An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
But the Lion City became heavily dependent on foreign capital while state enterprises focused on infrastructure and "nation-building concerns".
Entrepreneurial and innovative capacities have suffered because of a lack of domestic competition and the predominance of state bodies. Public servants running state boards often have little experience of the private sector "and no idea how to run a business", King and other analysts say.
"The local private sector, normally the seedbed of innovation in most market economies, is stunted and starved of venture capital," King writes. "The country's capacity for indigenous research and development and entrepreneurial and innovative endeavours remains limited.
"Heavy state control of the economy is exercised through an extensive layer of state enterprises. The state imposes this control through layers of red tape.
"The government also manages a big chunk of the people's savings through forced savings � and owns 72 per cent of the city-state's land. Moreover, the government controls the unions and most of the labour force. Equally mythical are Singapore's claims to being transparent. Nothing could be more untrue. The operations of Singapore's government and bureaucracy are swathed in secrecy."
King counters claims of high home-ownership levels, saying 86 per cent of Singaporeans rent government flats from the Housing Development Board on 99-year leases.
The author is provocative but very thorough. Every aspect of life in the city-state is analysed in detail.
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http://therealsingapore.com/content/...-without-teeth
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31-03-2014, 10:40 PM
Aussie author: SG is all marketing and hot air
