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Growing Your Wealth Exponentially

Growing Your Wealth Exponentially
BY JAMES OH

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MINDSET SHIFT: EMPLOYEE TO ENTREPRENEUR

MINDSET SHIFT: EMPLOYEE TO ENTREPRENEUR
BY JAMES OH

Sunday, October 7, 2012

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU START


The latest report which says that Singapore is the wealthiest nation in the world by GDP per capita, beating Norway, the U.S., Hong Kong and Switzerland, has clearly PROVEN a good point in case that it does not matter where you start. What's matter is the ultimate result.

I recalled vividly when this country broke off from my country, Malaysia, when I was only a primary school student. At that time I have collected a few Singaporean coins at the exchange rate of RM0.90 for Singapore Sin 1.00. I was very curious as to why my country's currency was stronger than my neighbour's country.

Not long thereafter, I was told that Singapore was just an island of fishing villages with no natural resources. It could not survived long by it own because it lacked natural resources. The maximum it could survive was 5 years from 1963, it would surely go bust. My curiousity drove me to find out more about this small country and that's how I get to know Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who became one of my heroes.

I must say that it did unbelievably well, caught many by surprise that was far more than anyone's expectation. This wealthy nation has national reserve of over USD 100 billions without any national debt has made people stun of its marvelous achievement. Its currency gaining strength to slightly higher than RM 2.50 at the time of writing and I still remember that RM 2.50 was the exchange rate for US dollar before the Asean crisis 1996. Well done, Singapore.

I was very fortunate to have a chance to see through my life on how this country breed its success one after the other. It began with an international harbour and transformed as international logistics hub, financial, educational centre, international tourism center to its latest art and cultural centre.

Here, It has clearly shown how it prospered as an entreport (a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties), and imported raw materials for its needs, industries and exported processed products to the world. Having to buy nearly everything from other countries, such as sand, water, oil, vegetable and fruits did not hamper it from progressing. In short, all these handicaps had not stopped it from being stronger and better than other countries which have been blessed with all the natural resources.

Append below please find some significant statistics for your reading and references. As of 8 August 2010, Singapore is the fastest growing economy in the world, with a growth rate of 17.9% for the first half of 2010. The Wall Street Journal report is replete with superlatives about Singapore economic performance, among which are as follows:

“Singapore’s GDP per capita – at US$56,532 in 2010, measured by purchasing power parity – is the highest in the world, topping Norway (US$51, 226), the US (US$45, 511) and Hong Kong (US$45, 301). The report also predicts that Singapore will hold its place as the world’s most affluent country in 2050…. Singapore will see a 67% increase in centimillionaires over the next four years – [centimillionaires are those] with over US$100 million in disposable wealth…. Singapore has the highest percentage of millionaire households in the world, a title the city-state has held on to for two years running….”

It can safely conclude that some of the key contributing factors to Singapore’s forecast performance are its ‘human capital’ – a skilled and educated labour force (which is likely to lead to better long-term prospects for a country’s economic growth), the dynamic business environment (with legislation to match), openness to trade, capital mobility and foreign direct investment…. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea are employing the same Singaporean strategies on Human Capital where the brightest and the brilliant are attracted from all over the world, universities rankings are among the top World 50.Surely something must be really right and appropriate.

Another key interesting note is that its public service is more transparent, honest, bribe-free, absolutely professional, and pro-growth in its approaches when dealing with investors and technocrats. In Singapore, the civil servants have very strict instructions to use all available government means to facilitate the license and permit applications by business people, and to assist them in all technical matters that arise. The civil servants are totally forbidden from accepting any gift of any kind, nor to accept dinner invitations from businessmen. Singapore has the high international reputation of being bribe-free and has a highly conducive business environment.

The moral value of this success story is that it does not matter where you start, what is more important is how you handle and manage it. With strong desire and determination, slowly and surely the success is within your reach. Therefore, to achieve success, one has to take full accountability and responsibility of it, and not blame others. I was very fortunate to learn all these good values from all those kind souls who left behind their good legacy of those high moral value and not forgetting those kind hearts who have been helping and guiding me all these while of the application of these values into practice.

Thanks for your time and effort to read this article. Please share this if you find it useful.

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