Singapore is a small country in the Asia Pacific area. It encompasses one main island, called Singapore Island or Pulau Ujong, and sixty-two smaller islands. Singapore is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor which is a narrow body of water. There are two routes that connect Singapore to Malaysia - the Johor-Singapore Causeway (completed in 1923), and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (opened in 1998). Singapore also shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia to the south and East. Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1964, mostly due to demographic reasons. At this time, its per capita income was comparable to many African countries. However, the clairvoyance of the government in promoting skill development through good educational reforms has enabled Singapore to improve its productivity. Judicious government policy in adopting Information and Communication Technology sector (especially CAD, CAM & CAE) too has enabled Singapore to forge ahead of the other nations in the vicinity. The GDP of Singapore is now comparable with that of a developed country.
Singapore has a highly developed, free-market economy that is almost corruption free, and the rate of employment is very high. Unlike Malaysia, Singapore has almost no natural resources, and is dependent on exports, particularly of electronics, finished petroleum products, chemicals, medical and optical devices and pharmaceuticals. Apart from the manufacturing sector, Singapore is also an important business and financial hub of the Asia Pacific region.
As a result of the government’s sustained efforts, the economy of Singapore – which had contracted 0.6% in 2009 – has continued to grow satisfactorily from 2010 through 2018. As per various estimates, Singapore’s economy is projected to grow by 1.5 to 3.5% for the fiscal year 2018.
Since Singapore has one of the free, competitive and business-friendly economies in the world, the country is a leading foreign direct investment recipient.The economy of Singapore has undergone a significant change since the 1960’s, when it was predominantly known as a regional port and distribution centre. In an attempt to reduce Singapore’s dependence on foreign labour the government is trying to transform the country into an international manufacturing and service centre. It is also trying to raise productivity growthand increase wages by turning Singapore into a centre of science-based manufacturing and knowledge intensive industries.
Singapore’s Industrial Parks
To support these manufacturing and processing industries, Singapore has developed specialized industrial parks. One of the first and high-profile projects was the formation of Jurong Island.
Jurong Island is a petrochemical, petroleum and natural gas hub, created by merging seven offshore islands. The island has been deliberately isolated from mainland Singapore for safety reasons. It is linked to the mainland . Jurong Island is now home to more than 100 companies with investments of over S$47 billion. Apart from MNCs, the island has also helped upgrade the capabilities of Singapore small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Jurong Island has its own array of facilities like dormitories for the foreign workers and even an amenities centre.
The other high profile industrial parks of Singapore are Singapore Science Park and the Tuas Biomedical Parks. The Singapore Science Park serves customers in biomedical sciences, information technology, software development, telecommunications, electronics, food technology, flavors and fragrances, and materials and chemical industries. Located in an area of about 700 acres, Tuas Biomedical Park provides top notch R&D and manufacturing infrastructure for pharmaceutical, biologics and nutraceutical manufacturing globals in Singapore.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Singapore
The capacity of a country’s information and communication technology infrastructure can potentially stimulate growth if coupled with adoption as it relates to local needs.Recognizing that ICT will be one of the many key factors that affect the ability of countries to develop their capacities to grow, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have all embraced it to the fullest. Singapore primarily relies on its workforce to produce exportable goods and services. It has embraced latest trends in ICT to augment its manufacturing processes in order to attract foreign direct investment through multinational corporations.
Since the country has limited natural resources, Singapore has tried to change its economy from labour based to being ICT driven. Starting with IC and computer production, Singapore has now emerged as a formidable force in providing services in diverse fields such as CAD / CAE / CAM / PLM / Additive Manufacturing / Prototyping / 3D Printing, product data, cost and process management, digital manufacturing and industrial robotics simulation software.
Singapore – the Future
With a proactive and progressive government at the helm, Singapore has enjoyed an almost unbroken economic progress for the past 50 years, driven by rapid industrialization. However, neighbours like Malaysia and Thailand have also strived to accelerate their economic growth, and the Singapore government has made a conscious effort to meet the challenge.
Starting from 2014, Singapore revealed its plan to convert the country into a Smart Nation, with PM Lee Hsien Loong outlining the vision of “A nation where people live meaningful and fulfilled lives, enabled seamlessly by technology, offering exciting opportunities for all.” To realize this vision, the government plans to integrate public and private sector efforts across a range of regulatory frameworks and industries.
Furthermore, the government is now trying to restructure economy and strengthen its position as Southeast Asia’s leading technology and financial power centre. It is a signatory of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and a party to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations with nine other ASEAN members plus Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. In 2015, It has also formed the ASEAN Economic Community in co-ordination with the other ASEAN members,
Apart from petroleum and pharmaceuticals majors, Singapore has also witnessed the presence of dominant CAD / CAE / CAM / PLM / Additive Manufacturing / Prototyping / 3D Printing players like Altair, PTC and Stratasys. All these bode well for the future growth of Singapore.