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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam who wrote (8157)	2/26/1999 2:46:00 PM
From: Michael Sphar	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Hi Sam, I'll start. Singapore is a small island nation. Like other island nations, it seems to have a large propensity for paranoia, perhaps very justifiably. There seems to be intense competition between Singapore and its former parent nation Malaysia. This is not helped by the fact that Singapore buys most of its water from Malaysia. Malaysia periodically threatens Singapore at the water valve when politics between the two nations are at loggerheads. Malaysia is a multicultural Islamic nation that has laws which preferentially treat the local indigenous peoples. This grates on the sensibilities of some of the non-indigenous (read Chinese heritage) Malay. Many Singaporeans have immigrated from Malaysia for improved economic opportunities. On a more personal level, I have sensed from some of my Singaporean friends a desire for greater self-control over earned assets. Unlike the US's "social security system" Singapore has an apparently solvent program of retirement savings accounts. It seems to fester in the consciences of some that these monies, already earned, are held hostage beyond these individual's control for their own good. This sense of lack of freedom is begrudgingly accepted as part of the price for their rising middle class status. And don't ever get them started on cars! The government controls this aspect too. Individuals have to purchase at auction I believe, the right to acquire and possess an automobile. Depending on the relative prosperity of the times, this variable cost can range from nothing to S$50,000ish. This is not a license, that comes later and costs several thousands more also. This is just a paper document that grants one the right to go forth and purchase. I recall a friend recently lamenting that he paid S$50K for such a right just before the onset of the Asian Crisis. Six months later and he could have saved almost this entire amount, the pain of lost money! On top of all this, the last time I reviewed the used car ads in The Straits Times, I was absolutely shocked at the price tags these garnered. When these guys come over here to California for work and they see the prices for used cars, they act like they've died and gone to heaven. Unfortunately there is no alternative, for Singapore contains over 2 million peoples most all working, in a place the size of Lake Tahoe. If they could all go out and buy cars, well the island would become one giant parking lot. Fortunately alternatives are plentiful and priced very competitively. Taxis abound, and the bus/light rail is well integrated and excellently maintained. You can get to anywhere on the island with an MRT card, and almost as fast as by private car but this doesn't entirely ameliorate the sense of lack of freedom.

To: Sam who wrote (8157)	2/26/1999 3:58:00 PM
From: Z268	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Sam et al, I can go on and on about Singapore, having lived there for over 4 years. I can say a lot, but can't say too much, as one day I may get posted there again..... Singapore as we all know was one of the poorest countries when the British got up and departed. Its only asset was wharf coolie labour - it did of course have the usual trappings of British colonial rule, such as a cricket ground, a race course, lots of magnificent colonial bungalows and a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles to boot <vbg>! It also had teeming masses of very poor Chinese, Malays and Indians living at the subsistence level. That today it has the highest standard of living in Asia, a per capita GDP of US$28K or thereabouts (when I last looked) is a glowing testimony to LKY and the PPP at the macro level. However, as with all progress, there are certain prices to pay, some social, but mainly political. Those over 40 who remember the bad old days overwhelmingly support the government; those between 20 -40 know the government as a benevolent father figure who had provided them with education, jobs, and a comfortable lifestyle that is the envy of Asia; those in their teens are probably more preoccupied with the latest fashion, MTV and the Grammys two days ago..... If you ask 200 million people in China, or Indonesia whether they would trade places with the Singaporeans, guess what they would say? However, if you ask me [or you] if I [or you] would trade places, I'd have to think twice. Having lived in six different countries including real [as real as possible] democracies like Oz and the US, I would place totally different values on social and political freedoms vs material benefits, compared to many in Asia. Having said that, I'd go back and visit Singapore any day if only for the food!!! And don't get me started on it <bg>. Seriously, this is a very complex issue. There are many paths to a nation's prosperity, and Singapore's is by no means at the bottom of the desirability list. You should at least go visit someday - soon actually, it's a whole lot cheaper for you than a couple of years ago. Best, Steve Yeo PS. Hey Bosco, about your point on the Indonesian Chinese and their money in Singapore - it is well known that Chinese Indonesians are very freespending compared to their cousins in Singapore and Malaysia, whether wittingly or unwittingly <vbg>. Best, Steve