What is the Singapore dollar (SGD)?

When Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, it shared in Malaysia’s common currency. However, Singapore was expelled and became independent in 1965 and lost its monetary union. In 1967 Singapore established a Board of Commissioners of Currency and released its own notes called the orchid. The orchid is now known as the dollar (SGD). The dollar is pegged to the Brunei dollar at a rate of 1:1. Both currencies are accepted in both countries as legal tender.

Moody’s Rating

Aaa, 14 Jun 2002

S&P Rating

AAA

Sovereign credit ratings play an important part in determining a country’s access to international capital markets, and the terms of that access. Sovereign ratings help to foster dramatic growth, stability, and efficiency of international and domestic markets.

What does it look like?

Political Structure

Singapore is a Parliamentary Republic that consists of three branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The head of the executive branch is the President, elected by popular vote to a six-year term. The president appoints a prime minister as well as two deputy prime ministers to lead parliament. The Parliament has 83 members that are elected to five-year terms by popular vote. The judiciary is a Supreme Court upon which the President appoints justices.

Prominent Figures

Chief of State President S R NATHAN (since 1 September 1999) note: uses S R NATHAN but his full name and the one used in formal communications is Sellapan RAMANATHAN
Head of Government Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister Shunmugam JAYAKUMAR (since 1 April 2009); Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister TEO Chee Huan (since 1 April 2009) and Deputy Prime Minister WONG Kan Seng (since 1 September 2005)
Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to parliament
Elections president elected by popular vote for six-year term; appointed on 17 August 2005 (next election to be held by August 2011); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president
Election Results Sellapan Rama (S R) NATHAN appointed president in August 2005 after Presidential Elections Committee disqualified three other would-be candidates; scheduled election not held

Key Economic Factors

The economy of Singapore is highly dependent on international trade. For example, in 2002 the total value of trade in goods (imports plus exports) was 273% of the country’s GDP. The majority of the industrial sector in Singapore is made of foreign multinationals and large domestic corporations. Medium and small sized companies play a miniscule role. The IES provides annual, cumulative, quarterly and monthly trade volume/value of imports, exports, re-exports and domestic exports of all commodities. The data is covered in both Harmonised System (HS) and Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) codes. Reports are generated on the basis of Singapore’s trade with markets, products and commodities and the balance of trade indicates the difference between exports and imports of foreign trade in goods and services; also revealing the extent to which foreign growth is contributing to the Singapore’s economic performance.

The industrial production (IP) index measures fluctuations in output of Singapore manufacturing, mining and utilities. Output refers to the physical quantity of items produced, unlike sales value, which combines quantity and price. The index covers the production of goods for domestic sales in, as well as for export from, Singapore. Weighting each component according to its relative importance in the base period develops the IP index. It excludes production in the agriculture, construction, transportation, communication, trade, finance, and service industries; government output, and imports.