Singapore Case

Singapore is widely acknowledged as having one of the best business environments in the world - one of the world's most competitive (Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Yearbook), most profitable (Business Environment Risk Intelligence Report), most transparent (Transparency International Survey), with world-class intellectual property protection and enforcement (World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report). The presence of many leading global companies and local enterprises here is a testimony to Singapore's excellence in manufacturing and services. There are more than 7,000 Multi-National Corporations in Singapore nowadays. Singapore is an attractive and competitive manufacturing location, possessing world class capabilities in the design, development and manufacture of cutting-edge products for the world. As MNCs are always looking for the most cost-efficient for its investment, Singapore's high labour rate loses out to other developing countries e.g. Vietnam and China. As some manufacturers have left Singapore to other countries with cheaper labour, we can see the transformation from the manufacturing activities into trading and services. In addition, by leveraging on its strength as the regional hub for services such as logistics and education, Singapore is poised to become Asia's leading services hub, providing an array of world-class services. The following sections will analyse the factors (Politic, Economy, Social and Technology) that influence the business environment in Singapore and also its limitation.

2.0 POLITICAL/LEGAL

Singapore is an enterprise friendly country. The government has set up several organizations in helping the business in a very systematic way.

2.1 Regulation Structure

2.1(a)

Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)

has its vision to make Singapore a leading global city of talent, enterprise and innovation. Its mission is to promote economic growth and create jobs, so as to achieve higher standards of living for all. It was tasked with anticipating problems ahead, identifying opportunities for growth, rationalising existing policies and giving broad directions for the economy. The main tasks are categorized as below:-

- Growing economy,- expanding trade,- developing industries,- fostering pro-enterprise environment Statutory boards are semi-independent agencies that specialise in carrying out specific plans and policies of the Ministry. One of such agencies under the MTI is SPRING Singapore. SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board) is the enterprise development agency for growing innovative companies and fostering a competitive SME sector. SPRING works with partners to help enterprises in financing, capabilities and management development, technology and innovation, and access to markets. As the national standards and accreditation body, SPRING also develops and promotes internationally-recognised standards and quality assurance to enhance competitiveness and facilitate trade. It has many programmes to encourage entrepreneurship and assisting the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). These are two available financial incentive schemes:-i) Business Angels Scheme (BAS) where they will provide innovativeSingapore-based young companies a matching dollar for every dollar invested by pre-approved angel groups, up to $1.5 million.ii) Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Startups (YES! Startups) wherethey will provide youths with grants of up to $50,000 to start their innovative business. SPRING also provides business leadership and capability development where a numbers of training courses are conducted to improve leadership and business management skills. Several available programs are:-i) Advanced Management Programme (AMP) where it will help tobuild management capabilities of SME leaders through postgraduate and executive development courses that focus on the business management needs of SMEs.ii) Management Development Scholarship (MDS): Designed to nurturethe leadership of tomorrow for growth-oriented enterprises where it provides MBA scholarship to help the SME to develop their talent for the future. Enterprise One (

One

Network for

Enterprises) is a multi-agency initiative managed by SPRING Singapore. Enterprise One aims to help local enterprises find the answers they need to start, sustain and grow their businesses. Its resources pose:-

* Rich and Deep Content

Over 20 sections covering a comprehensive range of topics such as

venturing abroad, hiring people, Government tenders, loans, taxes and regulations. It pulled together information from different Government agencies so the business owners don't have to trudge from agency to agency to look for answers.

* Industry Guides

Topics are grouped by industries and organised in sections so that the business owners can easily find information relevant to your sector. The Competition Commission of Singapore (under MTI) who is a statutory body established to enforce the Competition Act (Chapter 50B) and ensure a fair competition environment. Any unfair business practice can be prevented and this can ensure a healthy competition and business growth. Another MTI agency is Public Service for the 21st Century or PS21.

It is about the Singapore Public Service's commitment to Anticipate, Welcome and Execute change, influencing developments in order to provide Singapore with the best conditions for success. One of its main objectives is to cut red tape to achieve service excellence and efficiency. Red tape reduction definitely will encourage entrepreneurship, foreign investment and positive growth of the business sector.

2.1(b) Ministry of Finance (MOF)

The main regulatory statutes under MOF are the Companies Act, Business Registration Act, Currency Act and Accountants Act. The emphasis of the regulatory policy is on development, rather than control. MOF aims to collaborate with industry experts to make Singapore a world-class financial and business hub. The main strategy in helping the business in the Singapore is building a

Conducive Business Environment by

Facilitate growth of businesses and nurture an entrepreneurial environment"

Under the MOF, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Directorate's role is:

* to drive the development of a holistic and cross-directorate/agency