Singapore
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| Beautiful Singapore |
Formal Name: Republic of Singapore
Short Form: Singapore
Term for Citizens: Singaporeans
Capital: Singapore
Date of Independence: August 9, 1965 (from Malaysia)
GEOGRAPHY
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| Singapore in map |
Location and Size: Located at narrow point of
Strait of
Malacca off southern tip of Malay Peninsula; connected
with
Malaysia by causeway. Land area in 1988 about 636 square
kilometers, consisting of one main island and 58 islets.
Main
island 42 kilometers long and 23 kilometers wide, with
coastline of
138 kilometers.
Topography: Mainly low-lying, with hills reaching 165 meters in island's center. Extensive reclamation and landfill along coasts.
Climate: Tropical climate, with daily high temperatures moderated by sea breezes. Rainfall throughout the year but usually heaviest from November to January.
Topography: Mainly low-lying, with hills reaching 165 meters in island's center. Extensive reclamation and landfill along coasts.
Climate: Tropical climate, with daily high temperatures moderated by sea breezes. Rainfall throughout the year but usually heaviest from November to January.
ECONOMY
Salient Features: Export-oriented economy with
large
government role. Dependent on international trade, sale of
services, export of manufactures. Consistently high rates
of
economic growth (11 percent in 1988), balance of payments
surplus,
large foreign investment, large foreign reserves (S$33
billion in
1988), minimal foreign debt.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): S$47.9 billion in 1988, S$17,950 per capita. Manufacturing contributed 29 percent, financial and business services 27 percent, commerce 18 percent, transport and communications 14 percent, other services 12 percent.
Industry: Major industries: electronics, petroleum refining and petrochemicals, machinery, shipbuilding, and ship repair.
Foreign Trade: S$167.3 billion in 1988. Usual deficit in merchandise trade offset by surplus in services for positive balance of trade. Major exports: electronics, machinery, refined petroleum products. Major imports: machinery and electronic components, chemicals, fuels, and food. Major trading partners: United States, Japan, Malaysia, and European Community.
Exchange Rates: Singapore dollar allowed to float since 1973. In late 1989, US$1=S$1.94.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): S$47.9 billion in 1988, S$17,950 per capita. Manufacturing contributed 29 percent, financial and business services 27 percent, commerce 18 percent, transport and communications 14 percent, other services 12 percent.
Industry: Major industries: electronics, petroleum refining and petrochemicals, machinery, shipbuilding, and ship repair.
Foreign Trade: S$167.3 billion in 1988. Usual deficit in merchandise trade offset by surplus in services for positive balance of trade. Major exports: electronics, machinery, refined petroleum products. Major imports: machinery and electronic components, chemicals, fuels, and food. Major trading partners: United States, Japan, Malaysia, and European Community.
Exchange Rates: Singapore dollar allowed to float since 1973. In late 1989, US$1=S$1.94.
Economic Boards
Under the appropriate government ministries, statutory
boards--
a concept carried over from colonial days--were
established to
manage specific parts of the economy and foster overall
and
sectoral development. Each worked somewhat autonomously,
using a
hands-on approach to the problems in the areas in which it
operated.
Economic Development Board
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| Singapore Trade Statistics |
The Economic Development Board was established in 1961
to
spearhead Singapore's industrialization. Initially its
function was
to promote industrial investment, develop and manage
industrial
estates, and provide medium- and long-term industrial
financing.
The latter function was taken over in 1968 by the newly
created
Development Bank of Singapore. When the limits of import substitution became
evident,
given the small domestic market, policy was redirected
toward
promoting an export-oriented, labor-intensive
industrialization
program. After 1986 the board's portfolio was enlarged to
include
the promotion of services in partnership with other
government
agencies responsible for the various service sectors and
the
development of local small- and medium-sized enterprises.
In the
first two decades following independence, the board
evolved
industrial strategies in response to changes in the
international
and domestic business environments, as well as negotiating
the
public-private consensus necessary for implementing them.
The board
was not an economic tsardom but, rather, a consensus maker
among
agencies and corporations that commanded larger financing.
In 1989
the Economic Development Board focused its attention on
attracting
investments in manufacturing and other high value-added
services,
which met the technological skills and employment needs of
Singapore's future economic development.
Foreign Trade
Trade in goods and services was Singapore's life blood
as truly
in 1989 as it was in the early twentieth century or a
century
earlier when the British East India Company first began
business
there. Trade, along with domestic savings and foreign
investment,
remained key to the country's growth. Singapore
traditionally had
a merchandise-trade balance deficit (in part at least
because food
was imported), which it customarily offset with a surplus
on the
services account. It was one of
the world's
few countries where total international trade (domestic
exports and
reexports plus imports) was greater than total GDP. In
1988 trade
(S$167.3 billion) was more than three times GDP (S$48
billion), and
two-thirds of the goods and services Singapore produced
were
exported.
Singapore, however, was more than simply a trade and manufacturing center in the late 1980s. Trade and manufacturing were closely tied to the country's expanding business services and international financial market; each enhanced the other. In addition to the more than 650 multinational companies that had set up manufacturing plants and technical support facilities, several thousand international financial institutions, service companies, and trading firms also maintained a presence in Singapore. The increasing internationalization of the economy and the continuing centrality of external trade meant that world trade fluctuations and the state of the global economy were significant factors-- largely out of the country's direct control--in what happened to Singapore's trade and wider economy.
Singapore, however, was more than simply a trade and manufacturing center in the late 1980s. Trade and manufacturing were closely tied to the country's expanding business services and international financial market; each enhanced the other. In addition to the more than 650 multinational companies that had set up manufacturing plants and technical support facilities, several thousand international financial institutions, service companies, and trading firms also maintained a presence in Singapore. The increasing internationalization of the economy and the continuing centrality of external trade meant that world trade fluctuations and the state of the global economy were significant factors-- largely out of the country's direct control--in what happened to Singapore's trade and wider economy.
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| Statistic |
As a British colony in the nineteenth and early
twentieth
centuries, Singapore was an entrepôt for the exchange of
raw
materials from Southeast Asia--mainly present-day
Indonesia and
Malaysia--for European merchandise. Newly independent
Singapore's
decision in 1965 to emphasize industrial development and
the
growing success of that plan gradually resulted in a
significant
change in the nature of trade. By the mid-1970s, the
proportion of
reexports and domestic exports had been roughly reversed,
with
reexports accounting for less than 41 percent.
In the 1980s, the somewhat diminished entrepôt trade remained important, and Singapore continued to act as a regional processing and distribution center. Reexports' share of total exports averaged 35 percent from 1980 to 1987. Although primary commodities (crude rubber, nonferrous metals, and to a lesser extent palm and coconut oil) were still a factor in trading activities, machinery and transportation equipment dominated. Singapore also served as a back door to trade with Asian communist countries for third countries, such as Indonesia.
Between 1980 and 1984, total exports grew an average of 5.5 percent per year. The strongest impetus came from the newer electrical and electronics industries. The trade deficit declined steadily after 1982, reflecting lower commodity prices paid to foreign producers, greater levels of internal efficiency, and industrial upgrading. In 1985, however, total exports decreased by 2.26 percent. Higher value-added exports declined, both as a function of weaker demand and a worldwide saturation in many areas, such as computer peripherals. Petroleum exports, still a major sector, virtually stagnated.
Trade, along with the rest of the economy, reasserted itself by 1987, resulting partly from government economic decisions and partly as a reflection of rising world commodity prices. In 1988 Singapore's total trade amounted to about S$167.3 billion (US$80.8 billion), with a global trade deficit of about S$8.18 billion. Singapore's GDP grew by 10.8 percent in 1988, the best growth rate in fifteen years. Disk drives were the largest non-oil item exported, worth S$4.89 billion. Other major exports were integrated circuits, data processing equipment and parts, telecommunications equipment, radio receivers, clothing, and plastics.
By early 1989, signs of slowing down and leveling off had appeared with the first export declines in eighteen months. Analysts agreed the weak external demand for electronics and computer parts resulted, in part, from an oversupply on the world market of disk drives, semiconductors, and related items. Imports surged, however, widening the trade deficit sharply.
Although their volume was not large, food products were a significant aspect of Singapore's trade. The urban nation produced only a small proportion of its own food, requiring it to import large quantities. Some food products, such as soy sauce and juices, were processed in Singapore for export, and Singapore continued its historical role as the regional center for the spice trade.
In the 1980s, the somewhat diminished entrepôt trade remained important, and Singapore continued to act as a regional processing and distribution center. Reexports' share of total exports averaged 35 percent from 1980 to 1987. Although primary commodities (crude rubber, nonferrous metals, and to a lesser extent palm and coconut oil) were still a factor in trading activities, machinery and transportation equipment dominated. Singapore also served as a back door to trade with Asian communist countries for third countries, such as Indonesia.
Between 1980 and 1984, total exports grew an average of 5.5 percent per year. The strongest impetus came from the newer electrical and electronics industries. The trade deficit declined steadily after 1982, reflecting lower commodity prices paid to foreign producers, greater levels of internal efficiency, and industrial upgrading. In 1985, however, total exports decreased by 2.26 percent. Higher value-added exports declined, both as a function of weaker demand and a worldwide saturation in many areas, such as computer peripherals. Petroleum exports, still a major sector, virtually stagnated.
Trade, along with the rest of the economy, reasserted itself by 1987, resulting partly from government economic decisions and partly as a reflection of rising world commodity prices. In 1988 Singapore's total trade amounted to about S$167.3 billion (US$80.8 billion), with a global trade deficit of about S$8.18 billion. Singapore's GDP grew by 10.8 percent in 1988, the best growth rate in fifteen years. Disk drives were the largest non-oil item exported, worth S$4.89 billion. Other major exports were integrated circuits, data processing equipment and parts, telecommunications equipment, radio receivers, clothing, and plastics.
By early 1989, signs of slowing down and leveling off had appeared with the first export declines in eighteen months. Analysts agreed the weak external demand for electronics and computer parts resulted, in part, from an oversupply on the world market of disk drives, semiconductors, and related items. Imports surged, however, widening the trade deficit sharply.
Although their volume was not large, food products were a significant aspect of Singapore's trade. The urban nation produced only a small proportion of its own food, requiring it to import large quantities. Some food products, such as soy sauce and juices, were processed in Singapore for export, and Singapore continued its historical role as the regional center for the spice trade.
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