Singapore ranks high in OECD report on fake goods

Singapore

TWO in every 100 imitation goods seized worldwide in recent years have been traced to Singapore.

That is just 2 per cent - the bulk is accounted for by China - but it is enough to make Singapore the third biggest source of counterfeit and pirated goods, said a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The top two spots on this roll of dubious honour go to China - far and away the leader in this business, with two-thirds (63.2 per cent) of the world's fake goods traceable to it - and Turkey, which just pips Singapore by accounting for 3.3 per cent of the haul impounded.

But there is some fine print to Singapore's high ranking: The OECD's study, titled "Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods", does not view the Republic as a tout in the market for products that infringe on trade mark, copyrights, patents and design rights. For sure, it is an important transit point for imitation goods, but it is not on what the OECD calls the list of top 15…