Singapore 'will likely overtake Las Vegas'

SINGAPORE'S two casinos, in operation for just over a year, are poised to overtake a name synonymous with gambling the world over: Las Vegas.

Their stunning success was highlighted by Mr Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, on the sidelines of a gaming conference in Macau yesterday.

Mr Fahrenkopf predicted that the casinos at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) would see combined revenues of US$6.4 billion (S$7.9 billion) this year, up from US$5.1 billion last year.

The revenue for Las Vegas last year was US$5.8 billion.

Macau, with about three dozen casinos, is the world's largest gaming hub after leapfrogging Las Vegas in 2006.

The Chinese city, which attracts a large number of wealthy players from the Asian region, raked in US$23.5 billion in casino revenue last year. The figure is expected to grow by between 25 per cent and 50 per cent this year, said Mr Fahrenkopf.

It is going to be an extremely good year in Singapore and Macau, he was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

If Mr Fahrenkopf's prediction about Singapore is accurate, the world's second-largest gaming hub after Macau would also be in Asia.

Extracted from The Straits Times, 8 June 2011

Singapore an 'ideal vantage point' for German firms

SINGAPORE'S considerable economic clout and reach into South-east Asia makes it an ideal vantage point for German companies, visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday.

Following discussions with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shortly after she arrived here, the German leader said she also saw a need to enhance cooperation between the European Union and Asean.

'We see it as a vast potential that has yet to be fully realised,' she said after their hour-long meeting at the Istana.

'The relationship between the EU and Asean needs to be further developed because these are two economic regions that wield quite considerable economic clout and therefore lend themselves ideally to cooperate even more in the future.'

PM Lee, recalling that he was Dr Merkel's first foreign visitor in 2005 when she became Chancellor, said he was pleased to welcome her, in turn, as his first foreign guest following his May 7 re-election.

Dr Merkel arrived from India for a two-day visit, and also called on President S R Nathan and met former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.

PM Lee hosted an official dinner in her honour at the Istana last night.

Today, she will deliver the 31st Singapore Lecture, organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. A special orchid hybrid will also be named after her.

PM Lee said they had a 'very good discussion', and added that the visit showed the strength of bilateral relations.

Her visit was also a clear indication of Germany's interest and resolve in strengthening its investments, ties and engagement in South-east Asia and Singapore, he added.

Bilateral trade reached $20.5 billion last year. Germany was thus Singapore's largest trading partner in the EU, just as Singapore was Germany's largest trading partner in Asean.

Some 1,200 German companies are based here and with a considerably high level of direct investment.

During their talks, the two leaders exchanged views on Singapore, Asia and Europe, as well as broader issues of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and financial market regulations.

PM Lee said there was more scope to build on the relationship with Germany, including in areas such as research and development and green technology.

Dr Merkel announced a new exchange programme that will allow scientists to work in research centres on both sides.

An extract from Straits Times Article dated 2 June 2011

Singapore set to overtake HK in size of economy

SINGAPORE'S economy looks set to surpass that of its long-time regional rival Hong Kong this year for the first time.

Powered by a robust Singapore dollar and an exceptionally strong economic rebound last year, the Singapore economy is now the larger of the two, a Bank of America (BoA)Merrill Lynch report showed yesterday.

For the first three months of this year, Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) was US$63.9 billion (S$79.1 billion), exceeding Hong Kong's US$57.9 billion economy by about 10 per cent.

If this trend continues, Singapore's economy is likely to grow bigger than Hong Kong's for the whole of this year, said BoA's Dr Chua Hak Bin.

'Such a development would have been seen as far-fetched a decade ago, given Hong Kong's geographical advantage, being next to mainland China, against Singapore's more volatile and marginalised neighbourhood,' he said.

Singapore's economy was just half the size of Hong Kong's a decade ago but a combination of factors such as a strong Singapore currency and new engines of growth has propelled the Republic ahead of its rival.

The Singapore dollar has appreciated by some 23.3 per cent against the Hong Kong dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar, over the past 10 years.

Another factor accounting for the shift has been the emergence of new growth engines for Singapore such as high-end manufacturing and the casinos, said Dr Chua.

While Hong Kong did not choose casinos, Singapore's gamble on the integrated resorts has paid off.

Tourism revenue soared to $18.8 billion last year, up 47 per cent from $12.8 billion in 2009. Singapore's gaming market will likely reach $7 billion to $8 billion this year, exceeding the market size of Las Vegas, noted Dr Chua.

Dr Tan Khee Giap, co-director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, also pointed out that a key advantage Singapore has over Hong Kong is its flexibility.

He noted that Singapore has always recovered faster and stronger than Hong Kong whenever both are hit with recessions.

Last year, Singapore rebounded from one of its worst recessions, in 2009, by growing 14.5 per cent, the second fastest rate in the world.

'This is due to the fact that we have tools like exchange rate policies and a pro-active Government which implements innovative policies like Jobs Credit to help the economy recover faster,' he said.

'So it's no surprise that we have caught up with them.'

This achievement is all the more impressive given that Hong Kong does not spend on things like defence, which takes up a significant chunk of the Singapore Government budget, said Dr Tan.

This means that Singapore has come into its own, despite the fact that it does not have mainland China as a hinterland, as Hong Kong does, said Dr Tan.

But OCBC economist Selena Ling cautioned that using GDP as a gauge to compare both is not entirely useful.

She noted that Hong Kong has, for some years, been seen to be part of a sub-set of China while Singapore stands on its own.

'So the models are different and I'm not entirely sure if people still compare the two the way they did in the 1990s,' she said.

Likewise, as a financial hub, Hong Kong's stock market is much larger than Singapore's and the Hong Kong stock exchange has been attracting big name listings in recent years, said Dr Chua.

'On that front, Singapore has some way to go,' he said.

The Straits Times

28 May 2011

Singapore to help Honduras set up economic zones

Singapore will help Honduras set up special economic zones (SEZs) in the Central American country under an agreement signed yesterday.

The Honduran economy is based mainly on agriculture but it plans to develop SEZs in various locations and wants to utilise Singapore's expertise in establishing these areas.

The first step was taken when the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with visiting Honduran officials, including President Porfirio Lobo.

It will involve the SCE working with private and public sectors here in collaboration with the Honduras government.

They will undertake feasibility studies to identify potential SEZ sites and plan their development.

Singapore will also help out with advice on best practices in areas of governance and commerce for the export-oriented zones.

The SCE is an agency jointly set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry to respond to the many requests from overseas to tap on Singapore's development experience.

Over 90% of Singaporeans happy with quality of life

Commissioned by Reach, the Government's feedback arm, the survey last year saw more than 90 per cent of the 2,013 respondents express satisfaction with their overall quality of life, compared to 2009.

When asked if they were satisfied with the way Singapore was being run, 96 per cent of respondents, who were aged 17 and above, said 'yes'.

A high percentage were also satisfied with the Government's economic policies, the quality of the public service, their living environment and issues such as the education system.

Singapore third on globalisation index

Singapore is third in a ranking of the world's most globalised economies, trailing Hong Kong and Ireland.

The Ernst Young's Globalisation Index 2010 found that the Republic continued to perform strongly in terms of openness to trade and capital movements, with improvements also seen in cultural integration.

Singapore posted reduced scores, however, in the areas of labour and technology compared with the year before - when it had claimed top spot in the index's inaugural 2009 survey.

The index measures the world's largest 60 economies according to their degree of globalisation relative to their economic output or gross domestic product. It has five criteria: openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movements and cultural integration.

HK, S'pore best governed Asia-Pac economies: Index

HONG Kong and Singapore are the best governed economies in the Asia Pacific in terms of their openness to international business, a new index has found.

Singapore-based consulting firm Vriens Partners' inaugural Good Governance for International Business index in Asia Pacific for 2010 saw Hong Kong in top spot with Singapore a close second.

In all, 18 economies were ranked for the index, which was based on surveys of 100 business leaders from the various economies.

The Republic was praised for its 'openness to international trade and business, good local infrastructure, public sector quality and effectiveness and favourable taxation policies'.

It was ranked first in fiscal and monetary administration, and public sector quality and effectiveness, second in taxation, corruption and openness to international trade, and fourth for rule of law.

While lauding Singapore's successful transformation into a regional hub for multinational corporations, Vriens Partners also highlighted the Republic's restrictions on foreign investments in areas such as telecommunications, domestic media and financial, legal and professional services.

S'pore emerges as most liveable Asian city in new Global Liveable Cities Index

Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index. It was ranked third worldwide coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index.

Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia.

When it comes to liveability, Singapore has been ranked up there with some of Europe's best cities.

In individual rankings, it came in first for domestic security and stability and third for good governance and leadership.

And it ranked 5th for economic vibrancy and quality of life.

Singapore, HK least red tape in Asia: survey

Regional financial centres Singapore and Hong Kong have the most efficient bureaucracies, according to the survey of expatriate business executives by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) on Wednesday.

Government bureaucracies in some Asian countries have become "power centres" in their own right, allowing them to effectively resist efforts toward reforms by politicians and appointed officials, the Hong Kong-based firm said.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's failure to carry out reforms contributed to the resignation last month of respected finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who accepted a senior position at the World Bank, PERC said.

"Despite President Susilo's strong election mandate, he lacks the power to really shake up Indonesia's bureaucracy," the consultancy said.

Singapore was ranked has having the most efficient bureaucracy, with a score of 2.53, followed by Hong Kong with 3.49.

PERC said 1,373 middle and senior expatriate executives took part in the survey carried out earlier this year.

Singapore was also number one and Hong Kong was in third place globally in the World Bank's latest survey on the ease of doing business, which covered 183 economies.

Source: Channel NewsAsia

Singapore No. 1 in Competitiveness

SINGAPORE has jumped ahead of Hong Kong and the United States to snatch the top spot in a closely watched global ranking of economic competitiveness.

The Republic edged ahead of its rivals to assume pole position for the first time in what the compiler of the annual rankings, Swiss business school IMD, is calling a photo finish.

The gap between the three in this latest assessment of the world's economies - which places Hong Kong second and the US third - is less than 1 per cent.

This year's rankings are an upset to what has become the traditional pecking order and mark the first time since 1994 that the US has failed to trounce the competition.

For most of the 1990s and early 2000s Singapore has ranked second, but in recent years it has alternated with Hong Kong for second and third place.

IMD said Singapore and Hong Kong 'displayed great resilience through the crisis... and are now taking full advantage of strong expansion in the surrounding Asian region'. It was particularly impressed with Singapore's 13 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year.

While 'it's a tango between Hong Kong and Singapore at the top' of the rankings, Singapore's ability to utilise its competitive advantages and improve on its weaknesses was what gave it the edge over Hong Kong this year, according to Ms Suzanne Rosselet-McCauley, deputy director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre.

Singapore is most open economy

Singapore leads the world as the most globally connected economy, after edging out regional rival Hong Kong, according to an inaugural study.

The key factor that drove the Republic to the top of the list compiled by Ernst & Young and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was the far-reaching tentacles of trade.

The Globalisation Index 2009 said the "movement of goods and services" in Singapore relative to total output outshone all comers.

With total trade volume of more than 300 per cent of output - since many goods are simply turned around at Singapore ports - the Republic attained a score of 9.59, the highest of all 60 economies. Hong Kong registered 8.66.

This criterion measures the volume of a country's trade as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) - a measure of economic output - and other factors such as trade openness, and any trade barriers, as rated by EIU analysts.

The world's 60 largest economies studied were ranked using five criteria - openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movements, and cultural integration.