Professional Documents
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POLITICS &
ECONOMICS
History and Trade & Industry
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
Motto: "Majulah Singapura" (Malay)
"Onward, Singapore
Capital: Singapore (Downtown Core, Central)
Official Language: English Malay Mandarin Tamil
Currency: Singaporean Dollar (SGD)
Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional
republic .
President: Tony Tan
Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
Once known as Temasek
(Sea Town)
Modern Singapore was
founded in the 19th century,
thanks to politics, trade and
a man known as Sir Thomas
Stamford Raffles (The
Raffles Effect).
REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
HISTORY OF SINGAPORE
The emergence of Singapore as the heart of
Asias economy has come with many challenges.
From its days as a small and underdeveloped
nation, Singapore has emerged from the
tumultuous financial, social and political
changes over the years to transform into the
first-world metropolis that it is today.
THE SIXTIES
As a newly independent
country in 1965 with no
natural resources,
Singapore as an infant
nation faced much
uncertainty.
Unemployment was one of
the key issues that needed
to be resolved quickly in
order to get the wheels of
the Singapore economy
moving.
THE SIXTIES
With a GNP per capita of less than US$320,
Singapore was a third-world nation with poor
infrastructure and limited capital.
Low-end commerce was the mainstay of the
economy and the handful of industries that
existed produced only for domestic
consumption, leaving no room for direct foreign
investment.
THE SIXTIES
It was during this exciting period of growth that the Singapore
Economic Development Board (EDB) was established with a
budget of $100 million to take on the challenge of convincing
foreign investors that the country was a good place for
business.
These two developments marked the start of Singapores
industrialisation programme that began with factories
producing garments, textiles, toys, wood products and hair
wigs.
Along with these labour-intensive industries were capital and
technology-intensive projects from companies such as Shell
Eastern Petroleum and the National Iron and Steel Mills.
THE SEVENTIES
Having built up a solid
manufacturing base,
Singapore focused on
further enhancing its
business resources.
Factories were built, skilled
manpower was developed
and industries were
diversified. As a result, the
country remained
unaffected in the throes of a
subsequent global
recession.
THE SEVENTIES
By this decade, industrial development was surging ahead as EDB
marketed Singapore to be a quick operations start-up location
where factories were built in advance of demand and a highly skilled
workforce was readily available.
Manufacturing evolved to become more sophisticated and included
computer parts, peripherals, software packages and silicon wafers.
Led to new investments particularly in the electronics sector and
product diversification, which greatly enhanced export performance
in spite of a global recession.
MNCs began R&D activities in Singapore as an extension of their
already successful manufacturing operations; demonstrating their
long-term confidence.
THE SEVENTIES
To push Singapores agenda as a business hub, more EDB offices
were set up in Europe, USA and Asia.
During this period, Texas Instruments rolled out a production line
in just 50 days after committing $6 million to make semiconductors
and integrated circuits for export to world markets.
This major investment, which EDB secured in under six months,
heralded the start of Singapores electronics industry.
Although the world recession in 1975 slowed progress slightly, the
citys economy remained nimble and flexible as EDB pushed for
more industrial projects and manufacturing eventually became the
largest sector in the economy surpassing trade.
THE EIGHTIES
The Second Industrial Revolution beckoned the growth of
knowledge-intensive activities such as R&D, engineering design and
computer software services. Sunrise industries were identified,
workers received high-tech training, and Southeast Asias first
silicon wafer manufacturing plant was built.
The 1980s saw EDB co-establishing institutions of technology with Japan,
Germany and France to meet the specialised manpower needs of hightechnology industries.
Coupled with the Skills Development Fund, these places of learning
provided Singaporeans with the right kind of training for specialised jobs in
the electronics and engineering sectors.
THE EIGHTIES
Eventually, due to the governments adoption of a high-wage policy
to accelerate the move away from labour-intensive industries and
the attraction to high-technology industries, wage bills swelled as
the world slipped into an economic slowdown and Singapore slid
into a recession.
With the new goal of positioning Singapore as a Total Business
Centre, EDB set out to attract international service corporations in
the financial, educational, lifestyle, medical, IT and software sectors;
identifying PC, printed circuit board and disc drive manufacture as
important sunrise industries.
THE EIGHTIES
By working hard to attract investors to
these areas, Singapores and
Southeast Asias first silicon wafer
manufacture plant opened in the early
1980s, followed by Apple Computers
in 1981 and one for disc drives in
1982.
As the promotion of local enterprises
also became increasingly important,
EDB then set up the Small Enterprise
Bureau in 1986 to shape a range of
assistance schemes that helped
facilitate the growth of these
companies
THE NINETIES
The services industry flourished
to form one of the pillars of
Singapores economy, along with
the field of biomedical sciences
and emerging key industries.
This resulted in a diversification
of the citys economic structure,
with Singapore hosting a wide
range of businesses.
THE NINETIES
The 1990s saw companies moving up the value
chain and intensifying their use of technology
while the service sector became the engine for
growth.
EDB shifted its focus from manufacturing to
strengthen the new key industries, namely
chemicals, electronics and engineering.
THE NINETIES
It also began leveraging its leadership in these
industries to develop biomedical sciences; an
area that included the pharmaceutical
biotechnology and medical technology sectors.
This helped Singapores economic structure
become more diversified and balanced, resulting
in the city hosting a wide range of businesses
particularly in higher value-added activities.
THE NINETIES
It also started welcoming talent from around the
world to augment the local skill pool and
subsequently, become a hub of skilled
manpower and headquarters for decisionmaking.
THE MILLENNIUM
At the turn of the century, Singapore increased
its focus on knowledge and innovation-intensive
activities while R&D became the cornerstone of
the countrys economic development.
THE MILLENNIUM
In 2006, the government set aside more than $13 billion to promote
R&D over the next five years as part of its goal to increase gross
expenditure on R&D (GERD) from 2.25 per cent to 3 per cent of
gross domestic product (GDP) within that period.
The National Research Foundation was set up in the same year to
develop, coordinate and implement national research and
innovation strategies under the national R&D agenda. To date, most
of the R&D activity has been focused on environmental and water
technology, biomedical sciences and interactive and digital media.
THE MILLENNIUM
To further facilitate Singapore becoming an
information-led economy, a strong Intellectual
Property (IP) protection and enforcement
environment was put in place - resulting in the citys
ranking as the first in Asia for IP protection today.
Based on this foundation built over the years,
Singapore has put in place a strong and established
network of public and private sector R&D centres
which currently work closely together with
companies to commercialise new technologies,
processes and products.
2010 onwards
Challenges
In 2008-2009, the Singapore economy was hit by the global financial crisis. It
contracted by 0.8% in 2009, after experiencing sluggish growth of 1.7% in 2008.
Singapores average labour productivity in level terms in the manufacturing, services
and construction sectors has lagged behind that of developed economies. There is
thus significant room to improve productivity in every sector of our economy.
Developmental Strategies
Grow through skills and innovation
Anchor Singapore as a global-Asia hub
Build a vibrant and diverse corporate ecosystem
Make innovation pervasive, and strengthen commercialisation of R&D
Become a smart energy economy
Enhance land productivity to secure future growth
Build a distinctive global city and an endearing home
GDP IN 2013
Year
US Dollar Exchange
1980
25,117
39.65
55.00
1985
39,036
36.63
63.41
1990
66,778
52.09
74.76
1995
119,470
86.14
90.60
2000
159,840
66.19
91.48
2005
194,360
67.54
103.03
2007
224,412
74.61
107.92
2008
235,632
73.71
107.27
2009
268,900
78.53
108.33
2010
309,400
82.13
119.54
2011
270,020
2013
This is a chart of
trend of gross
domestic product of
Singapore at
market
prices estimated by
the International
Monetary Fund.
SECTORS
Manufacturing and financial business services
accounted for 26% and 22%, respectively, of
Singapore's gross domestic product in 2000.
The electronics industry leads Singapore's
manufacturing sector, accounting for 48% of
total industrial output, but the government also
is prioritising development of the chemicals
and biotechnology industries.
SECTORS
To maintain its competitive position despite rising
wages, the government seeks to promote higher valueadded activities in the manufacturing and services
sectors.
It also has opened, or is in the process of opening, the
financial services, telecommunications, and power
generation and retailing sectors up to foreign service
providers and greater competition.
The government has also attempted some measures
including wage restraint measures and release of unused
buildings in an effort to control rising commercial rents
with the view to lowering the cost of doing business in
Singapore when central business district office rents
tripled in 2006.
BANKING
Singapore is considered a global financial hub, with
Singapore banks offering world-class corporate bank
account facilities.
These include multiple currencies, internet banking,
telephone banking, checking accounts, savings accounts,
debit and credit cards, fixed term deposits and wealth
management services.
According to the Human Rights Watch, due to its role as
a financial hub for the region, Singapore has continually
been criticised for reportedly hosting bank accounts
containing ill-gotten gains of corrupt leaders and their
associates, including billions of dollars of Burma's state
gas revenues hidden from national accounts.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Singapore is aggressively promoting and developing
its biotechnology industry.
Hundred of millions of dollars were invested into the sector
to build up infrastructure, fund research and development
and to recruit top international scientists to Singapore.
Leading drug makers, such
as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Pfizer and Merck & Co., have set
up plants in Singapore.
On 8 June 2006, GSK announced that it is investing another
S$300 million to build another plant to
produce paediatric vaccines, its first such facility in Asia.
Pharmaceuticals now account for more than 8% of the
country's manufacturing production
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with
175 countries although it does not maintain
a high commission or embassy in many of those
countries.
It is a member of the United Nations,
the Commonwealth, ASEAN and the NonAligned Movement.
TRADE IN SINGAPORE
Top 5 Products exported by Singapore
TRADE IN SINGAPORE
Top 5 Import origins of Singapore:
China (12%), Malaysia (10%), South
Korea (8.4%), United States (7.1%), and
Japan (6.3%)
TRADE LAWS
IMPORT TARIFFS
Singapore is generally a free port and an open
economy. More than 99% of all imports into
Singapore enter the country duty-free.
For social and/or environmental reasons,
Singapore levies high excise taxes on beer, wine
and liquor, tobacco products, motor vehicles and
petroleum products.
IMPORT TARIFFS
Singapore levies a 7% Goods and Services Tax
(GST).
For dutiable goods, the taxable value for GST is
calculated based on the CIF (Cost, Insurance and
Freight) value plus all duties and other charges. In
the case of non-dutiable foods, GST will be based on
the CIF value plus any commission and other
incidental charges whether or not shown on the
invoice.
If the goods are dutiable, the GST will be collected
simultaneously with the duties. Special provisions
pertain to goods stored in licensed warehouses and
free trade zones.
TRADE BARRIERS
Singapore maintains one of the most liberal trading
regimes in the world, but U.S. companies face
several trade barriers.
Singapore maintains a tiered motorcycle operator
licensing system based on engine displacement
which, along with a road tax based on engine size,
adversely affects U.S. exports of large motorcycles.
Singapore also restricts the import and sale of nonmedicinal chewing gum. For social and/or
environmental reasons, it levies high excise taxes on
distilled spirits and wine, tobacco products, and
motor vehicles.
TRADE BARRIERS
Services barriers include sectors such as pay TV,
audiovisual and media services, legal services,
banking, and cloud computing services for financial
institutions.
Singapores Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority
(AVA) tests every imported shipment of meat and
poultry and does not accept raw and uncooked
poultry and meat products that contain salmonella
bacteria that exceed AVAs unrealistic
microbiological standards.
This is not scientifically justifiable and has posed
some difficulties for U.S. exporters.
TEMPORARY ENTRY
Goods may be temporarily imported under the
Temporary Import Scheme for the purpose of
repairs, displays, exhibitions or other similar events
without the payment of duty and/or GST. A bankers
guarantee is required under the Temporary Import
Scheme.
The temporary imports are covered by a Customs
Inward Permit or a Carnet. Goods temporarily
imported must be re-exported within the prescribed
period using a Customs Outward permit. GST has to
be paid if the goods are not subsequently reexported.
LAWS
LAWS IN SINGAPORE
Singapore is known for its impeccable
cleanliness and low crime rate.
The country has such a strong reputation for
being safe that the authorities had to put out a
warning stating that low crime does not mean
no crime, reminding people to stay vigilant.
LAWS IN SINGAPORE
Singapore is sometimes called The Fine City,
but the title has a double meaning that you dont
want to be on the wrong end of.
The label refers to the immaculate, or fine, state
that Singapore is in and also for the many
different fines that the country imposes.
NO CHEWING GUM
Chewing gum is banned in Singapore so leave it
at home when packing your bags. Importation of
chewing gums into the country, even if it is not
for trading, is illegal.
Improper disposal of gum and carrying large
quantities of the banned product will cost a hefty
fine of up to $1000 for first time offenders.
NO LITTERING
Singapore is bent on maintaining its reputation of being impeccably
clean, with an active campaign against littering and stringent
enforcement in place
First time offenders who throw small items like cigarette butts or
candy wrappers are fined $300.
The punishment usually involves a Corrective Work Order (CWO),
where the offenders clean up a specified area while wearing a bright
luminous green vest. The CWO was implemented in the hopes of
making offenders realize the hardship cleaners have to go through
to keep the surroundings clean, and to make them understand just
how unsightly litter is.
NO SMOKING
Smoking is prohibited in certain areas in Singapore. The
smoking prohibition currently covers all indoor places
where the public congregates.
The ban was revised in 2009 to include indoor public
places that are not air-conditioned such as shopping
centers, offices, and shops. Outdoor public facilities like
fitness areas, sports courts, and playgrounds were also
included in the extension.
In 2013, the ban extended even further to include multipurpose halls, pedestrian overhead bridges, covered
walkways and linkways, hospital outdoor compounds,
and a 5-meter perimeter around bus shelters. The
extension also includes common areas of residential
buildings.
NO HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS
The legislation on Outrages on Decency
criminalizes same sex relations.
This law used to be under the umbrella of
unnatural sex or sex against the order of
nature.
Violators of this law can cost the offender up to
two years in prison.
NO JAYWALKING
In Singapore, jaywalking mainly refers to
crossing the street in non-designated areas.
Make sure you look for marked pedestrian lanes
before crossing the street.
VANDALISM
Vandalism is a serious offense in Singapore, with
penalties that include not only fines but also jail,
and 3 to 8 strokes of caning.
The act constitutes damages done to both public and
private properties.
Damaging, destroying and stealing public property,
as well as drawing, painting, writing, inscribing, and
marking any private property without the owners
consent are considered illegal.
Affixing placards, posters, banners, and flags is also
prohibited.
NO TO DRUGS
It is important to note that the Singaporean
authority does not distinguish between drugs
taken back home before you entered the country,
and those taken within their borders.
The Singapore police is authorized to run a
random drug test on both locals and visiting
foreigners.
Make sure you are cleared of any substance
before entering the country.
OUTDOOR MEETINGS
A police permit is required for any outdoor
public assembly or procession.
You should avoid street gatherings and public
demonstrations as they might be illegal.
Filming an illegal public gathering is also
forbidden, as is the wearing or displaying of any
cause related material without permission.
References:
http://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/whysingapore/about-singapore/ourhistory/2000s.html
http://www.mti.gov.sg/MTIInsights/Pages/20
10-onwards.aspx
http://www.export.gov/singapore/doingbusin
essinsingapore/traderegulationscustomsandsta
ndards/index.asp