Singapore risk assessment
I. Introduction
Singapore is a South East Asian country. However, unlike other countries in the region, Singapore is notable for its high standard of living and a modern and efficient economy, similar to a country in Europe or North America. Singapore is an ideal transition place for Western company seeking to expand to Asia but lack the practical knowledge and experience operating in the region. This paper aims to explore the various aspect of the business climate in Singapore and risks that a foreign company might face when expanding its operation to Singapore.
II. Methodology.
In order to provide a complete and accurate picture of Singapore and the associated risks of doing business in Singapore, this paper collect data across multiple segments of Singapore. These segments include the economy, population and business culture in Singapore, financial risks in Singapore and environmental risks. The quality of data is important and only data from governmental sources, international institution and respected consulting company are used. The accompanying appendix is calculated based on these data and aid in exploring and presenting the business environment in Singapore.
III. Economy of Singapore
1. Overview of Singaporean Economy.
Singapore has a highly developed free-market trade –oriented economy and heavily relies on export and import. The tiny landmass of the nation means Singapore has little natural resources and small domestic market. As a
On the 9th of February 1942, three divisions of Japanese soldiers landed in Singapore, which was at the time a major British military base and presence in the Pacific. Six days later, over 90 000 British, Australian and Indian troops were forced to surrender. It had been believed that Singapore guaranteed the security of Australia during the war, consequently, the fall of Singapore opened Australia to invasion. The fall of Singapore was significant in causing relations between Australia and the United States to increase as in lieu of Britain’s inability to provide economic and military assistance when it was required most, the United States’ capability to provide what Britain could not was instrumental in strengthening bonds.
The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese happened on the 15th February 1942 and is thought to be one of the greatest defeats in the entire history of the British Army and most likely Britain's worst defeat in all of World War 2. Singapore was considered to be a major part of the British Empire and it was thought to be as strong as a fortress. Improvement's to Singapore as a British military base had only been completed in 1938, a mere 4 years before the fall of Singapore.
Strategic planning is essential prior to any individual or company deciding to engage in international business whether as direct/indirect investment or through trade. An evaluation of risks should be considered and strategies developed accordingly prior to any potential investment in a foreign country. One such risk which requires consideration is political risk i.e. "governmental or societal actions and policies, originating either within or outside the host country, and negatively affecting either a select group of, or the majority of, foreign business operations and investments."
In this paper I will present my research results regarding Singapore, as well as draw the picture of its marketing environment. I will include the information about the location, climate, population, religion and culture, official spoken languages, state of economy and level of technologies, political and legal systems, level of competition and potential for economic growth. In the conclusion I will highlight advantages and disadvantages of the Singapore marketing environment.
In the poem “Singapore” by Mary Oliver, there is a very important lesson of social acceptance. The poet speaks of encountering a woman in an airport bathroom stall, cleaning an ashtray in the toilet, and the disgust that she first feels towards this woman and her job. The speaker does however, express that she moves past the judgment that she first feels towards the woman in the stall. She imagines parts of nature and wishes to put the woman in a beautiful place in life. In this poem, the poet uses imagery, connotation, metaphor and symbolism to describe what she is really seeing compared to what she is imagining and would like to see.
The poem, “Singapore”, by Mary Oliver advocates for respect for all types work. It is set in a restroom at an international airport in Singapore. The poem has two characters, who are the poet and a female toilet cleaner. The poem starts with the poet visiting a restroom at the international airport. The poet finds a native woman kneeling and cleaning the toilet that has human excreta. The poet is disgusted by this scenario. On the other hand, the toilet cleaner is embarrassed that the poet has found her doing this “undignified” work. The poet uses this scene to pass a message that all types work deserve respect. She uses imagery in her lines to express this message, which is discussed below.
Economic wealth :Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world because they reserved of natural gas
It is also easy for many other companies to set up headquarter in Singapore as their starting point in Asia to make it possible to reach to its market point. In addition, Singapore is unique in different lifestyles and culture. It is also known for its capability of attracting sizable foreign investment, pro-business environment and entrepreneurs. Singapore focuses more on a knowledge based economy which can be seen in its education sysem. Furthermore, Singapore is located in the heart of Asia and it plays an important role in international
My research will be based on Political, Economic, and Social Organization of Singapore—an industrialist city-state. Even though Singapore 's history dates from the 11th century, the island was little known to the West until the 19th century. Singapore is one of the World 's largest ports, because the city of Singapore has become a major port, with trade exceeding that of Malaya 's, Malacca and Penang combined. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of steamships launched an era of prosperity for Singapore as transit trade expanded throughout Southeast Asia (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 2010). Singapore is a very
Singapore has a highly developed market which has historically revolved around extensive exports trade, in other words an export driven economy hugely dependant on export of goods to other countries.
With foreign manufacturing industry entering Singapore market the manufacturing sector and its share in GDP grew from 16.6% in 1965 to nearly 30 % in 1980 and in 1993 manufacturing contributed to about 28 % of the total GDP and accounted for nearly 28% of employment. Singapore’s GDP raise to 13 times between 1960 and 1999. The nation has shown greatly decrease of figure of poverty. (United Nations 2000)
There are always business risk when it comes to expanding a company, especially from an international standpoint. There are many strategic risk that needs to be evaluated in order to expand the company successfully. Examining the possible risk of foreign currency exposure, basic functions of international banking/financial market, support of long term financing of operations, and assessment of opportunities that can be implemented within the company. There are risk on three dimensions of international finance, economic trends of the country, impact of globalization and monetary system. All of these situations will be discussed in this paper.
However, the development of Singapore’s society cannot be predicated on pure economics alone. Even though globalization has enabled Singapore to fare well in economic development, however, termed the perils of success, globalization has brought about undesirable
How might the Singapore society differ were it not for these technologies – would the society be more or less heavily regulated? Lee recommends analysing politics and society by addressing how power struggles and relations were played out in the pre-Internet era, namely the maintenance of political control via public support (2005: 74). Foucault defines ‘governmentality’ as the point of contact where the technologies of power interact with the governed. This spurs Lee to postulate that, in order to retain power in the Internet era, 'governments need to be actively involved in shaping the design as well as the societal, cultural and regulatory environment in which the Internet and other new media technologies operate' (2005: 75).
Announced by BBC News, Singapore is ranked at the top as the “Easiest Country to Start a Business” and “World’s Top 20 Most Globalized Nations". One of the main reasons is because of Singapore’s strategic location is at the heart of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations). This enables the business to be access up to 8 billion people within a seven-hour flight radius.