Singapore Stands Out by: Sally Green

Singapore can be compared to Switzerland in a number of ways.

The father of the current prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, founded the republic of Singapore in 1965. Prior to that, it had been a British trading colony since 1819. Even though it is only one-fifth the size of Rhode Island and triple the size of Washington D.C., Singapore may be the most strategically important global trading, finance and service nexus in Asia.

This is the reason why you might want to think about investing money in Singapore.

Even though Hong Kong and Shanghai might differ in opinion, Singapore is the most traveled port in Asia, because it is near the Straits of Malacca, which is the main trading channel.

Singapore's economy is highly diversified, unlike South Korea and Taiwan, which strongly rely on the electronics industry to generate revenue. The financial and service industries account for 70% of its GDP.

Some of the most conservative accounting practices in the world are in place in Singapore. One example of this is the fact that in many ways (inventory accounting & expense of stock options) it is quite a bit more conservative than the US.

Trade Surplus

Even though less than 2% of its land is arable and it must import almost everything including water, Singapore still has a trade surplus.

The budget of Singapore is balanced. Its currency is stable, and it allocates five percent of its GDP to its defense budget.

The society is a multi-racial society; 77 percent are of Chinese descent, 14 percent are of Malaysian descent, and 8 percent are of Indian descent.

Singapore is drug free and corruption free. It has an English common law judiciary system and a parliamentary form of government. Gradually, a freer political climate is emerging. A Speakers Corner was instituted in 2000 along with the ability to express one's views openly and in any venue. Two exceptions are the sensitive topics of race and religion. The performance of Singapore's educational system is legendary. It is revealing that twice as many people use the Internet as use TV sets.

Singapores New Resorts

Singapore is, like many places, emerging more and more into the modern age. Recently, Singapore authorized the construction of two huge casino resorts in order to produce more investment, taxable income and add a touch of glamour. This is part of a larger plan to decrease any dependence the country has on manufacturing and to become more reliant on tourism as a form of income. Naturally, you can expect certain restrictions to apply. Residents of Singapore will be charged $60 to enter and the gambling areas can only encompass 5% of the resort. Some experts predict that these resorts will generate $4 billion in various investments, $3.5 billion in yearly earnings, 35,000 more jobs and $350 million worth of taxes and expenses every year.

Singapore has made a great deal of progress in its relationship with Malaysia, a neighboring country from whom it separated in 1965. Water supply agreements, issues with taxes, and transportation agreements are all benefiting from cooperation these days.

Singapore maintains its manufacturing base well. This is true regardless of the fact that several large semiconductor manufacturers (e.g. National Semiconductor) have stated they will move their plants to China and Malaysia. During the past 30 years, Singapore has been dependent upon the electronics industry; however, these days, it is turning its attention toward the travel and service industry.