Singapore Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Singapore - Research Paper Example At the end of that period, the economy expound by 7.7%, reducing the level of unemployment to 2.1% and the level of employment being 235,000 (World Trade Organization, 2008, p. 112). The level of inflation, on the other hand, reduced from 4.9% to 3.5% this year. Singapore is one of the richest nations in the world. This has been facilitated by the removal of trade barriers, letting over 99% of the rest of the world to visit the country for trade without imposing a tax on them. This means that it is easy to import and export goods from and to other countries of the world and shows how open the country is. The currency used in Singapore is the Singapore dollar denoted as SD. It is almost equivalent to the US dollar with the exchange rate being 1USD =1.23 SD meaning that it is weaker than the US dollar by 0.23 (Huff, 1997, p. 44). Trade (expressed in billions of USD): Singapore Exports Imports 1975 5.375 8.133 1980 19.376 24.007 1985 22.812 26.285 1990 52.752 60.899 1995 118.268 124.507 1998 109.895 104.719 (International Monetary Fund, 1999) Trade is one the major factors that facilitate the growth of an economy since it earns the country foreign exchange that can be used to develop other sectors of that economy. It involves one country exporting goods that it produces more to avoid wastages and also importing goods that it lacks to avoid shortages. In this, it ensures resources are used appropriately and fully. Singapore’s current export stands at 41,538,700 showing a decrease by about 1,028,330.7 as compared to the previous period (Gerber, 2007, p. 94). Its major exports include: Aircraft and its parts Singapore is ranked number one among the many countries that provide aerospace design, manufacturing services and maintenance. It has all the required equipment to facilitate this, and this has also enabled it to capture a large market in Asia. It has created employment opportunities to the citizens, having over 18,000 employees in this sector. Oil and Gas Singapore is in the top three major traders of oil, and it has become the most important center for shipping in Asia. Oil is being used all over the world, and this is a major source of revenue for the government for different countries (Huff, 1997, p. 64). Since all the countries use oil and gas to run their daily activities, means that they have to purchase it. Singapore being one of the major exporters of oil and gas, it earns a lot, and this helps to improve its economic performance. Computers Computers are very essential in raising the total productivity and in transformation of business processes. Many of the citizens in Singapore have access to computers, and this has greatly contributed to its economy. Some of the computers produced are exported to the other part of the world, earning the country foreign exchange while others are used locally to facilitate or ease production of other products. The total trade value it obtains from export of computers and printers is about 1 2.5 billion (World Trade Organization, 2008, p. 119). Telecommunication Equipment Internet is very useful in the modern world. Many businesses advertise their products online as it is cheap and attracts many customers all over the world. With networking, it is easy to get more ideas on how you can compete globally through improving the quality of your products. Singapore provides the best network in the world and is in the