<span style="color: #222222;">Singapore has announced that the country is set to raise the salary criteria for foreign executives and professionals that companies can hire starting next year.<br />''<br />'' Starting in January next year, foreigners seeking employment passes, typically reserved for well-paid professionals, will need to earn at least 5,600 Singapore dollars per month, an increase from the current requirement of 5,000 Singapore dollars. The manpower ministry said the move is aimed at ensuring that the employment pass holders are of high quality. It is also aimed to maintain a level playing field for locals. The Southeast Asian financial hub has been a favored choice for foreign companies to establish their regional headquarters. However, the presence of foreign workers has raised concerns amongst the local population regarding competition for job opportunities. As of June last year, Singapore had more than 1 lakh 97 thousand foreigners on employment passes out of a total foreign workforce of about 1.5 million. The country has a population of 5.9 million. Since the pandemic hit in 2020, the salary floor for hiring foreigners has been raised three times taking effect just in September last year.</span><br />