Singapore as an International Financial Centre Ker Sin Tze Trade Representative Singapore Trade Office in Taipei At the 14 th Annual Conference on Pacific Basin Finance, Economics, and Accounting at Grand Hotel, Taipei on 14 July 2006

Singapore’s GDP Growth GDP in 2005 was S$194,359.8 million (US$ million) YearGrowth Rate (%)Per Capita GDP (US$) $23, $20, $21, $22, $25, $26, st Quarter nd Quarter 7.5 Growth in Q was 10.6% (6.8% after seasonal adjustments). Broad-based economic expansion due to strong global IT demand, intra-regional trade. Growth in Q was 7.5%. Forecast growth in 2006: 5-7%.

Investment & Trade a)Major sources of foreign direct investments are Europe, US and Japan. Singapore’s investment destinations abroad are China, HK, Malaysia, Caribbean/Latin America, etc US$ (Million) Foreign direct investment stock in Singapore at end ,691.7 Singapore’s stock investment abroad at end ,859.8 Destinations for Singapore’s direct investment in 2003 were: British Virgin Islands14.4 % China12.4 Malaysia 8.7 Bermuda 7.6 Hong Kong 7.5 b)Total trade in 2005 was US$430,070.2 million (at exchange rate US$1=$1.6642). About 70% was with Asian countries, 13% was with America including Brazil and Canada, another 13% was with Europe and the remaining 4% was with Australia, NZ and Africa. c)Singapore has been promoting investment and trade with China for the last 25 years. With the rise of India and the new opportunities in the Middle East, Singapore is also promoting investment and trade in India and the Middle East.

FTA & CEP To-date, Singapore has signed FTAs or CEPs with the following countries: CountryYear New Zealand2000 Japan2002 European Free Trade Association2003 Australia2003 US2004 India2005 Korea2005 Jordan2005 Trans-Pacific SEP2006 Panama2006

International Financial Centre In 2005, financial services accounted for 11.6% of Singapore’s GDP a)Basic Favourable Factors Sound economic and financial fundamentals Conducive regulatory and business environment Strategic geographical location Skilled labour force Excellent telecommunications and infrastructure High living standards b)Activities Banking Asian dollar market Foreign exchange market Bond market Equity and derivatives market Fund and asset management Insurance c)Additional Activities in Future Regional leader in wealth management Regional and global processing centre Asia Pacific risk management centre

Present and Future Singapore has won praises in international assessments of its good business environment and competitiveness. Rank Business environments by Economist Intelligence Unit 6 Network ready country by World Economic Forum 2 Best labour force by BERI's 2005 Labour Force Ranking 1 Overall competitiveness by IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook Best place for Asian expatriates by ECA International The favourable factors listed above will help to bring about excellent economic performance in future. With sustained growth and Singapore's diversification of investment links to China, India and the Middle East, Singapore will continue serving as the focus point for the flow of financial resources between them, and Singapore as a major financial centre will grow further in the years to come.