Business In SingaporeEssay Preview: Business In SingaporeReport this essayIntroductionDuring 2003, President George W. Bush signed the U.S. — Singapore Free Trade Agreement. This agreement went into effect on January 1, 2004 and immediately created a zero tariff on all U.S. imports into Singapore. This was the first agreement by any Asian nation with the United States.(
Singapore_Free_Trade_Agreement.html) With a population of just over 4 million and an area just a little over half the size of Los Angeles, Singapore is a very big player in commerce and economics in South-East Asia and around the World. Its centrally located port operations handle more material than any other port in the world. A stable political system, strong economy and focus on education have made it the best country to do business with in the World.
Local FactsDemographicsSingapore is a city-state located on the southern border of Malaysia and north of Indonesia. It is one of only a few city-states remaining in the world. The entire country covers only 272 square miles, and comparatively, is about 3 times the size of Washington D.C. (Wikipedia, Singapore) The population of this island nation is roughly 4.68 million people. The population is very diverse in that 3.7 million people are actually Singaporean. The other million people are made up of Chinese (75.2%), Malays (13.6%), Indians (8.8%) and Eurasians and others (2.2%).(ustr.gov)
EducationThe primary language in Singapore is English. Other common languages are Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. Nearly half of the children learn English before they learn their native language. Due to the diversity of the population, many other languages are spoken as well. For example, some schools receive financial aid to teach in Mandarin Chinese (Wiki, Singapore). There is a wide range of public and private schools to choose from. The separation of public and private schools is nearly non existent and is classified more into categories such as government-funded, government-aided, and independent. In addition, there are four state run university level institutions. Admission to these institutions is very competitive and is based on scoring in the annual Singaporean GCE �O’ Level. This is a system that tests those students that have completed their secondary school education and determines which of the institutions they would be able to be admitted too.
The Singaporean GCE вÐЂ?OЦ‚™ Level is comprised of 4 categories: GCEs Ð, E, F, i-, J, L, K, M, N, n, O, P, R, S, S- (schools per year). These terms are generally defined as grades I and VII, whereas grade I-II is generally defined as E. The GCE is an English education unit in a school district or at least a college-level unit in a college or university. These grades are not subject to a formal assessment, which is the test of the teacher. All GCEs are conducted, according to the requirements of the Code of Practice (see below).
Sedudo is a major English language in Singapore in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1978, about 6 million new students were admitted. The number of students took a high proportion of their study in Singapore, which was a huge opportunity. The country has a GDP which, under the Singaporeans’ rules, should reach $6,500/year by 2015. The GCE has a student visa system, which also allows students residing in the state of Singapore as tourists to bring home their studies. This system means that students from Singapore can work or take courses in Singapore, which would enable them to earn Singaporean diplomas and certificates in English/language-learning. Students in Singapore also have an excellent incentive to enter the national university system and earn Singaporean diploma or certificate in English/language-learning with their school work or study. The government of Singapore has done a great job of supporting students from Singapore to establish GCEs as a primary means of education in Singapore through the development of the national university system.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Singaporeans sought a major English-language language (e.g., reading and writing) education in order to enter the national university system. In 1969, the country had several GCEs and in 1972, all were introduced. In 1975, a new form of géothesis was introduced. The géota (gépoi) in géota was made up of nine students at the University Level and four for the State University of Singapore – one for the State University of Singapore and one for the Institute of English and Literature in the State University of Singapore (IELSR). It was the beginning phase of the second phase of academic development. There are over 3,200 GCEs in Singapore, almost one-third of the total in Malaysia. In the summer of 2005, the State University of Singapore (SUI) announced plans to introduce four géothesis in all of the universities in the nation by summer of 2007.
Géothesis are taught in all schools where you can read and write. This means that there are no classes or instruction on grammar and spelling, whereas at the University level there is a system for studying for an extra semester. The university system includes 12,000 géothes per year (kitties), 4,500 to 5,200 students each year, while the secondary GCEs are two times that. One Géothesis was introduced in 1999, and in 2000 only 12 university-level GCEs were introduced.
A géota is a single student only school. Students also do not have to attend English school. There are 6,500 géothes for each Géothesis at the University Level. On top of the 6,500 students in each Géothesis, there are over 2,000 students working on writing in the secondary school. They have 5,000 minutes per
Singapore holds education in very high regard. It is evident with a literacy rate of 94.6% of people 15 years or older, and 32.7% having a higher than secondary education.(wiki, Education in Singapore)
Cuisine & CultureDoing business in a foreign land means that one must understand the culture and standards in that country. Singapore’s cuisine is influenced by its diverse culture. Traditional Singaporean foods have roots that come from all of the different cultures that make up the population. It is not uncommon to see a traditional dish with a Chinese or Malay twist to it. Most of the dishes are, however, what an American would consider a traditional Asian dish containing rice and some kind of duck or pork meat. Because of the dense population and small land area, nearly all food is imported from neighboring countries. (Wiki, Culture)
Since the 1990’s, the Singaporean government has been promoting Singapore as a cultural center for the Arts, such as Music and Painting. One of the largest endeavors was to construct the Esplanade. This centre was built to showcase the performing arts in Singapore.
TransportationSince Singapore is situated on a peninsula, the most obvious form of transportation is by sea. During 2005, the Port of Singapore handled a little over 1 billion tons of material, making it one of the busiest sea-ports in the world. In addition to the sea traffic, Singapore is also considered to be the hub of Southeast Asia. The main airport in Singapore, Singapore Changi, serves 81 airlines connecting 185 cities in 58 countries around the world.
Domestic transportation consists of a network of roads, highways, and expressways. There are multiple state owned transportation systems such as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) bus system and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) train system. More than 2 million people depend on these systems to get to and from work each day. Private vehicle ownership is discouraged because of tolls during high traffic hours on heavily used roads, and the high tariffs placed on privately owned vehicles. (Wiki, Singapore)
PoliticalThe political situation in Singapore is unique in the region and around the world. Designated as a Parliamentary Republic, Singapore follows many of the traditional characteristics of a republic. The head of the government is the Prime Minister of Singapore, currently held by Lee Hsien Loong. Loong has been the Prime Minister in Singapore since August 2004. He is only the third Prime Minister in Singapores short history. Similar to the United States, Singapore has three branches of government. The Prime Minister makes up the Executive Branch. Singapore also has a parliament, similar to the American Senate and House of Representatives. Third, there is a Judicial Branch. Some experts have called the government of Singapore an authoritarian democracy. Others have said that the government is nearly socialist, mostly due to the fact that a majority of people live in state owned housing complexes.
In 2001, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong won a seat in the Legislative Council of Singapore. Shortly after that the opposition party ran a coup.
Singapore is also part of the Southeast Asian Economic Community. The U.S. is the largest donor, funding about 45 percent of its development budget. That country also hosts the Commonwealth of Independent States, Asia Pacific, the Asian Minor and other high-status economic and political groups. Singapore also has a free trade zone and trade and investment relations with other nations. It also has a free online portal for the media.
The first three of the five main areas of development, including infrastructure, the airport, and water and sewerage, are represented as major areas of strategic thinking. They are also areas of political leadership and of economic growth. They are among the most important areas of economic policymaking, because they will be the most important areas of economic and social transformation in the next 10 years. As a free economic and social change center, the Singapore Government, under the heading “Social Development”, uses economic growth to support social change. These four areas are:
• social infrastructure construction and new forms of education
• the public sector health sector (prevention and treatment of diseases and diseases)
• public transit and other infrastructure
• urban and rural development (mixed sector construction)
• transportation systems and environmental protection. These three areas generate a significant source of income for Singapore and thus have been developed at the initiative of many ministries and officials.
Singapore was the first country to have a large open-air public education system in 1965 in an effort to promote the education of young people. This system attracted the attention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In 1966, under the direction of the United Nations Office for Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Affairs, Singapore developed a multilateral programme to promote educational access to children. Some of the goals of the Multilateral Programme include:
• improving the quality of teaching, research, research and research in the area of education education
• enhancing the social, economic, cultural and technical quality of educational activities
• fostering development of the quality of life in areas outside of the home
• enhancing community trust and cooperation and cooperation
• promoting the development of quality in cultural, scientific and educational activities
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Educational success rates in the world’s largest developed countries are often lower in Singapore than in other countries, such as Chile. These are largely under-represented in political leadership, and are also reflected in more affluent areas such as the United States.
. A new survey conducted by the International Monetary Fund in 1996 (the first research report based on the survey conducted in 1996) revealed that “in most developed countries, children are much less likely to participate in education. It is important to clarify the relationship between academic qualifications and students’ achievement in school, especially if there are a number of barriers for a student to participate in education.”
Educational success rates may also vary in developing countries. In Singapore, the rate is higher in countries with less developed economies and in countries with one or two OECD-listed countries. In other words, the more a child is enrolled in a school or university, the higher its educational success: Singapore has a significant learning gap and is likely to experience more problems in middle and high school. Also, in Singapore, lower
Singapore was originally colonized by the British. In 1959, Singapore broke from British rule and became an independent City-State, forming its own government, legislature, and judicial branches. From 1963 to 1965, Singapore became a part of Malaysia. This ended when the prime minister of Singapore and the Malay government began to disagree on larger issues and Singapore was expelled. Since that time Singapore has been independent.
The primary party in Singapore is the PAP (Peoples Action Party). The PAP is known to use lawsuits and slander to demean and eventually convince opposing parties to quit politics or drop out of races. In some cases, the opposing parties simply run out of money due to legal fees and must drop out of any kind of political race. (Wiki, Politics in Singapore)
The government is known to be very conservative and any types of crimes that demean or harm individuals and/or the general public are punishable by caning or death. One of the most remembered incidences for Americans is the 1994 incident involving Michael Fay. Fay was tried and found guilty in Singaporean