Morning fellas,
Russett, thanks for the pm explanation to my questions. You guys are in luck, I got a letter published in the Singapore Business Times. Hopefully, it will generate enough communication to keep me busy for a while, giving you threadsters a rest. I'm more interested in the Asean viewpoint on Gold anyway. That's where gold's future (if any)lay........
S'pore as 'Switzerland of Asia' - published on 11 Sep 1999
I VISITED your country about five years ago on my way to the Philippines. I was amazed at the cleanliness, beauty and order of the city.
It is amazing to me how the "hub" of South-east Asia can display such characteristics, while the varying "spokes" at various times seem to erupt into such chaos.
I have a great deal of respect for some of your law-and-order policies that sometimes have drawn such clamour from countries such as mine and the larger one to my south.
Denigrating your laws on vandalism, drugs, etc seems unreasonable at a time when in our own country, our children are being gunned down in their own schools. One hopes you do not become too "westernised" in all things. I have some questions which I hope some of your readers may help me with in trying to understand Asean economics and its future.
With Singapore being the shipping and transportation hub, and well on its way to being the banking, financial, technology centre of South-east Asia, I wonder if you ever see yourself as the "Switzerland of Asia" in this sense -- could you ever see Singapore "backing" your dollar to gold?
I have been trying to determine how many Singapore dollars are in circulation to find out how much gold would be required to achieve this at the present time.
I see a vision of Singapore with a gold-backed currency becoming the currency of inter-Asian trade. This, it seems, would free Asean of any "bondage" to American policies and politics.
If this was ever going to happen, now is certainly the time, with the price of gold at a long-term low.
With the cooperation of the other nations which could sell some of their US reserves for gold, then purchase Singapore dollars with the gold, you would be taking destiny into your own hands.
Singapore could prosper from its position of being "the Asean bank", the other countries could prosper knowing that their trade currency is stable and would remain so, independent of "outside" interference.
Singapore, acting as bank and "accountant", would give Asean the desired ability to know exactly how, where and from whom, money flows into and out of the region.
This would allow the appropriate actions to be taken in a timely manner, helping the prevention of a situation like the one the area is recovering from now.
I wonder if any of your readers feel some benefit in backing the Singapore dollar to gold and following this destiny for your country and your neighbours. I can be reached at miphilli@vip.net.
I wish you all a happy, prosperous future.
Michael Phillips
Canada
via Internet
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