Singapore is second most competitive in the world

last SG · 2007-05-10T11:17:10+00:00

It is wrong to say our country has limited reserves. Don't forget, outside of our national savings, there is still the group of GLCs companies which is worth...

oxford mushroom SG

SINGAPORE is one of the world's most competitive economy in the world, second only to the United States.

Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Denmark round out the top five most competitive national economies in the World Competitiveness Yearbook, published by the Lausanne, Switzerland-based IMD business school.

The study lists 55 economies according to 323 criteria that measure how the nations create and maintain conditions favorable to businesses.

Project director Stephane Garelli said the United States position was cemented by the dynamism of its financial market, which drives what is the worlds strongest domestic economy, topping all others in its amount of investments, stock purchases and commercial service exports.

The US also ranked as the easiest place to secure venture capital for business development and surpassed all other economies in key technology criteria such as computers in use and high-tech exports, according to the report.

Mr Garelli said the 2007 results highlight how many of the world's emerging economic powers were catching up with the US because of government policies better tuned to economic performance.

The US has topped the list every year since 1994.

'London is becoming a very big competitor to New York in investment banking, while Singapore is challenging the U.S. in wealth management,' Mr Garelli said.

China jumped three places to 15th in the report.

Losing ground to the US are 15 of the countries

They include Indonesia, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, the Philippines and France.

Venezuela was ranked last for the second year in a row, immediately preceded by Indonesia, Croatia, Poland and Argentina. -- AP

(Straits Times 9 May)

Incidentally, Singapore is is tops in several categories:

Quality of life index: 11th in the world after Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Denmark and Spain. Singapore is first in Asia and just ahead of the US.
http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf

Per capita GDP: 30th in the world, ahead of France, Monaco, Italy, Qatar and Taiwan, third in Asia behind Japan and Hong Kong.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html

Human Development index: top 25th in the world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

sunny6110 SG

we used to be 1st when we announced things... Mr. Green

walesa SG

I'm surprised Singapore ain't first - with a government that is able to abet commercial entities in the exploitation (or at the very least, minimal protections and lack of safeguards for workers) of working folks so effortlessly, it really is a shame they're still second to a market economy that actually safeguards labour rights...

oxford mushroom SG

Singapore is still new in the finance sector. We need more bright young people to be top investment bankers and fund managers. Since the number of such talents in our local population is limited, we have to recruit talented foreigners to join us.

sunny6110 SG

i m talent... they failed to spot me...

changes needa be made to discover local talent Mr. Green

littlestream SG

Laughing

Cute..........

Atobe SG

Originally posted by oxford mushroom:

Singapore is still new in the finance sector. We need more bright young people to be top investment bankers and fund managers. Since the number of such talents in our local population is limited, we have to recruit talented foreigners to join us.

According to a 2002 Report by the Sub-Committee on Services Industries Financial Services Working Group of the Economic Review Committee - ''The financial services industry is a significant component of Singapore's economy. Its share of nominal GDP has risen from an average of 6% in the 1970s to 13% in 2001. Among the services industries, the financial sector contributes the highest value-added and is the largest source of tax revenue.''

A separate study had documented that Singapore was already positioning itself with policy overhauld to be a Financial Centre since the 1960s

With overall 30 to 40 years developing to be a Financial Hub, Singapore can hardly be termed as new in the finance sector.

laurence82 SG

Not forgetting the earlier education systems were so geared towards science and engineering

Of course shortage of talents in this field, if there is

Whose fault?

Laughing

lordofdarkness SG

I agree that Singapore is still new but doubt there's a shortage of talented individuals required to help boost the industry. They are just not coming home to Singapore. There are many Singaporeans based in London and New York doing investment banking and all the high finance stuff. But from their perspective, Singapore is still too small to warrant pursuing their careers back home. No point fishing in a really small pond.

Fingolfin_Noldor SG

If I recall however, worker productivity is a strong component in this ranking. Unfortunately, it has been shown clear and far that the a worker in Singapore generates on average far less cash than his counterparts in the US.

I suppose this is something the Govt won't go about blasting its horn. It does however show how pathetic the economy truly is.

sourketchup SG

What this report does not show is the widening income gap in Singapore and the struggle to make ends meet among the bottom strata of society

lionnoisy SG

All these reports and assessments cant help put
foods on the tables,more clean water running from taps,
cleaner air,better public order,less drugs on street etc...

It is only a report card SG refer to,but not concentrate to
get into the top.HK is keen to do what ever it can
to do better grading,at the expenses of welfare of HK people.

One of the reasons HK dunt adopt GST is she afraid
it will affect ranking!!

2.Few years back,SG was ranked as ten worst water substaniality!!

antoh SG

Singapore is one of the backwarded developed country.

What other country has they are the last to have because they copied and follow
what others are doing

robertteh SG

With practices like selective comparisons (ministers' benchmarking of salaries only to a few lottery winning CEOs in the private sector), tweaking of election system to entrench political powers for themselves, one-sided taxing and fullest cost recovery (with setting of essential government services as GLCs which double charge once again on lands and infrastructures previously paid for and owned by citizens) can anyone believe any more statistics from MOM about job creations for locals or MTI about Singapore's economic competitiveness.

It appears that Singapore is competitive only when the leaders are able to tax and recover all costs from the citizens with every government agency making obscene monies and profiteering from lack of views and alternative policies under autocracy.

Why can't we take a close look at all the local businesses and see how they fare as a whole. The government only care about certain one-sided selective comparison so how competitive actually our own businesses are.

It seems that when the wind blow our way and the world recovery we will become competitive but when next year some world conditions change, our ministers will be totally hopeless and blaming the losses of jobs and investments on people's lack of skills or retraining.

How to claim we are competitive when the ministers do not even know how to restructure the economy to a value-adding technology- or knowledge-based model talked about during the last three recessions all the time.

Today we hear nothing practically about success or progress of the strategies and methodologies employed in those ERP to maximise the creative use of citizens' hard-earned surpluses and young educated unemployed resources of which we have plenty for our citizens' benefits.

We will be totally dead and devoid of any competitiveness because of lack of proper economic planning and effective implementation at the top level to add values to our businesses and industries.

wisefool83 SG

And the report also says we have the most efficient govt in the the world.

ShutterBug SG

Laughing lol..

I can't even be bothered about this topic...

Our gov is just so narcissistic....

wisefool83 SG

You mean there's actually a govt in the world that actually hides its achievement but spread its dirty linen all over the world?

sourketchup SG

Nope, but is asking for balanced reporting in the national media too much to ask for?

wisefool83 SG

Nope, but it's not like national media is the only source of information, why else do we want the internet for. If the govt really wants only positive information to be exchange, I think Sgforum or at the the speakercorners will be shut down a long long time ago le.

Darkness_hacker99 SG

When Singapore experience a burnout ar.. then GG liao.. Laughing