1 Singapore Country Profile
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Singapore Country Profile Singapore Country Profile Politics Economy Trade & Industries General Profile Total area 697 Km² Population 5,353,494 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Growth Population World (in Billion) YoY 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 7.0 1% Government type Parliamentary Republic Chief of state President Tony TAN Keng Yam Head of government Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong Capital Singapore Tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Climate Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter- monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms Language Mandarin, English, Malay Major City Singapore Economy Profile 2009 2010 2011 World GDP Growth -0.8% 5% 3.6% World GDP (in Trillions) 58.1 63.3 70.2 Singapore GDP Growth -1% 14.8% 4.9% GDP $266.5 billion GDP – Per capita $59,900 agriculture: 0% GDP – Composition by sector industry: 26.6% General Profile General services: 73.4% Inflation 5.2% (2011) Chapter: Chapter: 1 Exchanges Rates 1 USD = 1.234 Singapore dollars (SGD) Primary Economy Sector industry and services Unemployment Rate 12.9% Economy Profile Economy Chapter: Chapter: 2 Ports and Terminals Singapore International Airports Singapore Changi Airport percent of vote by party - PAP 60.1%, WP 12.8%, NSP 12.1%, others Election results 15%; seats by party - PAP 81, WP 6 Prime Minister : Mr Lee Hsien Loong Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs : Mr Teo Chee Hean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower : Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam Minister for Trade and Industry : Mr Lim Hng Kiang Minister, Prime Minister's Office : Mr Lim Swee Say Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts : Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim Minister for National Development : Mr Khaw Boon Wan Minister for Defence : Dr Ng Eng Hen Minister for the Environment and Water Resources : Dr Vivian Ministry Name Balakrishnan Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law : Mr K Shanmugam Minister for Health : Mr Gan Kim Yong Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs : Mr Lui Tuck Yew Minister, Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry : Mr S Iswaran Minister for Education : Mr Heng Swee Keat Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports : MG (NS) Chan Chun Sing National Solidarity Party or NSP [Hazel POA]; People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; Reform Party [Kenneth JEYARETNAM]; Political parties and Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong]; Singapore leaders Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia LIM Swee Lian] Singapore is a model of economic development. From independence in 1965, it achieved almost uninterrupted growth averaging nearly 8% per annum for over three decades. By the 1990s, it had GDP per capita levels similar to many OECD countries and was acknowledged widely as one of Asia's 'tigers'. The contrast Singapore Economy between Singapore and some of its regional neighbours is all the Characteristics more striking given its size and lack of natural resources. Until recently, Singapore had experienced few periods of economic difficulty. However, it was hit hard in 2001 by a downturn in its key Ports and Terminals Ports and global markets (particularly the US) and a collapse in demand for electronics goods. As a result, it experienced its worst recession Chapter: Chapter: 3 since independence: GDP fell 2.4% after growing about 10% in 2000. Although the economy expanded by 4.1% in 2002, Singapore faced the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) setback in 2003. The government handled the outbreak better than most, but the economic fallout was significant, particularly in the retail, tourism and consumer-services sectors. Nevertheless, Singapore's economy has remained fundamentally sound. The following few years saw robust growth rates of between 7.3-9.3%, until the onslaught of the current global economic crisis. Given the openness of its economy (Singapore trades over three times its GDP), it was the first country in Asia to fall into recession in the third quarter of 2008. It has since then staged a remarkable V-shaped recovery, driven by its trade-related sectors. GDP grew an exceptional 14.5% for the full year of 2010 (strongest in 4 decades), making it the 2nd fastest- growing economy in the world after Qatar. For 2011, the Singapore economy is expected to continue growing but at a more sustainable rate of 5-6%, with services playing a larger role. The first half of 2011 has already seen a moderation of growth to 4.9%. Economic activity is likely to grow modestly in the second half of the year, with the possibility of a technical recession in the third quarter of 2011. Over the medium term, policymakers aim at sustaining annual GDP growth at 3-5%. 2010’s performance is seen as the peak of recovery growth and the pre-crisis rates averaging over 8% from 2004-2007 are not considered sustainable either. After focusing on growth in the last two years, Singapore is now faced with inflation as its key macroeconomic challenge for 2011. Rising cost pressures led to headline inflation reaching 5.8% in August 2011, the highest since October 2008. This is expected to remain at slightly over 5% in the next few months, and to average between 4% and 5% for the full year of 2011. Singapore Economy Characteristics Economy Singapore Chapter: Chapter: 4 International Enterprise (IE Singapore)- Helps foreign firms and investors Economic Development Board – Lays down policies for business and extends support for business and workforce Investment Policy development to strengthen their economy Standard, Productivity and Innovation Board – Helps with financing of SMEs, management and by giving access to sale One of the key strengths of Singapore is its quality of infrastructure. FTAs are superhighways in Singapore connecting Singapore with the new markets and major economies. With the help of FTAs, the investors as well as exporters based in Singapore enjoy a wide range of benefits like preferential access to some sectors, Trade and Foreign Policy concession on tariffs, protection of Intellectual Property (IP) and faster entry into new markets. A strong network of around 16 FTAs in Singapore have been designed to establish Singapore as one of the integrated manufacturing hubs in the region, provide a boost to the service sector, and stimulate research and development in the so called knowledge-based economy. ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, FATF, G-77, IAEA, International IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, organization Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, participation UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIT, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Singapore Potential electronic goods, retail, steel and garments Food and beverage Retail market Real Estate Private healthcare clinics Education Communications Trade Opportunities Electronic goods Technical services Information Technology Manufacturing Wholesale Ethnic market such as Tibetan goods sold in Singapore Electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, Main Industry processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade Wilmar International, SingTel, DBS Group, Keppel, Singapore Biggest Company airlines, CapitaLand, Golden Agri-Resource Investment Policy Investment Chapter: Chapter: 5 Referensi http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Singapore-ECONOMIC- SECTORS.html http://www.focussingapore.com/singapore-industry/business-opportunities.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ Chapter: Chapter: 6 .