"We're inundated with requests for information and help with setting up".Singapore is the third-largest financial centre in Asia, the third-most competitive country in the world and the third-largest business destination on the continent after China and Japan. The third-largest financial centre in Asia, the third-most competitive country in the world1 and the continent's third-largest business destination after China and Japan, Singapore is also France's number-one export destination in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It has to be said that this 750 km2 piece of land, on the borders of Malaysia, has achieved an almost faultless economic record since its independence in 1965.
A resounding success
In fact, its average growth rate has been around 7 % per year for the past fifteen years, and its standard of living is equivalent to that of the most developed OECD countries. Better still: 2010 saw exceptional growth of 14.5 %, the highest in the region and the second highest in the world after Qatar. This impressive figure can be explained not only by the country's openness to trade, but also by a strategy focused on foreign direct investment.
Admittedly, in 2009, Singapore suffered the full force of the crisis, with a decline in growth of -0.8 %, due precisely to this openness to the outside world, but the recovery in trade, first regionally and then globally, enabled it to bounce back in style. Of course, such a rate of growth is not sustainable in a mature economy," explains Michel Cywinski, Director of Ubifrance in Singapore, "but the rebuilding of stocks has wiped out the losses of 2009.. Estimates for the current year vary between 4 and 7 %, and the city-state continues to post a very low unemployment rate of 1.9 %. "At the height of the crisis, the country preferred to invest in training and dip into its kitty rather than keep laying people off".continues the Ubifrance director.
Singapore's strategic position at the heart of South-East Asia has enabled it to attract foreign companies and talent. The number of multinationals based here now exceeds 7,000. And the population, which was just 3.5 million in 2005, has recently risen to 5 million thanks to strong immigration in a country with one of the lowest birth rates in the world. "Singapore has 438 French subsidiaries to date".says Michel Cywinski.
The number of French companies "helped in 2009 would have increased by 40 % compared with 2008. Commercial relations between Paris and the city-state are buoyant and we should not forget, among other examples, that Singapore Airlines was the first to operate flights on the Airbus A 380. But aeronautics is not the only sector in which the French have distinguished themselves. Wines and spirits is another, with revenues of nearly 450 million euros in 2010, taking France's market share to 2.4 %. "A flattering figure for a country 10,000 kilometres away".concludes Michel Cywinski.
France enjoys a positive image here, and has positioned itself in all the country's key sectors, which are themselves increasingly numerous. "Singapore is a very diversified economy, contrary to what you might think".explains Gilles Bordes, financial adviser in the embassy's economic department.
Leading-edge industry
As one of the world's leading financial centres and recently removed from the OECD's grey list of tax havens, Singapore's financial sector is significant, accounting for 11.2 % of GDP. At the same time, however, its manufacturing industry contributes almost a quarter of GDP, and Singapore is now the world's third-largest oil refining centre, after Houston and Rotterdam. "Even though not a single drop comes out of the ground".points out Gilles Bordes. For example, Singapore, the world's second-largest port for container transhipment after Shanghai, handles in a month what Le Havre unloads in a year.
Symbol of Singapore, the Merlion, misirene half-lion, could also have been phoenix. For Singapore never ceases to be reborn. Today, the focus is on cutting-edge technologies and information, electronic industries, microelectronics, health, ecology and tourism. Only a slight cloud is hanging over the short-term outlook: "the country is facing an inflation problem, estimated at around 4 % for 2011".says Gilles Bordes. This threat, as well as the formation of a property bubble in the private market - prices have risen by almost 20 % since the recovery at the end of 2009 - hardly seems to be discouraging the French from staying in Singapore, or even moving there altogether. "In 2005, there were just 3,500. Today there are almost 10,000".says Carine Lespayandel, Director of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. Around a thousand French people settle in the city-state every year. "What attracts them are, first of all, the phenomenal growth rates; but also the fact that the country is very open to the outside world; that its GDP is well diversified and that it benefits from a stable regime".continues the director.
1 ) With its lotus shape by Moshe Shafdie, the ArtScience Museum is like an open hand welcoming visitors to Marina Bay Sands, Singapore's new tourist icon.
2 ) Stadium MRT Stationinaugurated in 2010, illustrates the expansion of a transport network that is keeping pace with population growth.
To consolidate its prestige, this hub of South-East Asia is betting on culture and education, areas in which France also has a strong presence. "The emergence of high-level institutions such as ESSEC, INSEAD and EDHEC will continue with the arrival of a Panthéon-Sorbonne University campus dedicated to international law".says Carine Lespayandel. Academic excellence and a high quality of life seem to go hand in hand: everything here is comfort, safety, no climate problems or pollution, but also a wealth of opportunities for SMEs. "The government has identified niches to attract talent and large foreign companies. This generates a lot of opportunities for small businesses."adds the Director of the French Chamber of Commerce. Singapore, which invests 3 % of its GDP in research and development, is also succeeding in attracting foreign brains by setting up clusters such as Biopolis and Fusionopolis, dedicated to new technologies and health.
Futuristic developments
Yet these clusters represent only a tiny part of the efforts being made by the city-state. The city also intends to establish itself as a tourist destination. 2010 was a banner year, with the inauguration of two major casino complexes: Resorts World on Sentosa Island, and Marina Bay Sands, on a spit of land reclaimed from the water and now known as the Marina Bay District. This futuristic resort already has iconic status. In the south of the city, in the extension of the historic district, its three 57-storey towers, crowned by a long terrace linking them together and lined with swimming pools, bars and palm trees, house a 2,561-room hotel, a vast luxury mall, around fifty restaurants and cafés, 120,000 m2 of event space, theatres, a museum in the shape of an open lotus, and of course, a casino.
With the arrival of the Marina Bay Sands, other new developments have also seen the light of day, such as the Fullerton Bay Hotel and the office towers of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, whose blue silhouettes are due to be fully completed in 2013. But by then, the Marina Bay District will have changed a great deal. Eventually, there will be six metro stations, a cruise terminal, luxury apartment blocks and the Garden by the Bay, a 101-hectare botanical garden that will gradually open its doors from 2012. Its two breathtaking greenhouses, at the cutting edge of new environmental technologies, and its tree-shaped structures will be accompanied by spaces where, as everywhere else in Singapore, you can shop and dine.
Cultural strategy
This sumptuous array of cultural attractions, museums and universities is probably more the result of an expansion strategy than a genuine thirst for knowledge. No matter: Singapore no longer wants to be content with being an air and port hub, and is giving itself the means to succeed. And that's something that France is sure to appreciate. "The Bouygues group is currently leading a consortium that has won the tender to build a future 55,000-person stadium, the Sport Hub Singapore."concludes Carine Lespayandel, while emphasising that "Singapore's main strength is its vision"..
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, a gigantic mall where all the luxury brands are represented, is sure to appeal to the most discerning shoppers. Right next door, a Vuitton boutique has just opened in one of the two 'Crystal Pavilions', glass buildings overlooking the bay.
"The Tourism 2015 project was launched in 2005".explains Oliver Chong, Director of Conventions and Meetings at the Singapore Tourism Board, who points out that the goal is to attract 17 million visitors and generate 30 billion Singapore dollars in tourism revenue, or more than 16 billion euros. Ambitious indeed, but entirely realistic. For the tourism challenge that the Lion City has set itself should be met with flying colours. The return on investment of the Marina Bay Sands, which was estimated to take eight years, has already reached 40 % to 50 % since its opening. And this success can rely on a major springboard: Changi airport, with its 42 million annual passengers and 5,200 weekly flights to more than 200 destinations. "2010 was a record year, with 11.6 million foreign arrivals and $18.8 billion in revenue".says Oliver Chong. Singapore is aiming for $24 billion (€13 billion) in 2011. "The radical transformation of our city has put us on track to meet our 2015 targets"concludes the director.
Singapore's real secret: keep some for later. The future National Art Gallery is already attracting attention. The foundation stone was laid earlier this year, and this museum dedicated to the culture of Southeast Asia will open in 2014 in the former Supreme Court, renovated by French architect Jean-François Milou. In the meantime, you can always take a look at the newly opened tables of Guy Savoy, Daniel Boulud or Joël Robuchon, who are attracting the whole of Singapore.
