Singapore and Its People

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:01:55 +0000

Singapore’s economy has been gauged as being the most open, innovative and competitive economy in the world by the Global competitiveness Index (2009-2010). The 2011 World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index ranks Singapore as the best country in the world to do business. In 2010, Singapore, with a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of more than fourteen percent was the third fastest growing economy in the world. None of the above statistics have been bettered by any of Singapore’s other south-east Asian neighbours.
So can Singapore’s Economy be called the Tiger of South-East Asia? Its true that a tiger may not possess the title of “king of the Jungle” – that goes to the lion. However, the majesty of the tiger does not depend on titles, territorial dominance or the like – It is the most favoured symbol of soldiers, warriors and kings because of its ability to fight like no other being on earth can. In a similar vein, though Indonesia (the only south-east Asian country that can be, practically speaking, said to be a competitor to Singapore) may be a part of the G-20 group of major economies while Singapore is not, it is in no way a valid indication of any form of supremacy over the Singapore economy. The economy of Singapore is a unique fusion of government intervention in micro-management and active protection of the principles of free market so unique in its nature that it is called the “Singapore Model”.

An economy acclaimed to be the most clean, market friendly and corruption free; a unique and ingenious economic model tailored for its own needs; an economic model that has withstood with an awe-inspiring stubbornness the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial meltdown and bounced back in a manner even more astounding-both times; a competition forced to trumpet the most minor leads as major victories- markings of a tiger if ever there was one.

Singapore – The Economic Tiger of Southeast Asia

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:01:21 +0000

Kitty mentioned before that she would have liked to visit Singapore. Singapore is what people describes as a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and as an island country consisting of sixty three-islands . Its English name – Singapore has been derived from the Malay word – “Singapura” which means “Lion City” in Sanskrit, though there have been no evidence of lions ever existing in that area and the creature sighted by its founder – Sang Nila Utama, who named the place, was probably a Tiger. Its political setup is what political theorists call a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government with the political landscape being dominated by the People’s Action Party (PAP) which has won every election since the country was allowed self-determination in 1959. Its population consists mainly of people of Chinese, Indian and Malay descent (Chinese and Indian since Singapore was formerly a British Colony).

Singapore is a country that has a highly developed market-based economy. The rate of its growth can be gauged by the fact that very little of its original rainforests remain as most of it has been ravaged by rapid urbanization to the extent that more land has to be made available by various processes of land reclamation. The Global Financial Centres Index puts Singapore at number four among the world’s leading financial centres. Singapore’s port is the fifth-busiest in the world and its foreign reserves are the tenth largest in the world (with all the countries forming the European Union being counted as one).

Kitty Carlisle

Singapore and Its People

Singapore – The Economic Tiger of Southeast Asia