Singapoure
Singapoure
Курсовая работа
Выполнили: студенты группы М2-1
Сазонов В.Н. Федотов А.Н.
Институт международных
экономических отношений, кафедра иностранных языков
Asia’s second financial hub: Opportunities
in Hongkong exodus?
Although Kuala Lumpur has stolen some of
its thunder, Singapore i
s i
n
no danger of losing its unofficial title of Southeast Asia's answer to Hongkong.
The question is whether Singapore can join
New York, London, and Hongkong
as a truly global,
full-service financial center. More to the point, will Singapore's government
surrender enough control to let the island republic f
ulfill
i
ts potential?
The fact that Singapore is known as the
"Switzerland of the East" is testimony to the machinelike efficiency
with which it has pursued success. Entrepreneurial flair has never been a selli
ng point. Even so, what Singapore does, it does
exceptionally well. It is unquestionably the world's most user-friendly
financial hub: The quality of its physical infrastructure, telecommunications
capabilities, and work force is simply unparalleled. As a result, the Lion City
has been a magnet for investment banks and commercial banks alike. This,
together with the growing interest in emerging market currencies, has enabled
Singapore to challenge Tokyo as Asia's top forex
center.
And it is already the region's premier derivatives hub, as strong in
over-the-counter products as it is in exchange-traded ones. The fact that the Barings debacle
originated on the Simex
floor has done little to dent Singapore's repution
or dampen its appeal. But Simex is itself a
reflection of
Singapore's cauti
ous
approach. Although the exchange does a brisk business in eurodollar, euroyen,
and Nikkei
stock
index futures, not one Singaporean
product is
traded. Similarly, while the Singapore dollar could well serve as a safe-haven
currency, the government has resisted calls to
intern
ationalize
it. Nor does it display the least desire to innovate in even the most innocuous
areas. For example, the government has ignored suggestions that it follow Hongkong's
lead and try to establish a yield curve by
issuing long-term bonds. On the other hand, there plainly isn't much need for a
bond market— Singapore runs big budget surpluses and most major companies are
also cash-rich.
Regulation is a source of concern
, as well. To be sure, Singapore has no shortage of
rules; the 1985 Pan-Electric scandal, which closed the stock market for four days
and put a number of brokers out of busi
ness, saw to
that. But bankers complain that the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the
central bank, doesn't always explain what is permissible and what i
s not. Requests for clarification often go unanswered
for months. The financial services industry thus operates in a climate of fear,
particularly since the MAS
tends to deal swiftly and
harshly with most i
nfractions. "There i
s such a history of strong control here that reducing
it is di
ffi
cult,"
says one Singapore-based analyst. "They are determined to mana
ge the liberalization process."
Competition may induce the government to
relax. As much as they fear the idea of a freewheeling
financial sector, Singaporeans
are more fearful of
losing market share to regional ri
vals. Indeed, now
that Malaysia has declared its desire to make Kuala Lumpur a fund management
center, Singapore is taki
ng steps to boost its
allure. The recently announced 1998 budget was notable mainly for tax breaks
and other concessions directed at the investment community.
And even if the authorities refuse to
loosen their grip, ci
rcumstances may yet lift
Singapore. Now that Hongkong
is under Chinese rule,
any misfortune that it suffers will clearly benefit Singapore. The city-state
is the escape route of choice for nearly every major investment and commercial
bank that presently makes Hongkong its Asian hub. Bob Mckee
of Independent Strategy, the London-based research boutique, expects to see
more than a few banks set up shop in Singapore over the next decade. "In
our view, the decisive factor in Singapore's favor is that Hongkong is going to
be taking a few steps back," Mckee says. "Hongkong eventually will be
just one of many gateways to China."
SINGAPURE AT A
GLANCE
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