Economy of Singapore

The economy of Singapore is a highly developed free-market economy.^[16][17] Singapore's economy has been ranked as the most open in the world,^[18] 7th least corrupt,^[19] most pro-business,^[20] with low tax rates (14.2% of Gross Domestic Product, GDP)^[21] and has the third highest per-capita GDP in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). APEC is headquartered in Singapore.
Government-linked companies play a substantial role in Singapore's economy. Sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings holds majority stakes in several of the nation's largest companies, such as Singapore Airlines, SingTel, ST Engineering and MediaCorp. The Singaporean economy is a major Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) outflow financier in the world. Singapore has also benefited from the inward flow of FDI from global investors and institutions due to its highly attractive investment climate and a stable political environment.^[22]
Exports, particularly in electronics, chemicals and services including Singapore's position as the regional hub for wealth management^[23][24][25] provide the main source of revenue for the economy, which allows it to purchase natural resources and raw goods which it lacks. Moreover, water is scarce in Singapore^[26] therefore water is defined as a precious resource in Singapore along with the scarcity of land to be treated with land fill of Pulau Semakau. Singapore has limited arable land,^[27] meaning that Singapore has to rely on the agrotechnology park^[28] for agricultural production and consumption. Human resources is another vital issue for the health of the Singaporean economy.^[29] The economy of Singapore ranks 2nd overall in the Scientific American Biotechnology ranking in 2014,^[30] with the featuring of Biopolis.
Singapore could thus be said to rely on an extended concept of intermediary trade to Entrepôt trade, by purchasing raw goods and refining them for re-export, such as in the wafer fabrication industry and oil refining. Singapore also has a strategic port which makes it more competitive than many of its neighbours in carrying out such entrepot activities. Singapore's trade to GDP ratio is among the highest in the world, averaging around 400% during 2008–11.^[31][32] The Port of Singapore is the second-busiest in the world by cargo tonnage. In addition, Singapore's port infrastructure and skilled workforce, which is due to the success of the country's education policy in producing skilled workers, is also fundamental in this aspect as they provide easier access to markets for both importing and exporting, and also provide the skill(s) needed to refine imports into exports.
Singapore's government promotes high levels of savings and investment through policies such as the Central Provident Fund, which is used to fund its citizen's healthcare and retirement needs. Most companies in Singapore are registered as private limited-liability companies (commonly known as "private limited companies"). A private limited company in Singapore is a separate legal entity, and shareholders are not liable for the company's debts beyond the amount of share capital they have contributed.
To preserve its international standing and further its economic prosperity in the 21st century, Singapore has taken measures to promote innovation, encourage entrepreneurship and re-train its workforce. ^[33] Also, to attract foreign talent, the government issues various employment permits and passes, subject to qualification criteria (such as relevant educational and professional experience), quotas, foreign worker levies (taxes), permit/pass fees, minimum insurance requirements, employer-paid repatriation guarantees, permit/pass term limits and renewal requirements, minimum wage thresholds, requirements to advertise open positions to resident workers before accepting foreign workers, limitations on accompanying dependents, and restrictions on marrying citizens, as examples. The exact set of requirements varies depending on the permit or pass type, and the Ministry of Manpower (Singapore) (MoM) is primarily responsible for setting, adjusting, and enforcing foreign worker immigration rules. A small percentage of foreign workers, foreign dependents, and foreign students become Singapore Permanent Residents. Some PRs eventually naturalize as citizens. Singapore has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, so this limited path to citizenship (for about 22,000 per year) is critical to Singapore’s demographic future. Singapore relies heavily on foreign talent across all social strata, and foreign guest workers utterly dominate certain occupations. For example, there are approximately 243,000 Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) in Singapore^[34], live-in maids from regional developing countries, who provide domestic services, including child and elder care. As another example, foreign workers, mainly from southern Asia, dominate the manual labor aspects of the construction industry in Singapore.