How Singapore Built its Premium

When countries struggle to boost investments amid a torrent of corruption and policy inconsistency and are paying the price for poor investment decisions, Singapore tells its story of how it built its reserves from nothing, a third-world country at independence in 1965. Political sagacity to nation-building by its forefathers and their successors, separating business from politics, has helped Singapore become a regional pivot. Everyone wants to learn a lesson or two from them. But even today, having weathered a few storms in the recent past, its leaders are refusing to take its position for granted. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tells how Singapore, since independence, built its reserves through political will and commitment and has a warning for its next generation of leaders and citizens

- Jennifer Paldano Goonewardane

He calls it the "Singapore Premium". Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, considers his country's reserves a great source of comfort and reassurance, the saving grace in times of crisis. It will be their cashbox that they can dip into to avert a calamity. Singapore has an extensive national reserve that it considers a rainy day fund, an inheritance from the nation's forefathers who prudently saved for the future so that even without the privilege of natural resources, it would be substantial in helping to survive a crisis. In managing its national reserves, two sovereign reserve funds, Temasek and the GIC, were created by its leaders, unique models in Asia to grow its reserves by expanding its global portfolio. During an interview with CNA for a two-part documentary “Singapore’s Reserves Revealed”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke on the role of the country’s leaders, beginning with independence, and since then, how successive governments have pivoted towards consolidating the protection mechanisms around the country’s reserves so that by protecting them and growing them, the country has a formidable surety to turn to in times of crises while also strengthening the constitution to prevent its misuse.

Solidifying its Reserves