2. Background of Singapore
• Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819
• Population: 4,608,595 (July 2003 est.)
• Ethnic Groups:
• Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4%
• Suffrage:
• 21 years of age; universal and compulsory

3. • Third highest per-capita GDP in the world; in terms
of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
• Singapore is the 14th largest exporter and the 15th
largest importer in the world.
• Singapore ranks as the second freest economy in
the world, behind Hong Kong.
• Singapore does not have a minimum wage,
believing that it would lower its competitiveness.
• Singapore's largely corruption-free government,
skilled workforce, and advanced and efficient
infrastructure have attracted investments from
more than 7,000 multinational corporations
(MNCs) from the United States, Japan, and
Europe.

4. • Singapore is also the second-
largest foreign investor in India.
Roughly 44 percent of the
Singaporean workforce is made
up of non-Singaporeans.
• The Port of Singapore, is one of
the five busiest ports in the
world.
• Singapore has free trade access
to the entirety of the ASEAN
network.
• The government also has
encouraged firms to invest
outside Singapore.
• The World Bank has named
Singapore as the easiest place
in the world to do business, and
ranks Singapore the world's top
logistics hub.

5. • It is also the world's
fourth largest foreign-exchange trading Centre
after London, New York and Tokyo.
Singapore has four official languages – English,
Chinese, Malay and Tamil. English is the preferred
language for business and in public administration,
making it an attractive place for multinational
corporations.
• One of the four Asian Tigers - The Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

6. • Singapore's economy depends
heavily on exports and refining
imported goods, especially in
manufacturing, which, and includes
significant electronics, petroleum
refining, chemicals, mechanical
engineering and biomedical
sciences sectors.

7. • In 2011, Singapore's imports totaled
$311.7 billion, and exports totaled
$414.8 billion.
• Singapore's main imports are aircraft,
crude oil and petroleum products,
electronic components, radio and
television receivers/parts, motor
vehicles, chemicals, food/beverages,
iron/steel, and textile yarns/fabrics.
• Singapore's principal exports are
petroleum products, food/beverages,
chemicals, textile/garments, electronic
components, telecommunication
apparatus, and transport equipment.

8. Main import partners
• Malaysia 10.6%
• China 10.3%
• United States 10.2%
• South Korea 6.8%
• Japan 6.2%
• Indonesia 5.3%
• Saudi Arabia 4.5%
• United Arab Emirates 4.1%
(2012 est.)

9. Main export partners
• Malaysia 12.2%
• Hong Kong 10.9%
• China 10.7%
• Indonesia 10.5%
• United States 5.5%
• Japan 4.6%
• Australia 4.2%
• South Korea 4.0% (2012 est.)
*Malaysia was Singapore's main import source,
as well as its largest export market, absorbing
12.2% of Singapore's exports.

10. Tourism also forms a large part of the
economy, and 10.2 million tourists visited
the country in 2007. To attract more tourists,
the government legalized gambling in 2005
and allowed two casino resorts (called
Integrated Resorts) to be developed.

11. • Singapore also promotes itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical
care there each year. Singapore medical services aim to serve at least one million foreign patients
annually and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.
• Singapore is an education hub, and many foreign students study in Singapore. More than 80,000
international students studied in Singapore in 2006. In 2009, 20% of all students in Singaporean
universities were international students. The students were mainly from ASEAN, China and India.

12. • Singapore is considered a
global financial hub, with
Singapore banks offering world-
class corporate bank account
facilities.
• Banking in Singapore is a
service industry that has grown
significantly in recent years.
Total banking assets under
management in Singapore rose
from about $92 billion in 1998 to
about $350 billion in 2004.
• Business and banking hours -
Generally from 8.30am to
6.00pm (Mondays to
Fridays)Banks are generally
open from 9.30am to 3pm
(Mondays to Fridays) and up to
1.00pm on Saturdays.

13. Singapore is a world leader in several economic areas:
• The country is the world's fourth leading financial centre,
• the world's second largest casino gambling market,
• one of the world's top three oil-refining centres,
• the world's largest oil-rig producer, and
• a major hub for ship repair services.

14. FAST FACT ABOUT
THE ECONOMIC
GROWTH OF
SINGAPORE

15. • Singapore's economic strategy
produced real growth averaging
8.0% from 1960 to 1999. The
economy picked up in 1999 after
the regional financial crisis, with
a growth rate of 5.4%, followed
by 9.9% for 2000.
• Because of the worldwide
electronics slump, Singapore
had reduced the estimated
economic growth in 2001 to a
negative 2.0%.
• The Economic Review
Committee was set up in
December 2001 and
recommended several policy
changes to revitalize the
economy.

16. • The economy expanded by
2.2% the following year, and by
1.1% in 2003 when Singapore
was affected by the SARS
outbreak.
• Subsequently, a major
turnaround occurred in 2004
allowed it to make a significant
recovery of 8.3% growth in
Singapore.
• In 2005, economic growth was
6.4%; and in 2006, 7.9%.
• As of 8 June 2013, Singapore's
unemployment rate is around
1.9% and
• GDP $318.9 billion (2011)
• GDP growth 5.8% (2013)

17. FREE TRADE
AGREEMENTS

18. Singapore & Japan
• Dec 1999 – Negotiations Began
• Early 2001 – Consensus on FTA was
reached
• Reduction of tariff and not tariff
barriers.
• A mutual recognition of national
standards
• Viewed by many as a possible template for
future FTA’s in the region

19. • Bulk of Japanese Exports to Singapore
Include
• Machinery & Equipment
• Business & Financial Services
• Chemical & Mineral Products
• Singapore exports to Japan are
concentrated in the service sector
Singapore & Japan

20. Areas of Trade
 Customs Automation
 Reduction of customs cost on bilateral trade
 Electronic Commerce
 To improve security and harmonize standards governing e-commerce
 Decrease of 1.39% of the average price for e-commerce transactions
 Service Trade

21. Areas of Trade
Service Trade
Liberalization of Service Trade
Elimination of service trade barriers
Lowered the effective price of business and financial services exported from
Singapore to Japan by 20.6%, and for construction services the price drop is 29.9%

22. Impacts On Free Trade
Singapore:
 Higher rates of return on
investments
 Boost demand for Singapore
products
 Cost of Investing in Singapore
has fallen
Japan:
 Minor impact on aggregate
output, trade, investment,
and GDP
 Advantages driven largely by
the customs atomization
process, which affects cost of
trading with all partners

23. Other Impacts
 All Asian economies gain in terms of GDP
 Largest impact felt in Malaysia & Thailand
 Two countries that do a great deal of trading with Singapore &
Japan
 Increase in foreign ownership in Singapore is
financed by a modest increase in outward
foreign direct investment by U.S. and Canada
 Many other Asian countries reduce their foreign investment to
increase investment in domestic countries.

24. The U.S. Free Trade Agreement
Overview
Signed on May 6, 2003
Focuses mainly on:
services firms
But also touches on:
trading of goods
protection of intellectual
property rights, and
Protections for investors

25. The U.S. Free Trade Agreement
Trading of Services
 Singapore and The U.S. services firms will enjoy fair and
non-discriminatory treatment in trade, through both:
 Travel of service professionals across borders, and
 Establishing a local services presence
 Market access commitments apply across a range of
sectors, including:
 Financial services
 Telecommunications services
 Tourism
 Advertising
 Professional services

26. The U.S. Free Trade Agreement
Trading of Goods
 Most U.S. tariffs on Singaporean goods
will be eliminated immediately upon
entry into the agreement
 Singapore guarantees zero tariffs
immediately on all U.S. products

27. The U.S. Free Trade Agreement
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
Protection of copyrights, patents,
trademarks, and trade secrets
IPR Enforcement
Tough penalties for piracy and counterfeiting
Singaporean government guarantees that it has
authority to seize, forfeit and destroy counterfeit
and pirated goods and the equipment used to
produce them

28. The U.S. Free Trade Agreement
Protections for Investors
The agreement
provided U.S.
investors operating
in Singapore with a
secure and
predictable legal
framework

29. Objections to Free Trade
 Less U.S. jobs for U.S. citizens
 Agreement provides laws that would create what is effectively a permanent
visa worker program for Singapore
 An increase in the U.S. trade deficit
“The U.S. trade deficit has increased in ever case where the U.S. has entered a
free trade agreement with another country.”
~Marcy Kaptur, Congresswoman
 FTA with China in 2000: increased 25% to $103 billion
 NAFTA increased the trade deficit by almost 10 times what it was before it
went into effect, from $9 billion to $87 billion
 NAFTA also put over a million workers out of jobs due to free trade
 The U.S. trade deficit was the largest ever reaching $435.2 billion in 2002

30. Other Free Trade Agreements
 New Zealand
 Australia – October 2002
 In the works:
 Canada
 India
 Chile
 Jordan
 South Korea

31. Thank You!
Q&A
 Prepared by:
Nana Topuria
Mariam Orjonikidze
Gvanca Qartlelishvili
Jemal Bodokia
Giorgi Lomtadze