REMAKING SINGAPORE

Repositioning Singapore on the World Map

Submitted By: ANOSH CHERAG DOODHMAL DM14109 JAYAPRASAD SAMBANDAN POOJA RAVISHANKAR SHANTANU KUMAR SUSHAMA VASUDEVAN ANKITA PANDEY DM14120 DM14135 DM14144 DM14153 DM14207

Singapore is a city state, with no resources, limited land and small population. Creating the momentum of growth and development was due to the highly trained, highly paid leaders, inviting worlds best workforce with open door policy and zero tolerance for dissent amongst masses, the result being a planned, modern economy with efficient public service, educated people and high per capita of GDP (highest in South East Asia). The ease of doing business in Singapore is very high. A mix of Confucians values, Chinese work ethics, trustworthy people and rule of law led to high foreign investment. They have rock solid financial solvency. There is a fully funded social security system in place and they have a low political and currency risk. Despite being a very wealthy nation, their condition is still not stable as, this wealth comes from outside and their dependency on other economies is very high, which means that any downturn in the economies of the nations they trade with would invariably affect them to a huge extent. It is an export oriented economy and their major importers are Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia.

 POLITICAL ECONOMIC

Stable Government Pro business and development SPRING Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board improving SME sector One Stop e-business portal for getting business clearances Asias first liberalized power market Ease of Doing business is #1 Economic ties with countries in the wider region (India, China, Japan and Australia) Global Hub for business and finance, logistics & distribution, communications and information Has a strong manufacturing and services sector with agriculture contributing to only 0.1% of the GDP. Their strengths are in areas like petrochemical, transportation and logistics, finance and IT Portfolio of clusters to include Tourism, Education,

Biopharmaceuticals Worlds best environment in terms of rules and regulations for conducting business. Highly competitive financial sector Per capita income of the country is the highest in ASEAN can prove future driver The port of Singapore is not a mere economic boon but an economic necessity as it lacks natural resources and land. Low inflation when compared to other Asian countries till 2008 2013: Inflation is 2%, Growth less than 2% Singapores high labor rate will cause it to lose business from MNCs who will prefer a cheaper labor from countries like Vietnam, China, etc., The global economic crisis had led to the increase in the retrenchment rate from 7700 workers in 2007 to 13400 workers in 2008.

When compared to the other Asian countries, population growth is high in Singapore. Society emphasizes on Orderliness and Cleanliness From exhibit 2, we get to see that the entire population of Singapore is urban which is mainly due to the organized attempt to development

SOCIAL

Gini coefficient 47.8 (26th in the world) HDI 0.895 Meritocracy based Zero corruption, strong institutions and transparency Developed Education system Promotion of knowledge based economy high up the value chain Post-independence: Shift from low cost manufacturing to high end technology enabled manufacturing Technology intensive economy heavy investments Technology concentration: Telecommunications and transportations

TECHNOLOGY

Technology rating WEF : 7th in World Infrastructure rating WEF : 2nd best in world Innovation is valued; WEF Rank 13th

Threats 40% crash in domestic sales; According to the economic treasury report, the transportation costs have increased; Tight labour market, and slowing immigration would lead to increase in wages; High dependence on food imports; Regulatory changes- increasing restrictions on hiring foreigners have impacted companies across industries; Increase in interest rate; Slow recovery in the US GDP (US Fiscal cliff still not resolved); Deteriorating Eurozone debt crisis
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Slipped to second in political stability, due to rising political activism and challenges to controversial domestic policies; Singapores openness to international trade and business fell.

In recent times, Singaporean economy has seen stagnation and this is reflected in: Real income from bottom 20% did not increase Median real income rose by only 12% p.a. Declining birth rate Increased income per house hold without rise in median real income.

Opportunities and Capabilities: As Southeast Asian countries continue to post strong numbers, businesses in these countries are looking to raise capital or widen their operations are turning to Singapore, the regions financial hub, notably its fast-rising reputation as an international arbitration jurisdiction. The city now ranks behind only Japan in terms of M&A growth. Singapore will replace Switzerland as the world's top centre for managing international funds in the next 2 years. Singapore is a premier financial hub for Asia, offering robust economic and financial fundamentals within a socio-politically stable environment. Singapore has high standards of living, quality of life and environment. The government has taken a strong stand to see Singapore as a global financial centre. The existence of a strong, efficient and transparent legal and judicial framework, presents a favourable regulatory and business environment with a high degree of banking confidentiality. There is also a favourable tax regime. Singapore also has excellent telecommunications and infrastructure. In the growth of Asia, Singapore can play an important role by providing leadership and exporting technological and infrastructural services, and academics. Regional Integration is bringing economic opportunities to the forefront. Since other countries in the region are under-investing in infrastructure, this should become an important priority, since urbanisation is accelerating.
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Asia is becoming increasingly influential on the world stage, with growing power in the world economy. Singapore and its partners in ASEAN are at the centre of these developments. The next phase of re-invention for Singapore, is to have financial services as the key. The services sector is growing and Singapore should also continue to find a niche in manufacturing.

The workforce of Singapore is better skilled and educated when compared to pre 2008 crisis. It is also expected that there is a strong force that is going to be working in professional jobs by 2030.The number of professional workforce in profession is expected to increase by 50% in future. The country should concentrate on creating opportunities for non-professional workforce and also building on their skills. Singapore can create opportunities by becoming a dynamic economy that will not produce goods and services not only for Singapore but also for the world as exports. They should be highly competitive compared to other Asian countries to produce goods and services that other countries are not able to produce. The country should also create a combination of local and imported workforce which will help in delivering high value goods and at the same time better understand international markets and their needs. Foreign workers can help Singapore with the skills and expertise as well as market knowledge and access. They will also help the Singapore companies in developing global products which can serve the local and global markets as well. At the same time, the country should not depend too much on foreign workers. They will depress the wages of local workers and reduce the incentives for workers to upgrade skills and raise productivity. The four key areas for creating sustainability is by, Promoting a more environmentally responsible lifestyle Promoting resource-efcient buildings Making public housing more resource-efcient through innovative design and new technologies Stepping up public cleanliness efforts to make our city cleaner. The country can also develop their capability by,

Conduct research to improve Singapores effectiveness in maximising our sources of water, as well as increase the energy efficiency of water treatment. Establish a new $5 million incentive scheme to develop prototype building designs that achieve at least 50% improvement in energy efficiency. Develop Marina Bay and Jurong Lake District as our new generation of sustainable high-density districts. Establish a five-year research program to adapt water sensitive urban design concepts and technologies to local use. Invest in R&D and manpower in clean energy and water technologies. Expand R&D in other clean environment technology areas such as waste management. Promote international exchange of ideas in sustainable development. Contribute Singapores expertise to help build environmentally sustainable cities across the world

Recommendations: Optimum resource utilization: Work towards a more effective and efficient way of using resources in a sustainable fashion; as they a very scarce Invest in alternate - cleaner and greener sources of energy tidal, etc. and work towards minimizing their environmental interference Reducing carbon footprint Build High-density towns with a full range of amenities such as childcare centres, hospitals, and recreational areas; to maintain the quality of life. Increase labour productivity and promote machine intensive industries. Lax the immigration norms to attract highly skilled work force from the world over. Attractive schemes to increase the birth rate in the country. Gradually reduce high public spending as increasing cost is not sustainable in the long run. Flexibility in maintaining a balance between economic growth and environment. Long-Term, Integrated Planning: Inclusive growth. Work towards holding a leadership position among the ASEAN nations through increasing its dependence as a service centre and through good governance.