Re‐Engineering Economic Space: The Case of Singapore’s Transborder Industrialization “Gambits” in Asia

Abstract

The exportability of Singapore’s industrial‐development model to other Asian environments has been one of the hallmarks of the city‐state’s regionalization program, together with the state‐led, market‐driven intervention that has underscored the citystate’s development strategies. The paper presents an empirical analysis on the portability of this transborder industrialization strategy, and contributes new insights to the discourse on state‐enterprise networks in promulgating transnational entrepreneurial ventures. Empirical evidence from on‐site surveys and interviews in Indonesia, China, Vietnam and India will be presented. Our study concludes that, while the calculated, schematised efforts have been remarkable, this attempt at re‐engineering economic space beyond the city‐state has not fully accounted for the intricacies of either economic, or socio‐political, realities in the host environments.

Industry dynamics in Growth Triangles: the E&E industry in SIJORI 25 years on

“…Research carried out during the early period of the Growth Triangle confirmed these processes as well as SIJORI as: (1) a regionalised integrated manufacturing complex; (2) an industry and corporate construct based on the complementarity of production factors located in close proximity; (3) a strategic construct from Singapore's perspective that allowed the retention of industries and firms in the region while ‘moving up’ the value chain; (4) increased production linkages as well as a core/non‐core division of labour linking the three territories, and (5) a space where non‐core parts have assumed a subordinate position (Grundy‐Warr et al ; How and Yeoh ; Lee ; Pereira ; Smith ; Sparke et al ; Toh and Low ; Yeoh and Wong ; Yeoh et al , , , ).…”

“…This entailed a state‐led yet market‐guided intervention to persuade firms to relocate activities that no longer enjoyed comparative advantage in the city‐state. This relocation was assisted by the creation of new economic spaces beyond its territory, through the establishment of industrial parks and other infrastructure by government‐linked corporations (Pereira ; Yeoh et al ).…”

Singapore’s Venture into the Gulf: Undiscovered Treasure or Empty Pot?

“…The Singapore government also initiated a series of platforms for strategic discussions and collaboration to market Singapore's overseas industrial parks, and introduced a range of incentives and regulatory innovations designed to assist private companies and individuals in moving overseas (Singapore Ministry of Finance, 1993). A conclusion on the effectiveness of this stratagem has yet to be reached, but it is evident that the initial projects have achieved at least some of their aims (Yeoh & How, 2006;How & Yeoh, 2007); and certainly, the Singapore government, practical-minded as it is, must already be looking further afield for ways to create economic space for the city-state and its corporate components. And indeed, Singapore's aims have expanded, arguably, from regionalization to internationalization; and the latest area of focus for the city-state is the rich, vibrant and expanding region of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).…”