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.

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

Big Help from Singapore

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Dr Kurt Campbell: "No country punches as far above its weight in global politics as Singapore. And we've received enormous good advice and support for American commitment to the region. For Singapore, we would like that to continue in the next several years."

S'pore to sign HCCAICA pact

According to Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday, the ministry is working to accede to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCAICA), and is expected to join some 80 signatories by the end of this year.

The pact facilitates the safe return of children wrongly removed from their home countries. Courts in countries which have signed the treaty are obligated to return an abducted child to his home country.

Singapore comes second on media access to government info

Singapore has come out second in a global study on how accessible information is to the media.

Topping the list is Australia, with the maximum score of 120 points while Singapore chalked up 115, according to the study by the Austria-based International Press Institute (IPI).

The pilot project, done in June, required media organisations to ask their governments a set of six questions.

The countries were awarded points based on how quickly the officials responded, with the maximum 20 points given for an answer that arrived within three hours of the query.

The score decreased gradually over time, with 2.5 points given to a response that took more than two days. A reply after one week was not counted.

Points were deducted for incomplete answers, while full marks were given if the information was publicly available.

Britain came in at No. 6, followed by United States.

The IPI is a global network of editors, media executives and journalists dedicated to press freedom, free flow of information, and the improvement of practices of journalism.