I don't think a merger would work very well. Totalitarian
regimes don't mix well with democracies.
Here are some remarks by Australia's Senator Bob Brown regarding
the buy-over of ASX:
Senator Brown said he did not believe the $8.4 billion friendly bid
for the ASX would be in the country's national interest.
A 30-year-old remark made by former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew
that Australia was the "poor white trash of Asia", as well as the
execution of convicted Australian drug trafficker Van Nguyen,
demonstrated Singaporean authorities' dim view of the country and
its assets, he said.
"This is a state that tramples all over freedom of speech,
democracy, the rights of oppositions, the ability for public
discourse," he said.
"It is a classic rule by the oligarchs of Singapore."
Were these reactions reported in Singapore? Clash of values.
