The Impact of Globalisation on Singapore essays

The Impact of Globalisation on Singapore essays Singapore is the economic, financial and technological capital of South-East Asia. Its free market economy and excellent international trading links ranks Singapore as the 5th highest GDP per capita in the world. Indeed the whole of Singapores economy is export driven, specialising in manufacturing and the service sectors as well as electronics, industrial chemicals and pharmaceutical products. Singaporeans enjoy one of the highest living standards in South-East Asia. Being one of four Asian NICs, it has sustained an average GDP growth of 10% within the last ten years, except during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98 and also the recent global economic downturn in 2000-2002. The key to Singapores past success lies in its willingness to open to the world market. International trade in Singapore is equivalent to 300% of its yearly GDP and manufacturing sector FDI alone currently accounts for 70% of total investment. For many decades, the open market ideals adopted by the Singaporean government has changed Singapore into the hub of financial, labour and capital investment. This is an example of globalisation in its best state. While people often look negatively towards globalisation, Singapore has shown with the right management and planning, globalisation can be used effectively as a strategy in promoting a healthy and strong economy. The Singapore economy is unique in that it is heavily dependent on exports and imports and high FDI levels in order to achieve sustainable growth. Due to the small size of its domestic market, external factors will remain undoubtedly as the key determinant in its economic outlook. In a volatile global market, Singapores main challenge is to sustain strong long-term growth and dampen cyclical fluctuations. It embraced globalisation as a strategy to promote economic development. To date more than 5000 multi-national corporations (MNC) have operations within Singapore. Not only is Singap...