Over the past decades, this city/state on the equator has evolved from a developing nation to become an internationally leading trade, shipping and financial center. So what is Singapore’s recipe for success, and why is its financial services industry continuing to grow relentlessly?
The Republic of Singapore is an island as well as a city/state. Because it is situated almost smack dab on the equator and therefore midst in the tropics, the climate is hot and humid year-round; there are no pronounced seasons here in a traditional sense, but “rainy season” is from November through February. On the southern shores of the strategically important Johor Straits shipping route, and snuggled between Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south, Singapore consists of a main island as well as three large and roughly 50 small islands with a combined land area of 273 square miles.
International trade
Since time immemorial, the history of Singapore has been shaped by its pivotal location on the shortest trade route between East and West: in early days as a fishing hamlet and hideaway for pirates and buccaneers, then as a transshipment point and trading post originally for colonial powers Portugal and Great Britain and today for the globalized world economy. So it should come as no surprise that Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles – a representative of the world’s first globally active enterprise, the British East India Company – is considered the founder of today’s Singapore.
Singapore is a parliamentary republic with the President as its head of state. Parliament is the country’s legislative body, and the Cabinet represents the executive body, which is chaired by the Prime Minister as head of government. The reliable legal and judicial system, based on British Common Law, ensures security, transparency, continuity and stability.
Cultural melting pot
The ethnical roots of Singapore’s citizenry are diverse indeed, with the majority being of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian origin. More than 600,000 guest workers and foreigners add to that potpourri. Persistent emigration from Asia enables Singapore to grow continually. Through the amalgamation of these various influences, combined with the country’s colonial past, a unique culture has emerged in Singapore – something that is evidenced among other things by the local language, cuisine and lifestyle.
Great value is attached to having all of these ethnic groups live together harmoniously, as witnessed by the city/state’s four official languages (Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and English) and the tolerance of various religions (Buddhism as the majority, but Islam, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity are also represented).
The mindset in Singapore enables close interaction between people of different religions and cultures while simultaneously affording everyone their own “elbow room”. As a melting pot for various cultures, Singapore is one of the few places in the world where East truly meets West.
The lion is a Tiger
Singapore has a successful and transparent market economy. Being one of the four “Asian Tigers” (together with South Korea, Hong Kong and China), Singapore managed within a single generation to make the leap from developing state to industrialized nation and become one of Asia’s most important financial centers, with more than 700 domestic and foreign banks having their offices here. Close to 300 billion Singapore dollars’ worth of client assets are managed today in Singapore.
Singapore ranks among the world’s most highly deregulated and privatized economies. Thanks to well-developed commercial relationships and its strategic location, the city/state has no significant trade dependencies. The bustling harbor, which accommodates more than 600 individual shipping companies, is a leader in the construction and repair of oceangoing vessels. The harbor is also the largest transshipment facility in the world. Singapore’s international airport is an Asian hub for 84 airlines that service 180 cities in 57 countries, and its infrastructure is among the world’s most modern. These are just some of the reasons that more than 7000 multinational companies have chosen Singapore as the site for their Asian headquarters. 67 percent of the workforce is occupied in the services area, with the remainder active in the industrial sector (hardly any farming is conducted any more). Tourism represents an important source of income: each year, more than ten million tourists visit Singapore. The country boasts a high per-capita gross domestic product, a superior standard of living and strong economic growth.
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