A Brief History of Singapore

If you are new to Singapore, you're probably wondering how this small city-state in Southeast Asia with a total land area measuring only 273 square miles (707.1 square kilometers) and one of the youngest nations in the world became one of its most successful.

The answer lies in a unique set of geography and history - Singapore's strategic location on the major sea route between India and China, its excellent harbor, and its free-trade harbor status granted by its visionary founder Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. However, while Sir Stamford Raffles created the framework for Singapore's early success, it was Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who shaped the first quarter-century of Singapore's existence as an independent nation and defined the path to its current success. What follows is a brief history of the country's origins from a colonial outpost to the developed nation that it is today.

Mythical Origins

Recent studies have verified that lions have never lived on Singapore but legend has it that a 14th century Sumatran prince spotted an auspicious beast (probably a Malayan tiger) upon landing on the island after a thunderstorm. Thus, the name Singapore comes from the Malay words "Singa" for lion and "Pura" for city. Prior to European settlement, the island now known as Singapore was the site of a Malay fishing village and inhabited by several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people.

The Founding of Modern Singapore

In late 1818, Lord Hastings - the British Governor General of India - appointed Lieutenant General Sir Stamford Raffles to establish a trading station at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. The British were extending their dominion over India and their trade with China was expanding. They saw the need for a port of call to "refit, revitalize and protect their merchant fleet" as well as to prevent any advances made by the Dutch in the East Indies.

After surveying other nearby islands in 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles and the rest of the British East India Company landed on Singapore, which was to become their strategic trading post along the spice route. Eventually Singapore became one of the most important commercial and military centers of the British Empire. The island was the third British acquisition in the Malay Peninsula after Penang (1786) and Malacca (1795). These three British Settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca) became the Straights Settlements in 1826, under the control of British India. By 1832, Singapore became the center of government of the three areas. On 1 April 1867, the Straights Settlements became a Crown Colony and was ruled by a governor under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Office in London.

Loosening Britain's Stronghold

During World War II, Singapore was occupied by the Japanese. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described this "as the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". In the aftermath of the war, the country faced staggering problems of high unemployment, slow economic growth, inadequate housing, decaying infrastructure, labor strikes and social unrest. Nevertheless, it sparked a political awakening among the local population and saw the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, as epitomized by the slogan "Merdeka" which means "independence" in the Malay language.

In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state within the British Empire with Yusof Bin Ishak as its first Yang de-Pertuan Negara (Malay for "Someone who is the eminent Master of the State") and Lee Kuan Yew as its first and long-standing Prime Minister (he served until 1990). Before joining the Federation of Malaysia along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963. Two years later, Singapore left the federation after heated ideological conflicts arose between the Singapore government's major political party called the People's Action Party (PAP) and the federal Kuala Lumpur goverment. On 9 August 1965, Singapore officially gained sovereignty. Yusof Bin Ishak sworn in as its first president and Lee Kuan Yew remained prime minister.

With independence came bleak, if not precarious economic prospects. According to Barbara Leitch Lepoer, the editor of Singapore: A Country Study (1989): "Separation from Malaysia meant the loss of Singapore's economic hinterland, and Indonesia's policy of military confrontation directed at Singapore and Malaysia had dried up the entrepot from that direction." According to the same book, Singapore also faced the loss of 20 percent of its jobs with the announcement of Britain's departure from the island's bases in 1968.

Road to Success

Instead of demoralizing Singapore, these problems motivated Singapore's leadership to focus on the nation's economy. With Cambridge-educated lawyer Lee Kuan Yew at its helm, the Singaporean government was aggressive in promoting export-oriented, labor-extensive industrialization through a program of incentives to attract foreign investment. After all, Singapore still had its strategic location to its advantage.

By 1972, one-quarter of Singapore's manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both USA and Japan were major investors. As a result of Singapore's steady political climate, favorable investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965 to 1973, the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual double-digit growth.

With the economic boom of the late 1960s and 1970s, new jobs were created in the private sector. The government provision of subsidized housing, education, health services and public transportation generated new jobs in the public sector. The Central Provident Fund, the country's comprehensive social security scheme sustained by compulsory contributions by employer and employee, provided the necessary capital for government projects and financial security for the country's workers in their old age.

By the late 1970s, the government changed its strategic focus to skill and technology-intensive, high value-added industries and away from labor-intensive manufacturing. In particular, information technology was given priority for expansion and Singapore became the world's largest producer of disk drives and disk drive parts in 1989. In the same year, 30 percent of the country's GDP was due to earnings from manufacturing.

Singapore's international and financial services sector was and still is one of the fastest growing sectors of its economy accounting for nearly 25 percent of the country's GDP in the late 1980s. In the same year, Singapore ranked with Hong Kong as the two most important Asian financial centers after Tokyo. By 1990, Singapore played host to more than 650 multinational companies and several thousand financial institutions and trading firms. On the political front, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee Kuan Yew and in 2004 Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became Singapore's third prime minister.

Singaporean Identity

Out of 4.839 million Singaporeans, 3.164 million are Singapore citizens and roughly 0.478 million are Singapore permanent residents. Chinese, Malays and Indians comprise the three official ethnic groups in the country. With such a multi-ethnic population, the country's leadership envisioned a Singaporean identity that calls for "rugged individualism with an emphasis on excellence".

For more information on Singapore's population, labor force and demographics, see People of Singapore.

Summary

The island's initial success resulted from its role as a conveniently located and duty-free entrepot for the three-way trade among China, India and the Malay archipelago. By the late 19th century, the British overloads of Singapore had extended their influence throughout the Malay peninsula and the port of Singapore acquired a rich hinterland of resources.

When the British failed to protect Singapore from Japanese occupation during World War II, they lost their credibility with the Singaporeans. The aftermath sparked an outpouring of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments. After the Merger with Malaysia and the subsequent separation, the former colonial port of Singapore become a leader in global financing and trading in the 1970s. Today, it continues to wittingly maneuver its way in the world of international trade, just as it had done in the 19th century, and a large part of that success is owed to its government's pro-industrialization policies and excellence-oriented multi-ethnic people.

'Made in China' now made in Egypt

'Made in China' now made in Egypt
Posted: 08 November 2009 1005 hrs

A Chinese vendor (R) negotiates prices with a foreigner at a textile wholesale market in Beijing.


PORT SAID - With cheap labour, investment incentives and unrestricted exports, one Chinese textile group has turned to Egypt as an ideal location to produce its ready-made garments, beating stiff competition at home.

The Chinese-owned Nile Textile Group has set up shop in the Port Said free zone, overlooking the north entrance of the Suez Canal, and developed an industrial estate now hiring 600 workers, 20 percent of which are Chinese and the rest Egyptian.

Cheap raw materials and favourable export conditions have given the company easy access to foreign markets.

It's a bargain for the Nile Textile Group, which imports 60 percent of its basic products tax free and then sends them outside Egypt, mainly to the United States.

Most of their cut-price clothes are now labelled "Made in Egypt" rather than "Made in China".

"Egyptian free zones allow for export all over the world with almost no restrictions," said Mohammed Abdel Samie, the industrial estate's administrative director.

Local salaries are low enough to compete with those of Chinese workers, even with a system of bonuses offered to the Egyptian workers at the end of each month.

"In the factories where salaries are fixed, we earn a maximum of 700 to 800 Egyptian pounds (around 130 to 150 US dollars) a month. In this company, it works out better for us," said factory manager Mansur al-Said.

In the neon-lit factories, Egyptian workers in headscarves work side by side with Chinese technicians in white blouses to the thumping sounds of the sewing machines.

Instructions are posted in Arabic and in Chinese.

As for the daily communication between colleagues, a little extra work was required.

"They taught me a few words of Chinese and they are learning Arabic," Leila Ali, a seamstress, told AFP.

Around 950 Chinese companies have set up operations in Egyptian free zones, representing a total investment of nearly 300 million US dollars.

Most of them work in industry (526 companies), 306 companies are in the service industry, 31 in the agricultural sector and eight in tourism, according to Egypt's General Authority for Investment (GAFI) which oversees free zones in the country.

It is hoped the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which kicks off on Sunday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and attended by about 50 states, will speed up the rhythm with the signing of a Chinese-Egyptian agreement to encourage more investment in the country.

The meteoric increase in economic cooperation between China and Africa in the last few years will be at the heart of the summit, which will be attended by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from 491 million US dollars in 2003 to 7.8 billion US dollars in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

- AFP/ir

Singapore Inc.

From beer to banks, Singapore Inc. expands across Asia
Posted: 30 August 2009 1235 hrs

	Photos 1 of 1 > " onclick="Next();" src="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/images/butt_next.gif" width="18" height="15" disabled=""> A Banyan Tree resort in Phuket, Thailand.

SINGAPORE : Next time you stay in a luxury resort, buy a loaf of bread, open a bank account, sit on a massage chair, grab a sushi or sip a beer anywhere in Asia, check the company's country of origin.

Chances are you are dealing with a brand based in Singapore, the affluent city-state that has broken beyond its compact size to become a regional economic powerhouse.

With the global economy apparently on the mend, Singapore Inc. is all set to reap the benefits of stepped-up spending by Asia's middle and upper classes in the coming years.

Singapore Airlines has long been an iconic brand, but newer names like resort and spa operator Banyan Tree have established themselves as top-tier players in the region, and their ambitions go even further.

"From the very beginning when we created Banyan Tree, we said that we needed to be a global company," the firm's founder and executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping said at a recent news conference. "If you don't globalise... you eventually stagnate," he added.

Conceived in Singapore and born on the territory of an abandoned tin mine on the Thai island of Phuket 15 years ago, Banyan Tree has established itself as a leading luxury hospitality chain rivaling the likes of Four Seasons.

It is working to spread its formula of Asian romance, rejuvenation and sensuality to other continents with exclusive properties costing as much as 3,300 US dollars a night to stay in.

Over the next 12 months, the chain expects to open resorts in the United Arab Emirates as well as Acapulco, Mexico.

Other Singaporean companies are enjoying similar success throughout the Asian region, establishing themselves in a diverse field of industries.

OSIM, a maker of electronic massage chairs and other lifestyle products like air purifiers, has over 1,100 outlets spread across 28 countries concentrated mainly in the region.

"Singapore is a small country with a small domestic market, therefore it is critical for us to grow an external economy with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and now China," OSIM founder and chief executive Ron Sim told AFP.

"Going forward, we believe that Korea and Japan are markets we are looking forward to, and India will be key too," he said.

Budget carrier Tiger Airways is also becoming a mainstay in the travel industry, having established a wide network across the Asia-Pacific region with flights to 19 destinations from Singapore.

"Asia remains a priority," said Rosalynn Tay, Tiger Airways' managing director for Singapore. "The region has a large population base and air transport remains the most practical mode of transport."

It is not to be mistaken for Tiger Beer, now one of the most popular beverages in Southeast Asia. First brewed locally in 1932 when Singapore was still under British colonial rule, it has won over drinkers beyond the region, thanks to aggressive marketing and expansion of brewing operations to key markets.

Bakery chain BreadTalk, which gained instant success at home with its freshly baked buns, has moved on to build a loyal base of customers in Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Hong Kong.

Sakae Sushi, a restaurant that serves affordable Japanese food on conveyor belts, now has more than 70 outlets throughout the region including the main cities of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and China.

Crystal Jade Culinary Concepts, a restaurant group founded here by a Hong Kong family 18 years ago, now has restaurants in Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and China.

It even has branches in Hong Kong, competing with the best Cantonese restaurants on their own turf.

Singapore's three local banks - DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank - are also well established with branches and affiliates spread across Asia.

Serviced apartment operator Ascott Group can lay claim to be the largest in its industry with 25,000 units in 66 cities in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region. In China alone, Ascott runs over 5,000 serviced residence units in 12 cities, the company said.

"Having a global network of properties gives us economies of scale and the cross-selling opportunities across different regions and properties," said chief executive Lim Ming Yan.

The company is planning to open its first property in Georgia by the end of this year and in Kazakhstan in the second-half of 2010, he said.

- AFP/ir

Picking up girls

STORY Sun, Aug 30, 2009 China Daily/Asia News Network Picking up girls makes failed businessman success An online posting about his experience of picking up girls on the street has accidentally transformed a failed businessman into a professional pick-up artist. Last year, Ruan Qi's apparel business failed. Frustrated, he started writing online, covering topics such as setting up a business and picking-up girls on the street, or in the workplace. Within weeks, he received a multitude of e-mails, interested in nothing but his "pick-up skills" (dashan), which soon made him think he could make money out of it. In February last year he started his first training class in pick-up skills at Beijing's Wangfujing Bookstore. Six men participated. Within a year, they all found girlfriends and claim this would not have been possible without their enhanced finesse with the opposite sex. Word spread. Over the past year, Ruan's training class has become such a phenomenon that on douban.com, the website where Ruan first posted, there are now about 50 pick-up groups based in different cities across China. Ruan now runs classes full-time. He has even got a nickname: "Devil Consultant". His classes take place every weekend, though the venue changes from shopping malls to bookstores and college campuses. Currently, some 300 people have registered for Ruan's classes, among whom nearly 30 percent have established relationships with their pick-up targets. "Class members are aged between 22 and 35, with those between 25 and 29 in the majority," Ruan says. "Most of them are white-collar workers and post-graduate students who have not been able to find girlfriends, partly because of their small socializing circle and their shy and unassertive character." They are the so-called "average frustrated chumps", referring to guys who have no pick-up skills. "I blushed, my heart fluttered and I couldn't speak every time I talked with pretty girls, even if they were my classmates," says a 27-year-old post-graduate science student surnamed Han, who like others interviewed for this article did not want to give their full name. "Now, inspired by 'Devil' and encouraged by my fellow members, I have the guts to speak to even women I don't know." Traditionally, men or women of a marriageable age unable to find a partner will turn to matchmakers, usually relatives and friends, or commercial agencies. But dating of this kind has its limitations. "Blind dates are usually embarrassing and disheartening, because matchmakers simply don't understand what we want. Also, even if we know we don't click at first sight, we have to have dinner together for the matchmaker's sake. It is a waste of time and money," says a 30-year-old man surnamed Wu. Ruan gives online lectures, imparts techniques to spot a potential target, pick up, date and maintain a relationship. Advanced classes involve phonetic coaching and image building. "Although seduction groups have been formed in cities around the world for nearly two decades - they even have guide books - I drew on techniques mostly from my personal experience, because Western theories don't apply to our Eastern culture," Ruan explains. Success in the dating game doesn't come cheap. Tuition for basic classes is 600 yuan ($88) per person, while advanced classes are 2,200 yuan. Student Han thinks it's worth it. "Besides the progress I have made in dealing with girls, another benefit is that after image building training, the security guard at my college no longer checks my credentials out of the suspicion that I might be a migrant worker," Han says. But there is also opposition to the pick-up artists. While there are 50-some pick-up groups on douban.com, about 3,000 people have formed a "counter-pick-up group" on the same website to discuss ways against the "art of seduction". An online survey by sina.com shows that while 57.7 percent of 10,906 respondents are supportive of pick-up classes, believing they promote confidence and social competence, 37.3 percent fear they may encourage sexual harassment and one-night stands. Another young man, surnamed Yang, was called a "pervert" when he tried to pick up a girl. "I was lousy that day and the place - an elevator - made things worse," he admits. Girls who have this dismissive attitude are termed "steel slabs". "Glass slabs" are indifferent, while "plastic slabs" are generally friendly and perhaps willing to leave their phone number. Ruan tells his trainees that you don't have to become a pick-up professional to meet someone but with the addition of pick-up skills the likelihood is greater. And he is not short of real-life examples. "From October 2008 to March 2009, I have taken part in 13 weekend practices, started 40 pick-ups, got 18 phone numbers, and become friends with six," writes a former member of Ruan's pick-up class, who calls himself "Fog". "Now, since I have found the one, I will quit. But guys, we can still have dinner together." -China Daily/ANN