Singapore´s Internationalization Stragegy for the 1990s

Abstract

The Growth Triangle In 1990, the concept of the Growth Triangle comprising Riau in Indonesia, Singapore, and Johor in Malaysia excited and caught the imagination of many ? analysts, planners, bureaucrats, developers, and entrepreneurs alike. With official endorsement at the highest level from all three countries, the concept became a reality and generated a flurry of both official and private activities. Bilateral joint committees between Singapore and Riau, and Singapore and Johor were quickly established to work on programmes of economic co-operation and to draw up memorandums of agreement. The Indonesia-Singapore ministerial committee on the development of Riau was formed and scheduled its first meeting for early February 1991. A joint Indonesia-Singapore investment promotion mission to Tokyo and Osaka was organized in December 1990 to woo Japanese investors to Batam. As Johor state has been given a relatively free hand to deal directly with Singapore, there were frequent official contacts and visits throughout the year. Indonesia and Singapore initiated negotiations to develop water resources, while Malaysia and Singapore negotiated to continue and expand co-operation on water resource management. Singapore continued to assist Johor in the development of industrial parks; and two Singapore government-owned companies (Singapore Technologies Industrial Corporation and Jurong Environmental Engineering) and Indonesia's Salim Group through a joint venture company, RT. Batamindo Invest ment Corporation, started the process of setting up Batam Industrial Park with an estimated cost of S$600 million to develop initially 500 hectares of land over the next five years and the option of a further expansion of 1,000 hectares. To date, 29 MNCs have agreed to set up manufacturing operations in the park's first phase scheduled to be completed in 1991. Singapore is the leading foreign investor in Batam with 21 projects and an investment commitment of US$344 million. Applications for seven other industrial parks have also been approved. Meanwhile, the population of Batam has increased from 6,000 in 1973 to 43,000 in 1983, and 105,131 by the end of November 1990. Batam has been transformed into a boom town with a hive of construction activities.