Singapore's Manufacturing Research Articles

Indonesian and Singapore Manufacturing Companies: Analysis of Differences in Company Profitability during the Pandemic

Profitability is the ability of a company to earn profits during a period. In 2019, the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which caused disruption to the world economy. Researchers want to look for evidence regarding the company's financial, especially the company's profitability during Covid-19 in Indonesia and Singapore. This research aims to analyze and obtain empirical evidence regarding the differences in the profitability of Indonesia’s manufacturing companies and Singapore. The research method uses the Independent Sample t Test of mean difference with samples from manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and Singapore manufacturing companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) during 2018–2022. Profitability variables use the Return on Assets (ROA) and Net Profit Margin (NPM) ratios. The research results show that there are differences in the average NPM and ROA between Indonesian and Singaporean manufacturing companies.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Singapore: Toward a Sustainable Future

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Singapore: Toward a Sustainable Future

Chemical companies look into corporate sourcing of renewable energy to secure clean, reliable & competitive power in the future

Within the context of a tri-variate vector autoregressive framework that includes entrepreneurship, this paper examines the link between electricity consumption and industrial production in Singapore's manufacturing sector. Unlike the existing studies, this paper focuses on one sector of the economy and utilises a unique monthly dataset. Empirical analysis based on Johansen's cointegration approach shows that the three variables are cointegrated – i.e., a stable long-run relationship exists among electricity consumption, output and entrepreneurship in Singapore's manufacturing sector. Empirical analysis based on data from January 1983 to February 2014 reveals that electricity consumption adjusts very slowly to shocks to industrial production and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, entrepreneurship Granger causes electricity consumption, which causes industrial production. As electricity consumption causes industrial output, the growth hypothesis concerning energy consumption and economic growth holds in Singapore's manufacturing sector and policies that restrict electricity production, without electricity imports, are likely to lead to a decline in the manufacturing output.

3D-printed Futures of Manufacturing, Social Change and Technological Innovation in China and Singapore: The Ghost of a Massless Future?

This article outlines preliminary findings from a futures forecasting exercise where participants in Shenzhen and Singapore considered the socio-technological construction of 3D printing in terms of work and social change. We offered participants ideal political-economic futures across local–global knowledge and capital–commons dimensions, and then had them backcast the contextual waypoints across markets, culture, policy, law and technology dimensions that help guide towards each future. Their discussion identified various contextually sensitive points, but also tended to dismiss the farthest reaches of each proposed ideal, often reverting to familiar contextual signifiers. Here, we offer discussion on how participants saw culture and industry shaping futures for pertinent political economic concerns in the twenty-first century.

Comparative life-cycle impact assessment of concrete manufacturing in Singapore

Purpose For countries like Singapore that is highly dependent on imported goods, it is essential to consider the consequences of consumption of imported cement and other concrete constituents for a fair carbon trading at global and regional levels. Recently, as a result of reduction in trade barriers and costs of materials and fuels, Singapore does not have much incentive in reducing environmental impacts of these imported goods. However, Singapore has set high environmental targets nationally to reduce impacts from building and construction. In addition to its national efforts, Singapore also needs to take action in trade-related consequences of importing energy-intensive products like cement and aggregates to Singapore. The purpose of this study is to quantify and suggest alternatives for reducing the embodied energy and life-cycle impacts of concrete consumption in Singapore on the basis of current trading volumes of these materials from Singapore’s importers.

Electricity consumption, industrial production, and entrepreneurship in Singapore

Within the context of a tri-variate vector autoregressive framework that includes entrepreneurship, this paper examines the link between electricity consumption and industrial production in Singapore's manufacturing sector. Unlike the existing studies, this paper focuses on one sector of the economy and utilises a unique monthly dataset. Empirical analysis based on Johansen's cointegration approach shows that the three variables are cointegrated – i.e., a stable long-run relationship exists among electricity consumption, output and entrepreneurship in Singapore's manufacturing sector. Empirical analysis based on data from January 1983 to February 2014 reveals that electricity consumption adjusts very slowly to shocks to industrial production and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, entrepreneurship Granger causes electricity consumption, which causes industrial production. As electricity consumption causes industrial output, the growth hypothesis concerning energy consumption and economic growth holds in Singapore's manufacturing sector and policies that restrict electricity production, without electricity imports, are likely to lead to a decline in the manufacturing output.

EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF SINGAPORE'S MANUFACTURING SECTOR 2001–2010: AN ANALYSIS USING BOOTSTRAPPED TRUNCATED APPROACH

This paper seeks to explain the lagging productivity in Singapore's manufacturing noted in the statements of the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) Report 2010. Two methods are employed: the Malmquist productivity to measure total factor productivity (TFP) change and Simar and Wilson's (2007) bootstrapped truncated regression approach which first derives bias-corrected efficiency estimates before being regressed against explanatory variables to help quantify sources of inefficiencies. The findings reveal that growth in TFP was attributed to efficiency change with no technical progress. Sources of efficiency were attributed to quality of worker and flexible work arrangements while the use of foreign workers lowered efficiency.

EFFICIENCY WAGE THEORY: EVIDENCE FOR SINGAPORE MANUFACTURING SECTOR

This paper attempts to test whether there is econometric evidence in support of the efficiency wage theory in Singapore's manufacturing sector. Two of the possible ways to account for efficiency wages are to show that higher wages have resulted in reduced shirking by workers, and to show that higher wages have resulted in an increase in worker productivity. We find evidence in support of efficiency wages for three out of 18 industries within the manufacturing sector in Singapore based on both ordinary least square (OLS) and 2SLS regression results, and for another two industries based only on OLS and yet another two industries based only on 2SLS.

Foreign direct investment and employment in manufacturing and services sectors

PurposeThis paper aims to examine both the cointegrating and causal relationships among inward FDI and the host country's employment in manufacturing and services sectors.Design/methodology/approachThis paper applies autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework to test the cointegration and causality patterns using Singapore as a case.FindingsApart from the presence of a unique long‐run relationship, the findings also show evidence of long‐run causality, running from employment in manufacturing and services to FDI inflows, and from FDI inflows and services employment to manufacturing employment. Furthermore, there is evidence of short‐run causality showing strong FDI‐employment and employment linkages, predominantly from the manufacturing to services.Research limitations/implicationsOne likely area of future research is to extend this paper by using disaggregated data, e.g. FDI inflows by sector (manufacturing and services), and employment by the respective sectors.Practical implicationsManufacturing and services have been regarded as the “twin engines” of growth for the Singapore economy. As the economy is moving up the value chain from downstream to upstream activities, a significant proportion of foreign direct investment (FDI) has been attracted to the manufacturing and services sectors. The present study provides useful policy implications towards promoting foreign investment in emerging areas of and manpower development in both sectors of the economy.Originality/valueThis paper explores the possible interactions between FDI inflows and employment in manufacturing and services sectors as well as the employment linkages between manufacturing and services in Singapore.

Bioboard

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Foreign investment, human capital and manufacturing sector growth in Singapore

Foreign investment has been long regarded as the main driver of Singapore's manufacturing sector growth. By making use of annual data for the period 1980–2005, this paper argues that in addition to foreign investment, human capital is also playing a significant role in foresting manufacturing sector growth in Singapore. Empirical analysis shows that foreign investment, human capital and value added in manufacturing are cointegrated. The paper also argues that continued growth into the future requires further diversification of the manufacturing sector and increased spending on R&D and advanced education.

Identifying the competitive sword: learning to be cutting‐edge for organizational development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss several organizational learning frameworks based on Peter Senge's “fifth discipline”. It further explains the antecedent conditions of learning and their relationship with performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – Lessons were primarily drawn from a case study of a Singapore manufacturing firm that had gone through a five‐year organizational learning strategic plan.Findings – Shared vision, flexible systems and team dynamics are key characteristics of organizational learning in which leadership is a crucial enabling agent. Contrary to general perception, systems development would be considered the most significant change brought about by organizational learning.Research limitations/implications – Organizational learning is not entirely driven by people, process and/or structure. In fact, the direction and degree of organizational learning are dependent on the strategic purpose of the organization. In addition, dialogue and reflection have been fou...

The Conundrum of Economic Miracle: Manufacturing Growth without TFP Growth

The findings of low or even negative total factor productivity (TFP) growth in Singapore's manufacturing industries by Young (1995) and many others has been a controversial issue in view of its crucial role in the future sustainability of Singaporean manufacturing. This paper applies the varying coefficients frontier model to re-examine productivity growth in Singapore's manufacturing at the 3-digit industry level over the period 1970–1997. The results indicate that Singapore's manufacturing has on average experienced a –0.8 percent TFP growth per annum although the extent of TFP growth improved slightly in the 1990s. The decomposition of TFP growth into technical efficiency change and technological progress, found technological regress is responsible for the negative TFP growth. Factor accumulation remains the principal contributor to the economic miracle of Singapore's manufacturing industries.

Restructuring for higher value manufacturing: the case of Singapore

This paper is a reflection and further conceptual development of a recent economic review on the current state of manufacturing in Singapore. This paper also includes future challenges and proposed ways ahead to sustain further economic growth especially in high-value manufacturing sectors. Singapore's manufacturing has progressed beyond the simple assembly operations. Its further upgrading, however, may be hindered by its inherent structural problems mainly due to the high operating costs, shortages of land space and human talents and smallness of local market. The emergence of China as the world's factory will have long-term implications for Singapore's manufacturing industry. The strategy ahead is to focus on higher value-added manufacturing by strengthening the existing clusters in electronics, chemical, transport and logistics. The strategy also focuses on the nurturing of promising new cluster in biomedical sciences. The drivers for technological, market and enterprise development are identified, outlined and explained in terms of certain conceptual framework.

Efficiency estimates for Singapore manufacturing: new evidence from the Malmquist Index

A nonparametric technique is employed, data envelopment analysis, to derive estimates of technical efficiency change in Singapore manufacturing industries for 1975 to 1998 using the Malmquist index. The results show that on average, there have been improvements in technical efficiency over the sample period for overall manufacturing. This broadly corroborates the results from an earlier stochastic frontier analysis.

Singapore's Emerging Knowledge Economy: Role of Intellectual Property and its Possible Implications for Singaporean Society

This article seeks to take an exploratory and critical look at the role of intellectual property (IP) in the development of Singapore. IP protection has become an important factor in the move to a knowledge-based economy (KBE), in which information is a prized asset. In order to preserve its traditional role as a regional trading entrepot, its economy has evolved from an initial concentration on heavy industry-based manufacturing to manufacturing in knowledge-intensive products (electronics, chemicals and engineering), and the provision of financial and banking services. IP is now, arguably, a critical factor in the latest attempts by the Singaporean leadership to remain relevant to the regional and global economy. Faced with numerous competitors and cheaper labor markets, an impressive drive has been launched towards the enhancement of knowledge-intensive industries for which IP protection is vital. These include the creative industries strategy (copyright industries) and the provision of biomedical services (pharmaceutical, medical devices, biotechnology and healthcare services), the “fourth pillar” of Singapore's manufacturing sector, in addition to electronics, chemicals and engineering. Singapore seeks a competitive edge in this niche, for which IP protection seems vital. Patents are particularly relevant to the fourth pillar. This article will examine the following: (1) the place of IP historically in its economic development; (2) its role in various aspects of various strategies in its current economic development plans—the creative industries strategy, the intelligent island strategy and the fourth pillar strategy; and (3) critical IP issues for Singapore's economy. It does so with several key questions in mind. (1) Could the drive to an IP intensive knowledge economy generate social dislocations? (2) Which segments of Singaporean society stand to gain or lose in the move to an intensively knowledge-based economy? (3) Can the IP system contribute to softening the blow in any such dislocations? This article seeks to stimulate research into the social and economic impact of IP in Singapore's developmental process, an area thus far understudied.

NEWS OF THE WEEK

MERCK KGAA HAS FOUND A buyer for the high-purity electronic chemicals unit it put on the block last year. BASF is purchasing the unit for $350 million. The Merck business, which focuses on high-purity wet chemicals for semiconductor and flatscreen manufacturing, employs about 600 people and had sales in the first nine months of 2004 of roughly $200 million. With the deal, BASF will get Merck manufacturing and distribution sites in Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Singapore, France, the Netherlands, and Germany The deal is expected to close during the second quarter, pending regulatory clearances. Merck and BASF will jointly manage the business's Taiwanese operations until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition at that strategic location. Merck will also manufacture electronic chemicals under contract for BASF at its Darmstadt, Germany, site. Merck says the sale will allow it to focus on businesses such as pharmaceuticals, pigments,specialty reagents, ...

The impact of export growth and scale economies on productivity in Singapore's manufacturing industries

This paper examines the impact of export performance and scale economies on total factor productivity in Singapore's manufacturing sector. A panel data of total of ten major industries within its manufacturing sector are analysed over the period 1974‐1995. It was found that export growth and scale economies contributed significantly to the productivity growth of selected industries. In addition, the results also indicate that the foreign direct investment (FDI) intensive industries are the main contributors to productivity growth in the manufacturing industries in terms of export performance and economies of scale as compared to the non‐FDI intensive industries.

Domain-specific portal for the precision component and tooling industry in Singapore—needs analysis and a test-bed implementation

This paper presents the observations and implications of Internet-based collaborative design and manufacturing in Singapore for targeted domain-specific areas—more specifically, the die and mould industry. Based on a survey, the issues faced by local companies are summarized and possible solutions are proposed. To promote the use of Internet for collaborative design, manufacturing and business in the local manufacturing industry, a test-bed domain-specific portal has been developed to facilitate collaborations among companies with their customers, suppliers and partners. Various technologies for value-added collaboration services are investigated and developed. These aim to facilitate business collaboration, such as partner selection, order process collaboration and collaborative planning, as well as engineering collaboration, such as collaborative product and tooling design and rapid prototyping over the Internet. The architecture of the e-manufacturing portal is presented and the collaborative technologies are introduced.

Growth and Productivity in Singapore Manufacturing Industries: 1975–1998

Consistently defined price and volume relatives are constructed for 18 manufacturing industries under the two-digit industry classifications officially adopted in 1996. Industry-specific output and materials price deflators for the period 1974–1998 are also constructed. Where the comparison is possible, we arrive at a markedly different conclusion from those in Tsao (1982, 1985) and Young (1994), and narrow the cause to a difference in the choice of output measure. The updated accounts show that the conventional index number measure of total factor productivity growth (TFPG) for Singapore manufacturing is 2.7% per annum for the period 1975–1998, and exhibits a cyclical pattern over time.