A Brief Description Of Singapore

A Brief Description Of capital of capital of capital of SingaporeA Journey into Singapores PastWhile the earliest known historical records of Singapore argon shrouded in the mists of time, a third century Chinese account describes it as Pu-luo-chung, or the island at the end of a peninsula. Later, the city was known as Temasek (Sea Town), when the first settlements were established from AD 1298-1299.During the 14th century, this small but st assessgically located island earned a new name. Legend, sang Nila Utama, a Prince from Palembang founded a city The Lion City or Singapura, from the Sanskrit words simha (lion) and pura (city).At this time, the city was so prevaild by the five kings of ancient Singapura. laid at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, the city served as a flourishing barter post for a wide variety of sea crafts, from Chinese junks, Indian vessels etc.The next of the essence(predicate) period in the history of Singapore was during the 19th century, when modern Singa pore was founded. At this time, Singapore was already an upcoming trading post along the Malacca Straits, and Britain realized the need for a port of call in the region. British lotrs needed a st countgic venue to remember and protect the merchant fleet of the growing empire, as well as forestall any advance do by the Dutch in the region.The then Lieutenant-G e realwherenor of Bencoolen (now Bengkulu) in Sumatra, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore on 29 January 1819, afterward a survey of the neighboring islands. Recognizing the immense potential of the imbrue c all overed island, he athletic supportered negotiate a treaty with the local rulers, establishing Singapore as a trading station. Soon, the islands policy of free trade attracted merchants from all over Asia and from as furthest away as the US and the Middle East.In 1832, Singapore became the centre of government for the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. With the opening of the Suez Ca nal in 1869 and the advent of the telegraph and steamship, Singapores importance as a centre of the expanding trade betwixt the East and West increased tremendously. By 1860, the thriving country had a population that had grown from a mere 150 in 1819 to 80,792, comprising mainly Chinese, Indians and Malays.But the peace and prosperity of the country suffered a major blow during military personnel War II, when it was attacked by the Japanese aircrafts on 8 December 1941. Once regarded as an impregnable fortress, Singapore fell under the Japanese invasion on 15 February 1942. It remained occupied by the Japanese for the next three and half years, a time marked by great oppression and an immense qualifying of lives.When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the island was handed over to the British Military Administration, which remained in power until the dissolve of the Straits Settlement comprising Penang, Melaka and Singapore. In March 1946, Singapore became a Crown Colony.In 1959, the maturation of contentism led to self-government, and the countrys first general election. The Peoples figure tabooion Party (PAP) won a majority of 43 seats and lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister of Singapore. In 1961, Singapore joined Malaya and merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo to form Malaysia in 1963. However, the merger proved unsuccessful, and less than two years later on 9 August 1965, Singapore left Malaysia to become an independent and sovereign democratic nation. On 22 December that year, Singapore finally became an independent re instauration.Today, you provide experience Singapores rich historical heritage by visiting many of the national monuments, museums and memorials located around the city. On your trip up here, remember to take a walk along genius of the many heritage trails or visit the well-known landmarks for a complete Singapore journey. preservation OVERVIEWSingapore has a highly developed and successful fr ee- commercialise providence. It enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free milieu, stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The rescue depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, teaching technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing financial services heavens. Real GDP growth averaged 8.6% between 2004 and 2007. The economy contracted 1.0% in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but rebounded 14.8% in 2010 and 4.9% in 2011, on the strength of renewed exports. over the longer term, the government hopes to establish a new growth path that focuses on raising productivity, which has sunk to a compound annual growth rate of just 1.8% in the last decade. Singapore has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology production and lead continue lathers to establish Singapore as s give awayh-east Asias financial and high-tech hub.ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE COUNTRYSingapore is widely acknowledged as having virtuoso of the best line of merchandise environments in the world one of the worlds most competitive (Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Year book), most profitable ( contrast Environment Risk Intelligence Report), most transp atomic number 18nt (Transp bency planetary Survey), with world-class intellectual property protection and enforcement (World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report). The presence of many leading global companies and local opening moves here is a testimony to Singapores excellence in manufacturing and services. There are to a greater extent than 7,000 Multi-National Corporations in Singapore now days. Singapore is an attractive and competitive manufacturing location, possessing world class capabilities in the design, development and manufacture of cutting edge products for the world. As MNCs are always spirit for the most cost efficient for its investment, Singapores high labor rate loses out to other developing countries e.g. Vietnam and China. As some manufacturers render left Singapore to other countries with cheaper labor, we can see the transformation from the manufacturing activities into trading and services. In addition, by leverage on its strength as the regional hub for services such as logistics and educational activity, Singapore is poised to become Asias leading services hub, providing an array of world-class services. The succeeding(a) sections result analyze the factors (Politic, Economy, Social and Technology) that influence the line environment in Singapore and also its limitation.PEST ANALYSISPOLITICAL/LEGALSingapore is an enterprise friendly country. The government has set up several organizations in helping the business in a very systematic way.Regulation StructureMinistry of heap and Industry (MTI) The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has its vision to make Singapore a leading global city of talent, enterprise and innovation. Its mission i s to promote scotch growth and create jobs, so as to achieve higher standards of living for all. It was tasked with anticipating problems ahead, identifying opportunities for growth, rationalizing existing policies and giving broad directions for the economy. The main tasks are categorized as below- emergence economyExpanding tradeDeveloping industriesFostering pro-enterprise environmentStatutory boards are semi-independent agencies that specialize in carrying out specific plans and policies of the Ministry. unmatched of such agencies under the MTI is form Singapore. squinch Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board) is the enterprise development agency for growing innovative companies and fostering a competitive SME sector. SPRING works with partners to help enterprises in financing, capabilities and management development, technology and innovation, and access to markets. As the national standards and accreditation remains, SPRING also develops and promotes inte rnationally-recognized standards and quality assurance to enhance competitiveness and facilitate trade. It has many programmes to throw out entrepreneurship and assisting the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). These are two for sale financial incentive schemes-i) Business Angels Scheme (BAS) where they will provide Innovative Singapore-based young companies a matching dollar for every dollar invested by pre-approved angel groups, up to $1.5 million.ii) Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Startups (YES Startups) Where they will provide youths with grants of up to $50,000 to start their innovative business. SPRING also provides business leadership and capability development where a number of training courses are conducted to improve leadership and business management skills. Several available programs are-i) Advanced Management weapons platformme (AMP) where it will help tobuild management capabilities of SME leaders through postgraduate and executive development courses that focus on th e business management needs of SMEs.ii) Management Development Scholarship (MDS) Designed to Nurture the leadership of tomorrow for growth-oriented enterprises where it provides MBA scholarship to help the SME to develop their talent for the future. Enterprise One (One Network for Enterprises) is a multi-agency initiative managed by SPRING Singapore. Enterprise One aims to help local enterprises find the answers they need to start, sustain and grow their businesses. Its re line of descents pose- deep and Deep ContentOver 20 sections covering a comprehensive range of topics such as venturing abroad, hiring people, regimen tenders, loans, taxes and regulations. It pulled together information from different Government agencies so the business owners dont ware to trudge from agency to agency to look for answers.Industry GuidesTopics are grouped by industries and organized in sections so that the business owners can easily find information relevant to your sector. The Competition Commi ssion of Singapore (under MTI) who is a statutory body established to enforce the Competition Act and ensure a fair contest environment. Any unfair business practice can be prevented and this can ensure a healthy ambition and business growth. A nonher MTI agency isPublic Service for the 21st Century or PS21It is about the Singapore Public Services commitment to Anticipate, Welcome and run change, influencing developments in order to provide Singapore with the best conditions for success. One of its main objectives is to cut red enter to achieve service excellence and aptitude. Red tape reduction definitely will encourage entrepreneurship, alien investment and positive growth of the business sector.Ministry of Finance (MOF) The main regulatory statutes under MOF are the Companies Act, Business Registration Act, Currency Act and Accountants Act. The emphasis of the regulatory policy is on development, rather than control. MOF aims to collaborate with intentness experts to make Singapore a world-class financial and business hub. The main strategy in helping the business in the Singapore is building a Conducive Business Environment by relieve growth of businesses and nurture an entrepreneurial environment Under the MOF, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Directorates role is To drive the development of a holistic and cross board of directors/ agency approach to the FTA issues To shape and balance the outcome of the issues in the FTA negotiations to align with MOFs policies and goals To function as a centralized focal point within MOF for information on all FTA issues. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is one of the statutory boards under the MOF with mission to provide a responsive and forward looking regulatory environment for companies, businesses and public accountants, conducive to enterprise and growth in Singapore. The focus of the statutory board will be on issues concerning businesses, such as developing the corporate law framewo rk, accounting and corporate governance.Government E-Business PortalIn an effort to promote transparency, the Singapore government has setup GeBIZ (Government E-Business Portal) who is the Singapore governments one-stop e-procurement portal. all(a) the public sectors invitations for quotations and tenders are posted on GeBIZ. Suppliers can search for government procurement opportunities, download tender documents, and submit their bids online.EnforcementSingapore is a country where the enforcement units are very efficient and with very low corruption rate. The Singapore Police Force enjoys a relatively positive public image, and is credited for helping to complete Singapores civic unrests and lawlessness in its early years, and maintaining the low crime rate today. Another example is the taxi services where the drivers collect fares by using the measuring and do not cheat the passengers. Taxi in Singapore is adjust by the Land Transport Authority. This gives the passengers especi ally touring car peace of mind in using taxi service. Any bad taxi service may hamper the touristry industries.Corruption Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) Singapore is reputed to be one of the few countries in the world where corruption is under control. This is due mainly to the strong political will to curb corruption, firm actions taken against the corrupt regardless of their status and background, and the general public who do not accept corruption as a way of life. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is an independent body which investigates and aims to prevent corruption in the public and orphic sectors in Singapore. The bureau is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the public service and encouraging corruption-free transactions in the private sector.Deregulation LiberalizationSingapore has deregulated several markets, e.g. the electricity and telecommunication. The government no to a greater extent monopolized these markets, but it is open fo r competition among the industry passers. Even since 1989, the government of Singapore started eliminating restrictions on the sale of telecom consumer goods to make businesses more competitive. From this we can see the competitive telecommunication markets nowadays, which benefit to the end consumer and the business as well. Singapore is dependent on foreign direct investments and exports so competition from countries with lower cost such as China and India is exerting pressure on the government to reduce the costs of doing business here. Electricity cost is one of these. Deregulation is believed to be able to bring about lower electricity costs due to the various efficiency gains possible. Since corporatization the power industry has become more efficient and more reliable. Customer service has improved. Investments in new power plants and transmission network infrastructure have increased significantly. The industry is also making healthy profits through efficiency and producti vity gains, and lower cost of purchase of power equipment and cables. One of the deregulating result is YTL Power of Malaysia has acquired 100% interest in Power Seraya Limited recently. Also the China Hua Neng Power has acquired100% stake in the Tuas Power Ltd. We can see the deregulation has attracted foreign direct investment into the countries and thus accelerate its economic growth. Being Asias first liberalized electricity market, the Singapore government has liberalized the electricity in large quantities and retail market. This means contestable consumers will have greater choice about how they purchase their electricity. Non-contestable consumers continue to buy electricity from SP Services Ltd at regulated tariffs. Eventually, all consumers in Singapore will become contestable. This certainly has reduced the electricity bills for the industrial/ business user and consumer. The government must be very careful and governing the deregulated market and not to repeat the fai lure encountered by the US deregulated energy market, where expenditures become higher and consumers suffered from the higher energy cost and was a failure in the USA energy policy. Another example is the liberalization of the civil aviation industry where the flyers can fly at lower cost. tiger Airways, the major airlines also reduce the air fares significantly and this help in driving down business expenses and accelerated growth especially in the tourism related industries e.g. hotel, FB services and local retail business.LicensingSingapore government has been very careful in allowing foreign hyper market to operate in Singapore. So far only the Malaysians Giant (4 outlets) and Frenchs Carrefour (2 outlets) are allowed to operate on the island. Strict control has been taken to protect the retailer especially.Non Government Organization (NGO)NGO play an important role as pressure group in the government policy and implementation. As part of an effort to bolster tourism as more man ufacturing jobs shift to countries with lower labor costs and in view of the possibility that Singapore would lose out in its status as a tourist hub as well as the economic benefits from tax revenues, Singapore government has revisited the idea of building casino in Singapore in 2004. This had generated substantial and fervent public debate and objection from the NGOs as this was not just a socio-economic policy dilemma, but has potential to touch the sensitive nerves of social identity, public morality and values and has bad implication on Singapore as a clean, sterile, corruption-free and crime-free city. Further the NGOs protested that this development will be at the expense of the environment as the developer has to reclaim the sea for extra land where ecology system will be spoilt. However, after much debate about the tangible and impalpable facts and costs, the government finally approved the casino plan and it is now under construction. The completion of this casino togeth er with the entertainment resort and other infrastructure will certainly attract more foreign tourists and boosting the domestic economy once the plan is completed.ECONOMYThe Singapore economy is an example of a vibrant free-market economy that is developing at a rapid pace1. The per-capita income of the country is the highest in ASEAN. The business sector has been supported and strengthened by a corruption-free environment, an educated and cause workforce, and well-established legal and financial business framework. In recent years, the Singapore government has invested heavily in diversifying the economy. This has led to growth in the tourism industry, the pharmaceutical industry with a particular focus on biotechnology, financial services, business consultation services, education, multimedia, retail and leisure, and the medical technology industry.ProductivitySignificantly from 2008-Q3 onwards, economic growth was quick slowing down because of the financial crisis, while commo dity prices hit unprecedented heights, creating sharp inflationary pressures in Singapore and other economies. The data for this section are for the year 2010. Singapore achieved GDP (current market value) of S$257,419 million, which is a 2.3% increment from the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the economy contracted by 4.2 per cent, after posting flat growth in the third quarter. Unemployment rate as of end 2008 is 2.3%, which is a 0.2% increment from year 2007. However, the retrenchment rate has almost doubled from year 2009s 7,700 to year 2010s 13,400 workers. This is certainly the consequence of the global economic crisis, where almost not a single country can be escaped. Gross national income per capita was S$51,739 which is the highest per capita income in ASEAN and making its citizen income on par with the developed nations. In fact, the city state is the only developed country in ASEAN. The services producing industries do up 68.8% of the overall economy and m anufacturing weighted at 19.4%. Financial services and business serviceshas become more and more important and made up 13.1 and 14.0% respectively of the overall economy. We can observe a transition from the manufacturing based into services oriented and this demands more professional and intellectuals. The government spends a lot of effort to attract foreign professional and talented individual to work and migrate to Singapore to support the local business. Of course they do not left out to attract foreign direct investment. However the drawback will be the outflow foreign exchange. Petroleum refined products top the export list with 23.7%. This can be attributed to the petrochemical complexes in Jurong Island. This initiative has boosted the heavy petrochemical industries in the country and has attracted foreign direct investment alike the Exxon-Mobile Refinery. The limitation will be the pollution to the environment which will increase the social cost like healthcare services.Ex change RatesCurrency exchange rate is about US$1.00 to S$1.50 range lately. due to its high exchange rate to the Ringit Malaysia (S$1.00 = RM2.40 approximately), many Singapore residents like to cross the Tebrau Straits to Malaysia for weekend spending. Additionally, the comparative cheaper petrol price in Malaysia has attracted Singaporean to consider up their vehicle fuel tank in Malaysia. These have directly affected the Singapore domestic businesses and the petrol retailers. Therefore the government has set the rule for the car owner to have at least the fuel tank filled when travelling outbound to Malaysia. On the other hand, the high exchange rate to Ringgit Malaysia and Indonesian Rupiah has attracted many white and blue collar labors from these two neighboring countries. Especially the high numbers of skilled workers from Malaysia has contributed to Singapores GDP growth but on the other hand remarking loss in foreign exchange. On the other hand, construction and heavy in dustries in Singapore are over dependant on foreign workers which in one hand has become a threat to the social identity and safety.Monetary and Fiscal PoliciesThe success of Singapores fiscal policy over the years lies in the governments prudent expenditure patterns and conducive taxation policies that have complemented monetary policy in promoting sustained and non-inflationary economic growth. Singapores tax policies, although providing the main source of funding for the government, seek to enhance its economic competitiveness and attract foreign investments to Singapore. In its Budget 2009, the Singapore government has announced The Resilience Package totaling $20.5 gazillion to help Singaporeans preserving their jobs and helping viable company stay afloat. The government spent S$5.8 jillion to stimulate bank lending. It also would spend S$2.6 billion to enhance business cash flow and competitiveness. Further, it also allocated S$4.4 billion to develop Singapore as a global ci ty and best family line for Singaporean.Under the severe global economy crisis, Singapore government has justified withdrawal from its past reserves to fund the Jobs Credit Scheme and Special Risk-Sharing possibility to ensure that the Resilience Package will stimulate the business sector. This combination of fair tax policies and prudent expenditure programs, augmented by high economic growth has enabled Singapore to enjoy consistent budget surpluses over the years. Singapore is one of the very few countries who enjoy surplus in its economy nowadays. In 2008, as part of the governments move to share the nations surpluses with its citizens, the government has allocated S$1.06 billion as growth dividend for this purpose which benefited about 2.4 million Singaporean, especially those of the lower income. This apportionment has help the lower income group to cope with the higher living cost and in turn has stimulus the buying power in the market. However, the effectiveness for the m arket stimulation is only for the short term. The Official Foreign Reserves at Feb 2009 is US$163,549.4 million and Singapore government does not bear any foreign debt. This again proves that Singapore economic and financial performance is well managed and the local business can enjoy strong support and enterprise friendly policies from the government. internationalist TradeInternational Enterprise (IE) Singapore is the lead agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapores external economic wing. Its mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. At the same time, IE works to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies. In championing international trade, IE Singapore contributes to the Singapore economy through active promotion of export of goods and services, and offshore trade. Singapores Global Trader Progra m (GTP) which provides incentives to attract international trading companies to set up their base in Singapore. The IEs Enterprise Group manages and develops a range of broad-based services for Singapore-based companies wanting to export internationalized goods. In 2007, Singapore was ranked the 14th largest trading nation in the world, amounting to total of $846.6 billion of external trade, with Malaysia remained as the biggest trade partner, followed by EU. The Port of Singapore is the world busiest port in term of total shipping tonnage. It is also the world busiest container port and transshipment port. The Port of Singapore is not only a mere economic boon but an economic necessity as it is lack of natural resources and land. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore was established with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre. The establishment of Malaysias Port of Tanjung Pelepas has threaten the Singapore Port status as the stir has attracted prestigious maritime companies like Maesk and Evergreen to switch over to Tanjung Pelepas. Surely, the Singapore Port operator will be facing more fierce competition ahead. The Singapore Tourism Board aims to triple tourism receipts to $30 billion and double visitor arrivals to 17 million visitors by 2015. It is working closely with international investors to develop new world-class attractions (e.g. the casino), and attract strategic business and leisure events to Singapore.SOCIAL CULTURALSingapore is an eastern country who still follows the handed-down family values, but the younger generation has started to adopt to western culture and values.Society Values and PrinciplesAs nowadays, many Singaporean have the mindset of Kia-su which means alarmed of lose out to others. Many Singaporean works very hard to retain or fulfill their materialism desire. In some extent this has positively increased the nation productivities and the business sectors can exp ect a higher purchasing power from the consumers. On the other hand, some family and social values have to be sidelined.Demographic ProfileThe current population is about 5,353,494 (July 2011 est.). Singapore ethnic mix is Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census). Most of the Singaporean dislikes blue collar works like construction and other works in hard environment. These are considered hard and dirty works and therefore not welcome especially by the younger generation. This created the window for importing foreign workers to fill up blue collar vacancies. With the cheaper labor from neighboring countries, the business sector has enjoyed cost saving and therefore more can be reinvested for further expansion.Education Singapore has codified compulsory education for children of primary school age, and made it a criminal offence if parents fail to enroll their children in school and ensure their regular attendance. English is the primary language used in Sing apores education systems. Good command of English has given Singapore an edge advantage for attracting foreign investment and international trade. Further the Chinese language proficiency among the Chinese ethnic has attracted the investor from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and on the other hand enable investing ventures into these countries easily.The latest statistic shows that the literacy rate stands at 92.5% whilst secondary or higher qualification holders are 89%. This is the driving force for the government to promote knowledge. Economy which is less labor incentive but more talent and intellectual are on demand. Besides, owing to the kia-su mindset, the parents here are very concerned about the performance of the kids in school. This has led to blossoming of tuition centers and other arts/musical learnedness classes.TECHNOLOGYTechnology is the power behind to change our life style and improve out quality of life.The InternetComprehensive infrastructure setup has been a fundam ental attractiveness for foreign investment and local business establishment, not to mention about the IT infrastructure. Currently, the household broadband internet penetration rate has achieved more than 70%. The successive of e-commerce and e-B2C model highly relies on the broadband internet. As of latest, 10 Mbps of broadband internet service is available. The comprehensive IT infrastructure also has boost MNC to setup their regional operation in Singapore. The successful of the financial and IT services business are highly rely on the state of the art IT infrastructure. On the other hand, the Singapore government is moving towards an electronic government era. Many useful resources and information are available in the relevant ministries/ department or government agencies website. For instance, the Customs Office of Singapore has provided e-service, these are few examples-Application for Manufacturers Registration New Product Line(s)Application for Registration of Companies/ Firms and Signatories for Customs and/ or GST transactionsApplication for GST relief on household articles and personal effects. This approach enables to cut red tapes and enhanced the efficiency.WaterDue to its lack of peeing resources and the government would like to reduce its dependence on the Malaysian supplied water, the Singaporean has ventured into water recycling and desalination. NEWATER is the brand name given to reclaimed water produced by Singapores public utilities. much specifically, it is treated wastewater (sewage) that has been purified using dual-membrane (via microfiltration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies, in addition to conventional water treatment processes. Many experts suggested that Singapore could become the worlds water hub for water recycling and desalination technology and could export this technology to the world including China. With the new technology in water reclamation, waste water would become the most important sustainable w ater resource in the future. Singaporeans expertise in the water recycling will definitely give its edge advantage if its exports this expertise and technology in the future.SWOT ANALYSISSTRENGTHManufacturing constituted 26% OF Singapores GDP in 2005. The manufacturing industry is well diversified with significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering science and biomedical sciences manufacturing sectors.Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world, with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. As of 2009, Singapore has 16 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with 24 trading partners.Singapore is a popular travel destination, making tourism one of its largest industries. About 10.2 million tourists visited Singapore in 2007.