Brief background of the economic setting of Singapore

1. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Reported by:
Chari Lou H. Fresnillo
(BSEd 3-B, Group 5)

2. Economic Setting:
Singapore
• Modern Singapore was founded
as a trading post of the British
East India Company in 1819. Its
strategic location on the
Singapore Strait and its deep
natural harbor made it an
important port for British trade.

3. Economic Setting:
Singapore
It developed as an entrepôt,
meaning it had a duty-free port
that allowed the import of goods
solely for the purpose of re-
export. Nevertheless, when
Singapore became an
independent republic in 1965, its

4. Economic Setting:
Singapore
economic outlook was bleak. Its
infrastructure was relatively
undeveloped, unemployment
was high, and its foreign markets
were limited. Over the following
decades, however, the
government’s free-market

5. Economic Setting:
Singapore
policies, coupled with strict fiscal
controls, created one of the
fastest-growing economies in the
world. Singapore developed
beyond its limited entrepôt role,
with growth of the
manufacturing and financial-

6. Economic Setting:
Singapore
services sectors bolstering the
export-oriented economy. Its
port became one of the busiest
in the world.

7. Economic Setting:
Singapore
During the last three decades of
the 20th century, Singapore’s
booming economic growth
largely outperformed the world
economy. At the same time,
Singapore managed to maintain
an inflation rate below world

8. Economic Setting:
Singapore
averages and large budget
surpluses. Because of its
phenomenal economic growth,
Singapore became known as one
of Asia’s “Four Tigers,” along
with Hong Kong, South Korea,
and Taiwan. Because of its sound

9. Economic Setting:
Singapore
fiscal policies and diversified
trading partners, Singapore was
the least affected of all Asian
countries during a financial crisis
that hit the region in 1997.
However, Singapore’s economy is
particularly vulnerable to

10. Economic Setting:
Singapore
fluctuations in global demand
for electronics products, which
make up a significant portion of
the country’s exports.

11. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Manufacturing accounts for 29
percent of the GDP. Industry has
grown rapidly since the 1960s,
and Singapore now produces a
diversity of goods, including
electronic items, chemicals,
transportation equipment and

12. Economic Setting:
Singapore
machinery, petroleum products,
rubber and plastic products, and
fabricated metal products.
Electronic goods—notably
computer disk drives,
communications equipment, and
televisions—account for about

13. Economic Setting:
Singapore
half of the country’s
manufacturing output. Singapore
is one of the world’s largest
petroleum-refining centers and is
also an important shipbuilding
center. The leading industrial
area is the Jurong Industrial
Estate.

14. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Singapore is a major world port
and has extensive dock facilities
along Keppel Harbour on the
southern coast. Changi
International Airport in the
eastern part of the main island is
one of the largest and most

15. Economic Setting:
Singapore
modern international airports in
the world. Singapore Island is
serviced by the Mass Rapid
Transit (MRT) system, one of the
cleanest and most efficient
transit systems in the world. It is
supplemented by the Light Rail

16. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Transit (LRT) system. The
government has significantly
expanded both rail systems since
the mid-1990s. Numerous roads
and expressways also cross the
island. Vehicle traffic is
discouraged and controlled in

17. Economic Setting:
Singapore
high-density areas by an
electronic road-pricing system,
which uses an electronic
scanning device to charge road-
use fees. Singapore is linked with
West Malaysia (Peninsular
Malaysia) by a a toll road bridge

18. Economic Setting:
Singapore
and a causeway (with road, rail,
and water-pipeline links) across
the Johore Strait.

19. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Singapore is developing as a
global hub of information and
communications technology, and
telecommunications is a vital
aspect of the economy. The
government has placed high
priority on upgrading and

20. Economic Setting:
Singapore
expanding the country’s already
well-developed
telecommunications infrastructure,
including a nationwide high-speed,
broadband network connecting
computers with the Internet.

21. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Personal use of computers and
mobile communications devices
is high in Singapore, and about
half of all homes are connected
to the Internet.

22. Economic Setting:
Singapore
The government of Singapore
closely regulates the
broadcasting industry and other
mass-media communications.
For example, all newspapers are
public companies and are
subject to the scrutiny of the

23. Economic Setting:
Singapore
government may restrict the sale
of foreign periodicals that are
deemed to influence domestic
political issues. Singapore has
three English daily newspapers,
the most widely circulated of
which is The Straits Times. There

24. Economic Setting:
Singapore
are also three dailies in Chinese,
one in Malay, and one in Tamil.

25. Economic Setting:
Singapore
The unit of currency is the
Singapore dollar (1.60 Singapore
dollars equal U.S.$1; 2006
average). Although Singapore
does not have a central bank,
the Monetary Authority of
Singapore performs most

26. Economic Setting:
Singapore
functions of a central bank. The
country’s currency, however, is
issued by the Board of
Commissioners of Currency.
There are more than 130
commercial banks, most of
which are foreign-owned.

27. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Source:
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1993-2008 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.

28. Economic Setting:
Singapore
Thank you!!!

29. Economic Setting
as we
Understanding

30. Economic Community
for
establish an

33. Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Dumarao Satellite College, Dumarao, Capiz
Theme: “Understanding Better the Political, Economic &
Socio-Cultural
Settings of Southeast Asian Nations for
Peace, Prosperity & People”
May 25, 2015 (8:00-11:30 am)
Campus Library