Daunting economic challenges at Independence in 1965

• small country: 582 square kilometres
• no natural resources
• population of 1.9 million and growing rapidly at 2.5%
• high unemployment, estimated at about 10%
• economy highly dependent on entrepot trade and on the provision of services to the British military bases here
• small manufacturing base, little industrial know-how or domestic entrepreneurial capital

The Government's development strategies were to:

• industrialise by to solve unemployment problem and diversify away from dependence on regional entrepot trade
• internationalise by attracting foreign investors to Singapore to develop the manufacturing and financial sectors
• improve investment environment by enacting the Employment Act and the Industrial Relations Act to lay down standards of employment and the dispute resolution procedures, and by investing in key infrastructure, including the development of Jurong Industrial Estate
• establish new companies in areas where the private sector lacked capital or expertise, like Singapore Airlines, Neptune Orient Line, Development Bank of Singapore, Sembawang Shipyard

Policies were highly successful

• economic growth averaged 10% per year during the period 1965-80
• unemployment fell steadily and the unemployment rate stood at 3% in 1980
• strong manufacturing sector developed, accounting for 28% of GDP in 1980, up from the 15% in 1965

1980: Industrial Restructuring
1990: Looking Beyond Singapore

Contributed by Chan Enda