly, in the maritime sector, Mr Lui mentioned that Singapore is preparing for the future and is investing in infrastructure ahead of demand to strengthen the hub port.

Citing an example, he said that Pasir Panjang Terminal is set to increase the port's container handling capacity to 50 million containers or TEUs per annum by 2020 - up from 34 million now.

(source: CNA)