Majorfels24

Country: Singapore

Industry: Healthcare

What should we include in our Photostory?

Singapore:

· GDP

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Singapore was worth 292.74 billion US dollars in 2015. The GDP value of Singapore represents 0.47 percent of the world economy.

· Inflation

Singapore consumer prices declined by 0.7 percent year-on-year in July of 2016, the same pace as in June while market estimated a 0.5 percent fall.t Core inflation, which excludes costs of accommodation and private road transport, rose 1.0 percent year-on-year from 1.1 percent in June and in line with expectations. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices dropped by 0.3 percent, compared to a 0.7 percent increase in June.

· PEST factors

Political: The political risk in Singapore is quite low. In fact, the Political And Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) states that the country enjoys the lowest political risk in the continent. It is a democratic country. The people elect representatives to lead the nation. Since its independence, they cherished relative political stability. Today, the stability has translated to peace and a better standard of living. Moreover, It has transformed into improved business opportunities for Singapore.

However, there have been reports about restriction of free speech for opposition parties in Singapore. It is said that the value of free speech for the parties is limited. The defamation laws require opposition parties to be careful that political comments do not lead to costly defamation suits or imprisonment. The fear of legal suits limits the potential of free speech for opposition parties in Singapore. Another factor is limited dissemination of content. These discourage the opposition parties. As a result, the contribution to free speech activities and inter-party debates is low.

Economic: The economy of Singapore is a vibrant free-market economy. It is developing at a very fast pace. The country’s per-capita income is the highest in ASEAN. A corruption-free environment supports the business sector.  It is among the most competitive countries. The educated and motivated workers strengthen it. The legal and financial business framework helps as well.

Recently, the government has invested in diversifying the economy. As a result, the tourism, pharmaceutical, and many other industries have flourished. One of the main reasons behind the success is its strategic geographic location. The government is an imperative and active player. It owns substantial productive assets. Cheaper labor cost from neighboring countries helps Singapore save a lot of costs.

Some constraints on Singapore’s economic performance are the following:

· Labor shortages

· Rising labor costs

· Declines in productivity

Social: Socially, Singapore is like any other Eastern country. It still follows traditional family values. It is true that the younger generation has the tendency to follow western culture and values. The residents work hard and fulfill the materialism desire. This urge to do well has increased nation productivity. The business sectors can, therefore, expect higher purchasing power from customers. Reports suggest that most Singaporeans dislike blue collar jobs like construction.

Literacy rate in the country is very high. Primary schooling is compulsory in Singapore. Parents must ensure children’s regular attendance. Good command of English and Chinese languages gives Singaporeans an advantage. It helps to attract international trade and foreign investment.

· SWOT

· Strengths

· Good trade infrastructure

· High business and physical connectivity

· Credibility and reputation of Singapore corporations

· Stable political environment

· Pro-Business

· Weaknesses

· Not many local trading professionals

· High costs of operating business

· Limited access to capital and export credit insurance

· Scarcity of land

· Opportunities

· Companies that are internationalizing will find an excellent base of operations in this gateway to Asia.

· Liberalisation in Asia and the increased demand for talent risk management and consulting indicates a need for foreign talent.

· Growing consumer base and high quality of life indicates growing demand for premium and luxury products as well as technology.

· Threats

· The economy is highly competitive due to its global nature. This can make it difficult for startups with poor connections.

· The culture, though open and diverse due to influences by international business, has its own unique characteristics that international investors must be aware of in order to maintain relationships by managing the important concept of face.

· Population

· The total population in Singapore was estimated at 5.5 million people in 2015, according to the latest census figures.

· Literacy rate

· Education

With higher literacy rate in the country, the chances of training and educating someone to be a medical staff would also be higher.

Source above are from ( www.singstat.gov.sg Ministry of Education)

· Investments

Healthcare:

· Figures

(photos above are from www.singstat.gov.sg Ministry of Health)

In 2014, there were a total of 11,230 hospital beds in the 26 hospitals and specialty centres in Singapore. The 8 public hospitals comprise 6 acute general hospitals (SGH, NUH, CGH, TTSH, KTPH & AH), a women's and children's hospital (KKH) and a psychiatry hospital (IMH). In 2015, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) opened with effect from 30 June 2015.

As of 2014, Singapore had a total of 11,733 doctors in its healthcare delivery system. This gives a doctor to population ratio of 1:470. The nurse (including midwives) to population ratio is 1:150, with a total of 37,618 nurses. There are 1,905 dentists, giving a ratio of 1 dentist to 2,870 people.

Developments in the sector of 2015: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/healthcare-in-singapore/2369290.html

· Statistics

· Rate of Return

· Singapore govt financing system and subsidies for healthcare:

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What is the main question I should be answering?

The question is: what would you advise me to consider when investing in this country and industry?

Unlike the essay, you are analysing what overall factors does foreign investors would want to know when investing your country (like GDP, inflation and so forth) and industry (industry sales figures, rate of return and so forth). This is different to your essay, where you are analysing the internationalisation process of your multinational corporation into your host country. Therefore, you only need to present the class with only industry-wide statistics or national aspects (like national regulations or policies, economic data or business cultural aspects). There is no need to analyse individual companies.

How do I determine what to put into the photo story?

Judge what national (this could be regulatory, economic or cultural) and industry aspects are most important to highlight in 3 minutes. If you have surplus facts and figures keep them for questioning that you will be receiving after the presentation. It would also help to add in a few words to link the aspects that you raise to your industry and country.  

From your selected international industry and country, you will need to investigate key issues in ‘the industry’ and ‘the host country.’ You need to incorporate key host country’s factors (political, economic and socio-cultural factors) as well as key industrial information.

Delegate task:

Sharlyn - IB Business Contract (10%)

Sandra + Emrys - Wiki (20%)

Wanlin + Simin + Adam - Photostory (20%)