Taizo Son, the founder of gaming studio, GungHo, is relocating to Singapore as per a report by Bloomberg. The Japanese billionaire refers to the strict regulation in Japan and its education system as the main reasons behind the decision.
Taizo, the younger brother of SoftBank Group Corp.’s founder Masayoshi Son, earned a big name when his gaming firm unveiled Puzzle & Dragons, which went on to become the first mobile game to cross $1 billion in revenue. He aims to invest $100 million in Southeast Asian startups in the coming five years. He will be staying at Sentosa, and expects to obtain his permanent residency within a period of three months.
He had been actively mentoring entrepreneurs in Japan and also established a startup accelerator named Movida Japan in 2009. Later he set up Mistletoe, a mix of early-stage venture firm, incubator, and entrepreneur-in-residence program, and invested in various firms in Asia. Nevertheless, he seems to have lost hope in the country’s goals in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation. Son told Bloomberg the Japanese education system is “extremely terrible” at creating entrepreneurs and therefore he seeks to open a school in Singapore to help children develop such skills. In Asia, he has fueled capital into Garena, the games, and e-commerce operator.
He is not the only tech billionaire who has been attracted to the innovation hub that Singapore has become. Facebook Inc.’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin left the States to permanently settle in the island-nation in 2012. This was attributed to the tax-friendly scenario and the increasing investment opportunities.
The reasons why Singapore is being preferred by such renowned names in the global tech ecosystem are not just two or three, but many. The Prime Minister had come up with a Smart Nation initiative in 2014 which has been facilitated to a greater extent with a high rate of internet usage and dependence on online data processing.
The initiative has resulted in the incorporation of technology into basic routine functions. Government, agencies, and the companies, all have been doing their bit to make this happen. From the efforts put into digitizing the services provided by the government, to trials of autonomous buses, and the idea of flying taxis, the nation is continuously transforming the scenario. Less of crimes, low personal tax rates, and no capital gains tax, add up to the list that makes the place preferable.
