Saving in Singapore

The economy of Singapore is a very developed and prosperous free economy of gone in which the State is directly implied in the management of great industry groups and commercial.

The Singaporean environment of the businesses is very open and comprises remarkably few Corruption (This state is placed regularly at 4th or 5th world rank of the Indice of perceptions of corruption), just as of the stable prices and one of the highest gross domestic products. The Wall Street Journal regards Singapore as the second freest economy of the world behind that of HongKong.

The growth of the GDP is very strong there since its independence in 1965: approximately 9% per annum on average. Whereas this City-state was then a poor nation of the Tiers-monde, it exceeded the France in term of GDP per capita right before the end of the XXe Century.

Completely deprived of natural resources (and agricultural), Singapore is in 2006 the first port of the world (with Rotterdam) and the second money market of Asia (after the Japan).

Liberal capitalism is social: 93% of the households are owners of their Logement thanks to an original system which puts them safe from real pressure of an over-populated country.

The independent source of incomes is the Exportation S.

History

The fortune of Singapore was built initially on the trade of Entrepôt S. Its geographical location with the mouth of the Détroit of Malacca conferred to him as of the colonial period a role impossible to circumvent of commercial platform of redistribution between the Empire of the Indies and the the Far East. During the interval wars, Singapore is the center of export of the tin and the rubber of Malaysia. The Années 1950 remain dominated by the trade and the linked activities with the naval Base of the Royal Navy which, until its evacuation in 1971, contributes to more than 20% of the GDP.

Since independence, the city-State knew a spectacular economic success (the growth will have been of 9% per annum on average) under the cane of a State “developer”, directly implied in the management of great industry groups and commercial (Government Linked Companies, or GLCs) nottament by the means of the Fonds sovereign Temasek Holdings.

The GNP per capita, who was in 1965 lower than that of], is from now on equivalent to that of France.

The State gave initially the priority to industries with strong use of labor and supported the overseas investments, in order to reabsorb the social problems involved in unemployment. The first factory of Semi-conducteur S settles in 1967, marking the beginning of the expansion of the electric Industrie and electronics.

From the end of the year 1970, the industrial policy is directed towards productions with high added value and strong capital intensive intensity, like the refining. In 1980 the first production unit of data-processing hard drives is installed, whose Singapore becomes the first world producer. The activity of the banking services and financial, which account for 25% of the GDP, is encouraged, in order to make of Singapore the point of anchoring of the overseas investments in Southeast Asia, and the service provider financial of the area. From the years 1990, vis-a-vis the increasing competition of China, the authorities give the priority to the drug companies, the services, the Technologies information and the communication, with the Research and development. Singapore also seeks to reduce its production costs by the development of solidarity with its neighbors, illustrated by creation in 1989 of the “triangle of growth” Singapore - Johore (Malaysia) - Riau (Indonesia). But at the end of the years 1990, certain international companies start to leave Singapore, which become less competitive, incentive the authorities to take measures of reduction of the salary costs and taxation of the companies at the time of the Asian Crise of 1997.

Today, apart from the trade and of finance, the electronic (53% of the added-value), industries oil (17% of the added-value) and chemical (8% of the added-value) dominate the economy. The foreign trade, which represents 3 times the GDP, is supported by infrastructures of quality: a Airport ultra modern, the first world port in term of traffic of containers, powerful and cheap means of communication. A Industrie of the armament developed since the years 1990; it designs modern material (Blindé S light, individual and collective weapons) for the national forces and has a small success with export

The island-State is very open to the direct foreign investments (IDE). It is the 3rd destination of the IDE in Asia, after the Popular republic of China and the South Korea. Nearly 80% of the investments in manufacturing industry in 2000 came from abroad, of which the half of the United States.

The Singaporean investments abroad are reorientated apart from Asia since the crisis of 1997, before that Ci, Singapore invested in priority in Asia, mainly by the means of consortia of companies and the creation of industrial parks.

Fiscal policy

Singapore applies very low rates of imposition with 20 % for the higher section of the Income tax, 20 % on the benefit of the companies and any capital gains tax. The Taxe on the added-value is of 5 %.

The budget of the State represents in 2006 only 15 % of the GDP. The national Debt represents approximately currently more 100 % of the GDP but the external national debt is null.

Principal economic indicators 2003 (and 2004 when indicated)

Currency: Dollar of Singapore (SGD)
Foreign exchange rate: 1 USD = 1,6372 SGD, 1 Euro = 2,2250 SGD (12/31/03)
GDP: 91,3 Billion S USD; 80,8 Mds EURO
PIB/hab: 21.825 USD; 19.299 EURO
Growth rate of the real GDP: 1,1% (estimated figure of 8,1% per 2004)
current Balance: 16,2 Mds USD (15,7 in 2004)
Inflation: 0,5% (1,7% over 12 months in November 2004)
Rate of total Unemployment: 4,6% (3,4% in the 3rd quarter 2004)
Foreign debt (rough): 187,7 Mds USD (3rd quarter 2004)
national Debt: 99,6 Mds USD (107,7 Mds USD in the 3rd quarter 2004)
Reserves foreign-exchange: 96,3 Mds USD (112,8 Mds USD at the end of 2004)

International business

In 2004, the Importation S represent 164 billion dollars US and the Exportation S 180 billion is an active balance of 16 billion;

Principal stations of the foreign trade

Exports (in % of total exports):

Re-exportations: 45,1%
re-exported Oil products: 1,1%
domestic Exports: 54,9%
Oil products: 11,1%
Chemicals, medical and medicinal: 9,5%
Equipment of offices: 10,7%
Electrical equipment and Generating S: 10,9 %

Imports (in % of the total imports):

Oil products: 15%
Electrical equipment: 27,8%
Equipment of offices: 9,6%
Equipment of telecommunication: 6,7 %

References

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