Not entirely true. Our cost of living is way too damn high liao. High COE $$ affects ALL entities in SG... not just those who own cars.. High rental costs drives up all prices too. So in SG, retailers, sellers and what have you have to mark up their profits to astronomical percentage to cover all these expenses.
We earn little and pay a lot on multi layered taxes and numerous out of pocket expenses... this is why our average spending power is low as compared to other 1st world countries.
Its a viscous cycle bro. Average man on the street don't have much $$ to spend on big ticket items, retailers, as a result, no biz. So they have to markup their profits to insane levels just to make ends meet.
There's a saying in Cantonese... 三年不发市, 发市顶三年...Meaning, no biz for the past 3 yrs.. when you eventually do have 1 sale, make sure it can cover the expenses for the next 3 yrs.

