...that an amount RM13.53 trillion (US$4.1 trillion x 3.3) spent worldwide on healthcare industry. This massive amount of spending is due to the number of disease and sickness arises daily with the rise of health cost globally. Country like Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and other various South-East Asia countries has their own healthcare system for the people living in their country. As for Singapore, a country that was formed after the separation from Malaysia in 1965 the healthcare is mainly under their Ministry of Health and was ranked six the best by the World Health Organisation in 2006. For a newly established country Singapore leaders had a very difficult time in managing the country, particularly in health services that need a strong resources, where rising health budget yearly is a problem until in 1975 former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew integrated the Central Provident Fund (CPF) to supplement the medical bills. The Singapore National Health Plan in 1984 develops the Medisave Accounts under the CPF where both employee and employers are compulsory to make an contribution to these accounts, where the accumulate savings can be utilized to pay the persons or his family medical bills. The philosophy of the Singapore Ministry of Health is to ensure a quality and affordable basic medical services for all where it also promotes a healthy living and preventive health programs and also to maintain high standard of living, clean water and hygiene as to achieve a better health...
Words: 1929 - Pages: 8
...Bank. Malaysia has also successfully diversified its role by focusing her economy on both the traditional sphere of primary agricultural produce as well as being a hub for light manufacturing in consumer durables and electronics. Strong economic planning and farsighted vision by both the government and central bank has been instrumental in maintaining a strong growth rate of her economy; her combined year on year growth since independence in 1957 has averaged 6.6%, which is no doubt a stellar record and one of the highest in Asia. The financial institutions and their functions have been instrumental in this success, and this paper will strive to highlight the strengths and weaknesses, as well as a general overview of the Malaysian banking sector. I. Historical background The earliest beginnings of the banking sector in Malaysia dates back to the early 19th Century under British influence and the expatriate (mainly British) merchant communities. The Straits Settlements comprising of Singapore, Malacca and Penang were administered as a Crown Colony in 1867, and they became an important trading post in the Empire trade between the East and West. By the mid-19th Century, Singapore had already grown to be the dominant port in the Malay Archipelago. To meet the needs of the fledging economic trade in cash crops and mining, the British administration had given licenses for the establishment of branch offices of the...
Words: 2999 - Pages: 12
...Singapore is a highly developed trade-oriented market economy.[10][11] Singapore's economy has been ranked as the most open in the world,[12] 7th least corrupt,[13] most pro-business,[14] with low tax rates (14.2% of Gross Domestic Product, GDP)[15] and has thethird highest per-capita GDP in the world; in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Government-linked companies play a substantial role in Singapore's economy, which are owned through the sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, which holds majority stakes in several of the nation's largest companies, such as Singapore Airlines, SingTel, ST Engineering and MediaCorp. The economy of Singapore is a major Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) outflow financier in the world. Singapore has also benefited from the inward flow of FDI from global investors and institutions due to her highly attractive investment climate and a stable political environment.[16] Exports, particularly in electronics, chemicals and services including the posture that Singapore is the regional hub for wealth management[17][18][19] provide the main source of revenue for the economy, which allows it to purchase natural resources and raw goods which she lacks. Moreover, water is scarce in Singapore[20] therefore water is defined as a precious resource in Singapore along with the scarcity of land to be treated with land fill of Pulau Semakau. Singapore has limited arable land[21] that Singapore has to rely on the agrotechnology park[22] for agricultural production...
Words: 562 - Pages: 3
...1. Introduction 1.1 Executive Summary This project focuses on how the Singapore government helps its citizens to pay for their healthcare needs. The primary policy that will be discussed will be the Ministry of Health’s 3M framework and a policy analysis will be conducted based on it. A brief introduction of the development of this policy will be provided followed by an evaluation of the policy and recommendations on how to improve the policy. The report will be concluded with a discussion on the impacts that the policy brings about. 1.2 Background Public health care is an emotive issue that remains a major concern of the public in our country. With the rising costs of financing public healthcare systems and the pressing aging problem issue, how our government finances our public health care systems becomes a major issue and debate within our public sector. Hence, I have decided to study on the Singapore’s Ministry of Health and how it plans to help Singaporeans to finance for their health care in a framework known as the “3M Framework”. This was also specially mentioned in the Budget 2008 announced recently and I will also discuss about changes to this framework in the report. 1.3 Objectives This project aims to study the effectiveness of the 3M framework as a financial means to help Singaporeans finance for their healthcare. 1.4 Scope This project will cover a brief history of the Ministry of Health and the 3M framework as well as the framework’s role in Singapore’s...
Words: 3003 - Pages: 13
...purpose of this essay is to examine the age discrimination issue in Singapore, and the scope of this essay will covers the issues and the group of people involved, why it is important for us to talk about it, and where we can start to fix the problem. All the results reported in the essay were obtained from the newspaper articles, internet as well as a self-driven survey. (79 words) THE ISSUES AND WHO ARE INVOLVED Prejudice and Discrimination has resulted in unfair treatment among the older workers in the society. In this essay, I will be examining the reasons that led to age discrimination among the older workers in Singapore, how this had affected the society, and what the individuals and the society can do to reduce such discrimination. The reason for choosing this particular area to talk about is because age discrimination is something that had existed for long time, and many older workers have always been out casted either by their employees or from job agencies once they hit certain age or when they are nearing their retirement age. As new generation will always be there to replace the older ones, thus older workers will always be faced with age discrimination, as the younger generation are more efficient and their pay is lower. Age discrimination have resulted in many older workers facing lack of jobs, unjustified layoffs and even forced retirements. Furthermore, age discrimination in Singapore is getting younger because, in the past, people in their 50s will still...
Words: 1517 - Pages: 7
...Work Pass Division 18 Havelock Road Singapore 059764 Tel: 6438 5122 http://www.mom.gov.sg mom_wpd@mom.gov.sg Employment Pass / S Pass Application Form (Form 8) This form may require you to take 30 minutes to fill in. You will need the following information to fill it: The foreign employee’s: Foreign Identification number (if applicable) Work Permit number (if applicable) Old/new Malaysian Identity number (if applicable) Malaysian International Passport number (applicable to Malaysian only) Educational qualification and work experience details Spouse personal particulars (if accompanying spouse is a Singapore citizen / Permanent Resident / Employment Pass / S Pass or Work Permit holder) Spouse educational qualification (if applicable) The employing company’s: Unique Entity Number (UEN) Registration number (ACRA) If you wish to be considered for an S Pass, you will need the employing company’s CPF Submission number (CSN) Note: All relevant supporting documents (as stated in Annex A) must be submitted with this application. The application will be voided if inaccurate written information or wrong/unclear supporting documents is submitted. You will need to resubmit a new application, and pay the required administration fee. An administrative fee will be charged for every Employment/S Pass application submitted. You will be charged according to the pass(es) you select. Please refer to the table below: Pass Consideration Employment...
Words: 4222 - Pages: 17
...INTRODUCTION A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund investing in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as private equity fund or hedge funds. SWFs are invested globally. Central banks use their foreign-exchange reserves or revenues from commodity exports to fund these investments. The three main characteristics of SWFs are 1. To maximize long-term returns using foreign exchange reserves 2. To serve the short-term "currency stabilization" 3. Liquidity management SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPORTANCE OF SOVEREIGN FUNDS OBJECTIVES OF SWFS SWFs are created from budgetary surpluses where the governments have no international debt. In countries where such liquidity is not possible, such as the nations that depend on raw material exports, the main objective for creation of SWF is for controlling high volatility of resource prices, unpredictability of extraction, and exhaustibility of resources. STABILIZATION SWFS The SWFs that are created to reduce volatility of government revenues, to counter the boom-bust cycles' adverse effect on government spending and the national economy are called Stabilization SWFs. SAVINGS SWFS These SWFs are created to build up savings for future generations. Resource curse SWFs can help avoid resource curse in resource-rich countries. Governments may be able to spend the money immediately, but risk causing the economy to overheat, e.g., in Hugo...
Words: 1231 - Pages: 5
...Introduction In Malaysia, Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is known as Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP). In brief, EPF is a mandatory savings scheme for every employee from Private and Non-Pensionable Public Sector in Malaysia. 11% of the employees’ monthly gross income would be contributed to the EPF. In addition, the employer would contribute certain percentage to the employees’ EPF accounts. For wages of RM 5,000 and below, the employer would contribute 13% of the wages to the employees’ EPF account, whereas for those wages exceeding RM 5,000, the employer’s contribution would be only 12%. The contribution would then be invested in a number of approved financial instruments such as Malaysian Government Securities, Money Market Instruments, Loans & Bonds, Equity and Property to generate income. The EPF ensure us to have a secure savings and reasonable dividends. A minimum dividend of 2.5% is guaranteed annually. The actual dividend rate declared would be varied according to the investment return made in approved financial instruments as stated. The annual dividends are calculated based on the opening balance in the EPF account as at 1 January of each year, while the monthly dividends would be credited into the EPF account based on the monthly contributions received. It could be observed that enormous amount of the old folks are currently working as taxi drivers, cleaners or even security guards, even after their retirement ages. That is probably because they have spent...
Words: 8382 - Pages: 34
...VEBLEN Exchange Rate Policy at the Monetary Authority of Singapore Dr. Khor Hoe Ee, Assistant Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), reviewed the year-end economic data for 2001. He had just met with a number of his colleagues and now paged through the statistics they had discussed. Dr. Khor wondered whether the monetary system that has served Singapore so well since the late 1970s—and had filled the void left by the collapse of the Bretton Woods currency system—was still the best model for Singapore to follow. Singapore’s managed float, sometimes referred to by journalists as a “dirty float,” stood in contrast to the systems used by some of its neighbors: Hong Kong had remained strongly committed to its peg against the U.S. dollar, and Australia had just recently shifted to a completely floating regime. A key item on the agenda for the Monetary Policy Committee meeting at the end of January was to review and set monetary policy in response to the changing economic environment. As head of the MAS’s Economics Department, Dr. Khor knew that he was responsible for recommending a policy response that would be consistent with Singapore’s strategy for sustainable economic growth with price stability as well as supporting Singapore’s role as a major global financial center. A great deal had happened in the domain of monetary policy in the last five years, much of which posed challenges for Singapore. Since the massive currency depreciations of the Asian...
Words: 8507 - Pages: 35
...Singapore’s Healthcare System Singapore is an island country located in Southeast Asia, between Indonesia and Malaysia with a population of 5.3 million. Recognized and praised for their electrical manufacturing industry, finance and healthcare, Singapore was named the third wealthiest nation in the world by Forbes Magazine for 2012. Singapore has established and received acclaim for a remarkable healthcare system. With government intervention, private sectors and programs that promote healthy living and prevention for citizens, Singapore’s Healthcare System has set a standard and model for the world to rival. While Singapore’s population is only 5.3 million people, a small country compared to others, citizens have a longer life expectancy, on average 84 years. In Mercer’s 2011 Quality of Life survey, Singapore placed 25th in the world. In determining quality of life rankings, focus is brought to political and social environment, housing, education, health and sanitation. There are three government branches that govern Singapore’s healthcare system, Minister of Health (MOH), which promotes health education and prevention, monitors accessibility and the quality of healthcare services. Second, Central Provident Fund (CPF) is responsible for Singapore’s social security savings plan. CPF safeguards working Singaporeans in their retirement, making sure they are able to sustain themselves after retirement. Workers are required to make contributions into three separate...
Words: 1448 - Pages: 6
...their second child were rewarded USD5, 000 (about Sh420, 000), given priority for public housing and their children got into good schools. To date, Singaporeans think that two is the right number of children. Perhaps the most enduring move was the requirement that all workers save a minimum of 25 per cent of their salaries. They would claim the money only after the age of 55. This formed one of the secrets behind Singapore’s incredible economic growth. The money would go into a Central Provident Fund, with which the government built roads, schools, hospitals and housing. Yew’s administration saw 74 per cent of families owning their homes. His goal, however, was 100 per cent. It is hard to define Singapore. This is a dictatorship nation blended with free flow of information. Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/lifestyle/article/2000087837/why-kenya-should-follow-in-singapore-s-footsteps-to-tackle-rising-unemployment These tremendous developments have successfully kicked poverty out of Singapore. Currently, the percentage of unemployed people above the age 15 is two per cent, the highest employment rate internationally. The Ministry of Manpower says the impressive employment level is due to unrelenting emphasis and investment in education. Social cohesion and paths to self-betterment. Cohesion: tolerance across vertical and horizontal divides Access to political representation and dispute resolution Policing and security of property, tenure and person. Access...
Words: 687 - Pages: 3
...Doing Business in Singapore Updated as of 8 September 2006 Pioneer Management Services Pte Ltd 4 Shenton Way #04-01 SGX Centre 2, Singapore 068807 Telephone: +65 6327 6266 Facsimile: +65 6327 3855 Email: pioneer@singnet.com.sg Website: www.pioneerassociates.com.sg CONTENTS Page 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Introduction Geography and History Population Political System Languages Currency Economy 1 1 1 1 2 2 2-3 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Business Entities and Accounting Companies Branches Representative Offices Sole Proprietorships Partnerships Limited Liability Partnerships Joint Venture Audit and Accounting Requirements Record and Filing Requirements 3 3 3-4 4 4 4-5 5 5 5 6 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 Finance and Investment Exchange Control Sources of Finance Investment Incentives 6 6 6-8 8 CONTENTS Cont’d 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Employment Regulations and Social Security Contributions Employment Passes and Dependent’s Passes Engagement and Dismissal Trade Unions Social Security Contributions Page 8 8-9 9 9 10 5 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Taxation in Singapore Companies Individuals Expatriates Indirect Taxes Other Taxes 10 10 - 14 15 - 18 18 - 19 19 - 20 21 Appendices 1 2 3 4 5 Tax incentives Withholding tax rates Corporate tax rates Personal income tax rates Personal tax reliefs 22 - 28 29 - 30 31 32 33 Doing Business in Singapore 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION Geography and History The Republic of Singapore is located at the southern tip of the West...
Words: 11578 - Pages: 47
...“To a large extent, current research and development and government policies have helped to ease the aging process.” Discuss this statement in relation to your particular field of study or interest (e.g. economics, science, medicine, social policy, architecture, psychology, technological inventions). “Population ageing is both a triumph and a challenge” (Lim, 2008). With the advances in economics and medical development as well as better health systems, Singaporeans now are having longer life expectancy than they used to have in the past. Current research has shown that Singapore is one of the fastest ageing populations among Asia. However, the drop in birth rates over the past years has resulted in a smaller ratio of younger Singaporeans. Chan (2000) states that as there are fewer people to take care of the elderly, taking care of the elderly will rest on the government’s shoulder and this will has implications on the economy, financial security, living arrangement as well as health care system within the country (Chan, 2000). With researches done on the ageing population and the social policies, in terms of economy, living arrangement and health care system, implemented, these can help to ease the ageing process. In order to maintain financial security so that the problem of ageing population will not affect the economy, the government has come out with a few policies. As Singaporeans now live longer, they will thus have to work longer. The government promotes lifelong employability...
Words: 785 - Pages: 4
...directly analyze Singapore in his analysis, although many of his suggested areas for improvement can be found in Singapore’s strategy over the past 50 years. In many ways, the Singapore Model has been an example of success in focusing on productivity to produce growth and value. It also provides a counterexample to several of Lewis’ ideas arguing against market distortions and level playing fields. I will now outline Lewis’ main ideas, and analyze them according to the Singaporean experience: - Industry Analysis: Lewis advocates for analysis at the industry level, rather than the macroeconomic level. Singapore has also followed an approach that has favored industrial policy. Recognizing its lack of natural resources, Singapore since the 1960s has focused on investing in 4 key industries: ship refitting and repair, metal engineering, chemicals and electrical equipment. The current emphasis is on the biomedical science industry. Singapore has been effective at identifying key industry “clusters” for development and growth, strategies that move its economy up the value chain towards knowledge-based sectors. The country can improve upon this by identifying new industries, such as the latest focus on biotechnology, which are beyond the currently established industries from decades past. - Skill training vs. education: Lewis argues that education is not directly linked to productivity, and that job skill training is more important to a society. In 1979, Singapore created the Skills...
Words: 1651 - Pages: 7
...dwqdwqfwefewfEconomy - overview: | | Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market economy. It enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing financial services sector. Reasdfsefdsfdgrththl GDP growth averaged 8.6% between 2004 and 2007. The economy contracted 0.8% in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but rebounded 14.8% in 2010, on the strength of renewed exports, before slowing to 5.2% in 2011 and 1.3% in 2012vdsvsdv, largely a result of soft demand for exports during the second European recession. Over the longer term, the government hopes to establish a new growth path that focuses on raising productivity, which has sunk to an average of about 1.0% in the last decade. Singapore has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology production and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. | | | GDP (purchasing power parity): | | $331.9 billion (2012 est.)country comparison to the world: 41$327.6 billion (2011 edsvdsvst.)$311.5 billion (2010 est.)note: data are in 2012 US dollars | | | GDP (official exchange rate): | | $276.5 billion (2012 est.) | | | GDP - real growth rate: | | 1.3% (2012 est.)country comparison...
Words: 1012 - Pages: 5
