Welcome to Singapore!
Location
Singapore is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. At 707.1 km2 Singapore is one of three remaining true city-states in the world. It is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia, while Singapore has been popularly recognized as major international transshipment hub and distribution center in the world, positioned on many sea and air trade routes. Moreover, Singapore has well-established commercial infrastructure and communication network around the world.
Sea transportation
The Port of Singapore, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage handled, at 1.15 billion gross tons, and in terms of containerised traffic, at 23.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It was also the world's second busiest in terms of cargo tonnage, coming behind Shanghai with 423 million tons handled. In addition, the Port is the world's busiest for transshipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refuelling centre.
Economy
Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, which historically revolves around extended entrepot trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy depends heavily on exports refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing. Manufacturing constituted 26 percent of Singapore's GDP. The manufacturing industry is well-diversified into electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing. Singapore is the busiest port in the world in terms of tonnage shipped. Singapore is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre after London, New York City and Tokyo. Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. The Singaporean economy itself grew by 8.3 percent in 2004, 6.4 percent in 2005, 7.9 percent in 2006 and 7.6 percent in 2007. On August 19 2007, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally Speech that Singapore's economy is expected to grow by at least 4-6 percent annually over the next 5-10 years.
Free Trade Agreements
Singapore has 14 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements: ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), ASEAN-China (ACFTA), ASEAN-Korea (AKFTA), Australia (SAFTA), EFTA (European Free Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), Jordan (SJFTA), India (CECA), Japan (JSEPA), New Zealand (ANZSCEP), Panama (PSFTA), Peru, South Korea (KSFTA), Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (Trans-Pacific SEP): Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, United States of America USSFTA.
Singapore is also a tourism and shopping heaven, welcome to Singapore.
Download these maps to help you find your way around Singapore!
Singapore City Map (1794 Kb)
Map of Entire Singapore (610 Kb)