In many ways, Singapore is in the same league as Hong Kong and Dubai. The tiny Southeast Asian nation built on an island two-thirds the size of New York City has all it takes to qualify as the perfect blueprint for a world-class business hub.
It has a forest of skyscrapers in its financial district, brigades of Jurassic-like shipping cranes at its myriad container docks, an A-to-Z global community of blue-chip companies, an up-to-date network of telecom facilities for keeping in touch worldwide, and an array of world-class hotels backstopped by bistros and food stalls that amaze gourmet-minded visitors. And it all functions like clockwork with political unrest kept in the closet.
It is a very attractive mix—an energetic, educated, largely Chinese population (4.4 million) with administrative skills dating from the days when Singapore was a trading outpost of the British empire and fiefdom of the East India Company (which once owned the whole island). It was Sir Stamford Raffles, an East India honcho, who took charge in 1819 and set the island on a course dedicated to commerce rather than the piratical adventures that had been its economic mainstay.
Not surprisingly, Singapore’s nickname—the Lion City, a translation of the name “Singapura” bestowed on the island by a Sumatran prince when lions and tigers roamed its uncivilized jungles—has survived over the centuries.
Blessed with humid but clean air, an honest work ethos, and an ambition to get ahead, the country that looks like a dot on a map of the Malay Peninsula has lured lots of foreign investors since it attained independence in 1965.
Hot Competition
But the tropical city is feeling the heat not just from its location almost on the equator—pack light cottons for your visit—but also from its competitors in the global rat race.
It now lives in the shadow of an economic superpower—China (which controls Hong Kong). And it now has a kind of generic rival, though far away, in a spectacular new superport—Dubai.
But Singapore’s eagerness to adjust has long been one of its greatest assets. Never content with success—its gross domestic product grew by 9.1 percent in the first quarter of this year—the city constantly sets new ambitious goals to achieve. And it’s a patiently workaholic place—just right for setting the bar ever higher.
Singapore’s other enviable asset is its welcome mat for American and other foreign companies that have flocked there by the hundreds since the 1970s. The United States is the largest foreign investor with some 1,500 companies, mainly in electronics, oil refining and warehousing, on the premises.
Singaporeans are so skilled at managing factories and warehouses—you can see dozens of them from Hewlett-Packard to Toyota on the outskirts of the city proper—that they rent themselves out as consultants to help other countries like India, China, Vietnam and the Philippines China build industrial parks.
Over the years, the stable city/state has become a headquarters town for manufacturing and marketing in Southeast Asia without the turmoil that often afflicts foreign operations in neighbors like Indonesia and Thailand. And as a great port it’s a turnstile for trans-shipping and distributing products from all over the globe.
Avant-Garde Flagship
To top it off, Singapore has a bigger-than-life flagship airline that endlessly racks up awards for its nearly flawless performance year in, year out. (Does Singapore Airlines ever arrive late and lose baggage like its hundreds of global competitors? Sure, but you rarely hear about it.)
The airline—virtually the first with every advance in posh comforts and high-tech conveniences for business travelers—is Singapore’s flying billboard. It expects to be the first in the world to fly the mammoth Airbus 380 commercially. (It has 10 on order.) And it has installed Boeing’s broadband Connexion service on its Singapore-Sydney route that provides on-board e-mail and Internet access as good as on the ground.
Even with its special in-flight amenities—including attentive, charming cabin attendants—SIA has reconfigured planes to accommodate a new Executive Economy section in some of its cabins that provides 22 percent more room for only about $300 more than standard economy.
All in all, it’s hard to imagine that Singapore would loom so large on the global business map without the airline’s efficient 24/7 presence.
Getting There
Many American and European airlines fly to Singapore, whether going west across the Pacific or heading east through Europe and the Persian Gulf. But it seems to take forever to get there—especially from the U.S. East Coast. Figure on about 24 hours from home to plane to hotel.
If you ever wanted your boss to OK business class, now is the time. Even with that extra comfort, some flights arrive in Singapore at around midnight (which may be around noon back home).
And if you don’t like stopping in, say, Tokyo or Hong Kong on the way to Singapore, book one of the new marathon nonstops from New York and West Coast cities. Call it a five-movie flight, plus endless music and other entertainment options and white gloves service to help while away the hours.
From Airport to Hotel
There are two terminals connected by a shuttle train at Changi International Airport, always rated one of the best in the world. The buildings are spacious, clean and chockablock with services from a fitness facility, transit rooms (in six-hour blocks for connecting flights), and cinema to a food hall and business center (both in Terminal 2). If you’re just going through Singapore to another Southeast Asian destination, you can have a quick look around the city and overnight in one of the airport hotels.
Clearing customs and immigration is usually swift unless you have cigarettes or gum. (In the bad old days of autocratic government, Singapore sheared hippies before letting them through.)
It’s a 20-minute, 12-mile taxi ride to your hotel, kept to moderate speed by “governors” that ting-a-ling if the driver exceeds the limit. The charge is SGD20 (about $12) with a hefty 50 percent surcharge from midnight to 6 a.m.
If you’re on a tight budget, take a six-seater MaxiCab (SGD7/$4.20) or the even cheaper MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), boarding at the new Changi station.
Getting Around
Singapore has a neat and clean appearance—with new office towers side by side with vestiges of British colonial buildings.
Some of the landscaping has the look of a golf course (and in fact there are several in Singapore). Snaking through the downtown area is the narrow Singapore River, now alive with bistros and boutiques after decades of neglect.
For business visitors there are three distinct areas to know about.
• You won’t have a hard time finding the financial district. It’s on both sides of Shenton Way and other lanes—those skyscrapers tell all (and several have restaurants with panoramic views). Nearby are the city’s massive port facilities.
• Ten minutes away, driving northwest along twisting roadways past manicured lawns and bushes, you’ll arrive at Orchard Road, the city’s neon-lit, bustling commercial and shopping belt. Close by are embassies, American and other foreign clubs, and a rich sprinkling of mansions once occupied by well-heeled merchants.
• The newest area—easily spotted by its streamlined architecture and interlocking pedestrian ways—is Marina Centre coupled with the Convention Centre, to the east of the financial district. If Orchard Road is a bit tacky, Marina is upscale—even aristocratic, with the trappings of big money everywhere.
If you’re visiting corporate offices to the west, you can take one of the city’s handful of expressways. Allow 20 to 30 minutes to get to a “suburban” appointment. Several government departments, as well as Singapore University and other higher educational facilities, are also outside the city center.
Where to Stay
Not a bad idea to lock into a hotel well in advance, what with Singapore’s busy international convention and trade show schedule.
The city can lay claim to some of the world’s best hotels—mostly well-designed, sumptuous, full of services from casual to formal dining to all the digital toys (wireless included) you need to carry on business. The city was one of the first to fall in love with cells almost two decades ago.
Older hotels, from Hilton and Hyatt to Marriott, line Orchard Road, while the newer hotel showcases like the opulent and striking-looking Oriental are in the Marina area.
Here are some good picks for $250 on up (but much cheaper at corporate rates):
• The Ritz Carlton in the Marina area is imperial, handsome and blessed with beautiful rooms with major views of the city’s skyscrapers and sea. A very popular hotel for business cocktail parties.
• Nearby is the all-suite Raffles, a radically altered version of the famed original (1887) that once hosted literary celebs like Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham. Today, it’s a polished conglomerate of shops, bars and all things touristy—but irresistible to the eye and taste. Its Palm Court is a picturesque spot for having tea amidst the frangipani and palm trees. And its Long Bar dispenses those inimitable pink Singapore Slings (see sidebar for the recipe).
• In the other part of town—Orchard Road—consider staying at the resort-style Shangri-la, one of the stars of the Far East hotel chain. It has a three-hole golf course, tennis courts, a bevy of restaurants, and suites and rooms fit for a CEO.
• The Four Seasons, known for its oriental objets d’art, is in its element with the finicky attention to detail it’s known for. Along with luxury par excellence the hotel loads its guestrooms with business accessories and CD players, but—if that’s not enough—also adds such amenities as a 66-foot pool, air-conditioned indoor tennis court, gym, spa and golf simulator.
• The financial district makes up for its shortage of hotels with the Fullerton, a posh palace that occupies Singapore’s former post office and boasts two vintage Rolls-Royces in its limo fleet. It’s near banks and the stock exchange and across the river from the lively Boat Quay (accessible by a bridge). If you’re stressed out from a day of financial acrobatics, do laps in the hotel’s 25-meter pool or exercise in its high-tech gym.
Among other hotel standouts, mostly less expensive:
• Swissotel’s Stamford (originally a Westin) is Southeast Asia’s tallest skyscraper hotel—73 floors in all. With the Convention Centre (and Raffles Centre) close by, it caters to meeting-goers. But rooms are commodious, and you can enjoy comp breakfasts and cocktails if you book one of the Executive Club rooms. Patrons of the Somerset’s Bar can listen to jazz as they sip gin and tonics. And the Amrita Spa can soothe your aches and pains if you’re suffering from jet lag.
• Hotel InterContinental, located at historic Bugis Junction near top shops and financial offices, makes a big bow to corporate business with—yes—its Business Rooms you can book, complete with faxes, photocopiers, printers and Internet access. Club floor rooms include secretarial services and a stream of refreshments. And don’t forget the Victoria Bar, the Olive Tree for Med cuisine, and the outdoor pool for working off the excesses. But the hotel softens its all-business image by incorporating in its overall design some of Singapore’s few remaining and architecturally distinctive two-story “shophouses.”
Eating and Entertaining
Foodies and gourmets make pilgrimages to Singapore to sample its lowbrow (street vendor) and highbrow (restaurant) dishes in almost every ethnic category: Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese—and even European. Spicy Chinese-Malay cuisine called nyonya is a much-sought-after specialty.
The dress code for dining in restaurants is toward the casual—a long-sleeved shirt and tie (or no tie) without a jack for men, a light suit or dress for women. Call it smart casual.
Here’s a quartet of upscale hotel restaurants where you can talk business in comfortable surroundings:
• Morton’s of Chicago in the Oriental Hotel. A clone of the American steakhouse in an Asian setting where the turf-and-surf is as good as it gets, and so is the New York cheesecake. It’s a super place to socialize over dinner, if you can afford the $90-a-person tab, not including drinks.
• The Tiffin Room in the Raffles Hotel. One of Singapore’s best Indian restaurants with white tablecloths, handsome silverware and ceiling fans that say “tropics.” The buffet has the works from naan bread to curries with chutney—and drink choices include lime juice and barley water, both popular locally, as well as an array of English teas.
• The Line in the Shangri-La Hotel. Between chats with your lunch companion, browse the immense and tempting buffet and fill your plate with oysters, sushi, Tandoori prawns, risotto and more delights—prepared in an open kitchen.
• Straits Kitchen on the ground floor of the Grand Hyatt.
A recommended place for sampling a variety of flavorful dishes from sticks of Malay satay to Hainanese chicken rice either at lunch or dinner.
Out of the ordinary:
• Teahouse at China Square (51 Telok Ayer Street) for Cantonese bite-size dim sum dishes from dumplings to wontons in an action-packed ambience. Thasevi Food Eating House (237/239 Jalan Kayu), if you want to eat what the city’s food-wise taxi drivers like. Lei Garden (01-24 Chijmes, 30 Victoria Street) for the best Peking duck in town—but noisy and crowded. Indochine Waterfront (1 Empress Place, Asian Civilisations Museum), small but lively as it was when used by Straits Settlements legislators—featuring Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese dishes and waterfront views.
For seafood connoisseurs:
• UDMC Seafood Centre (on the beach at the East Coast Park a few minutes by taxi from Marina Centre) where a dozen or so fish-and-fun bistros attract hordes of Singaporeans as well as tourists. For instance, the menu at the popular Chin Wah Heng includes fried baby squid, steamed sea bass and black pepper crab—and you can reserve a seaside table over the phone. Bring your own wine and the restaurant will chill it without a corkage fee.
Food Courts Alfresco
If you’re hungering for fast food at lunch or a midnight snack alfresco, you’re in the right city. Carve out a half hour or so to dine cheaply and richly at one of the city’s famed hawker stalls (the local name for food courts).
What’s to eat? Noodles in all shapes and sizes, pancakes stuffed with chicken or fish, baguettes with tomato and minced-meat toppings. Browse, choose a dish or two, ask for the price in advance, order (and point to your choice if there’s a communication problem), and then eat at a picnic bench. Don’t let a vendor talk you into ordering expensive dishes.
The best-known and favorite dine-around is the Newton Food Centre (at Newton Circus). Another, in the heart of the downtown river district, is D’Original Satay Club. Or ask your concierge for some other hawker candidates.
The outdoor cookeries are generally open 24 hours a day. So, if you’re hungry after checking in very late at a hotel upon arriving in Singapore, consider walking or taxiing to one of the hawker emporiums and grab a bite.
Cultural U-Turn
Singapore isn’t the same enclave today as it was not so long ago.
Back in its early post-independence days, Singapore bulldozed its British crown-colony inheritance. For instance, the colorful downtown alley that teemed with money changers gave way to boringly modern aluminum-and-glass corporate towers. Ditto dozens of other historic sites around town. The city fathers wanted nothing more than to buy into modernism typified by skyscrapers.
Now, after suffering only moderately when the bubble burst in Pac Rim countries in the late 1990s, Singapore is making a cultural and entertainment U-turn. It is taking some of the starch out of its attitude toward progress and letting the good times roll—at least, a bit.
It is confidently restoring its past by rebuilding destroyed monuments and architecturally distinctive shops and opening art showcases such as the acclaimed Asian Civilisations Museum and theater and concert complexes like the Esplanade. (“There wasn’t enough to see during a visit,” Singaporean tourist officials privately acknowledged.) Some of the new look is simply a goad to boost tourism revenue. Downtown, along the river, there’s a scene at lunch and in early evening you never would have seen a decade ago. In the lee of corporate towers, cafes, bars and bistros help nourish all the good things that workaholic Singaporeans need—like “take it easy.”
Not Quite Freewheeling
Even so, in the global hub competition, Singapore practices a form of capitalism that doesn’t wheel all that freely.
Since the 1960s, when the colonial island became a nation and brilliant economist Lee Kwan Yew took the reins, the country has operated as a one-of-a-kind sovereign corporation with the government micromanaging everything in sight. Today, the 82-year-old leader is the “minister mentor” (his actual title) behind the scenes, still exercising his power in both little and large ways.
Talk to executives from the States who’ve spent many expat years in the country, and they’ll give Singapore an A-plus as a place to work and bring up a family without fear of crime. But they do admit that life in this tropical paradise can be pretty bland.
Even so, the downside is not always of Singapore’s doing. For example, some 10 percent of the country’s real estate is land reclaimed from the sea, using techniques out of the Dutch playbook. The limits on land have led the city to propose managing the nearby island of Bintan for the Indonesian government—with similar schemes afoot in other Southeast Asian countries.
Committee Consensus
But somewhere in its early development the nation fell in love with the committee as the model for getting things done—wisecracks or humor definitely not allowed. Try to do business with one or another of the government agencies, and you’ll soon wonder when the round of committee meetings will grind to a halt and conclude with a consensus. Be prepared for constant references to the alphabet soup of agency and department acronyms as you negotiate with usually serious bureaucrats.
In any case, when dealing with Singaporeans, keep the following in mind:
• Corruption (read a payoff) is a major no-no—and dealt with harshly if uncovered.
• Government approval is necessary for many aspects of setting up shop.
• Singapore’s government bureaucracy is extremely hierarchical—with no stepping out of line permitted.
Out of the craze for committees has come the creation of numerous, sometimes overlapping government departments and agencies that deal with trade, economics, budgeting and R&D (see sidebar on “BlackBerry Notes”).
Though the micromanagement that Singaporeans like can delay getting work done, it fosters an orderliness that makes business refreshingly straightforward compared to the sloppiness in many Asian countries.
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