We are a young nation by the standards of other countries but a hundred years is not a flash in the pan either. Amidst the centennial celebrations, it is worthwhile recalling the journey that Singapore has made as a nation since its humble beginnings in 1965. As this is a gathering of economists, I will do so in the form of a brief economic history of Singapore over the last century. Our economic progress in a nutshell Let me begin by reviewing the economic progress we have made as a nation in the last 100 years, from three perspectives, namely the level, generation, and distribution of income. First, the level of income. I will use Gross Domestic Product rather than Gross National Income since the GNI measure that we use today is not available for the earlier years. •  In 1965, Singapore’s nominal GDP per capita was around $ We were at the same level as Mexico and South Africa. •  In 1990, GDP per capita had risen to about $ surpassing South Korea, Israel, and Portugal. •  In 2015, GDP per capita was about $ We had caught up with Germany and the United States. •  By 2040, when our GDP per capita had reached $ we were already among the top-ranked countries in the world and our benchmark became cities. We were among the top 25 cities then. •  Today, in 2065, GDP per capita is $ fifth highest among cities in the world. Second, the generation of income.
The most  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  important outcomes from that period of review which continued into the 1990s were the structural reforms to: •  enhance wage flexibility in the labour market;  •  tap more decisively into regional markets for trade and outward investment;  •  step up the pace of industrial upgrading;  •  promote innovation, enterprise, and entrepreneurship in the economy; and  •  liberalise various services sectors such as finance, telecommunications, and utilities. In fact, the key story post-1985 recession up till the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 was the rise of modern services as a twin engine of growth alongside manufacturing. •  The share of modern services in GDP increased steadily, from 16% in 1965 to 24% in 1985 and 28% in 2010. Financial services. Singapore was already a thriving regional financial centre since the 1970s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the insurance and securities industries were completely liberalised and progressive steps were taken to open up the domestic banking industry to foreign competition. Business services. A broad range of business activities – accounting, law, advertising, and consultancy – grew in importance, playing an important role in cementing Singapore’s status as a regional hub. Info-communications services. The government embarked on a plan to computerise the civil service in the early 1980s. This helped to kick-start the info-communication services industry, one of the mainstays of the economy ever since. Entertainment services.