SINGAPORE - Singapore slipped from the first place to the third on the latest World Competitiveness Rankings published by Swiss business school IMD, local media reported on Thursday.

The United States was back at the top position after losing it to Singapore last year. China's Hong Kong also shared the top spot, rising from the second position last year. Both scored 100 points, compared with 98.6 for Singapore, according to the rankings released on Wednesday.

Suzanne Rosselet, deputy director of the business school's World Competitiveness Center, said that Singapore's drop stemmed from concerns about the rising costs of doing business and living in the country among those in the business community surveyed.

The fact that Singapore is in an election year was also a factor, with elections traditionally affecting sentiment by adding a dose of uncertainty, local daily Business Times quoted her as saying.

Such factors, coupled with the recovery of the financial markets which pushed the United States back to the top, made a difference in a race where the "noses of the top three horses were just millimeters away from each other as they made their way to the finish line", said Rosselet.

The competitiveness rankings cover 59 economies with more than 300 criteria to reflect the economic performance, government efficiency and infrastructure development.

The United States have taken the top spot from 1994 to 2009, and Singapore and Hong Kong have taken turns at the second and third places.

The Chinese mainland was at the 19th place, with a score of 81.1.