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Berita Volume Xxvii, Number 4 (Winter 2003), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 2

Nominations & Awards... 2

Periodicals... 2

Call for Papers... 8

Books... 8

Annual Meeting... 12

Prospectus... 12

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2003 - 2004, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

From what started as an idea and then became a blueprint only a few short years ago, SMU has already developed into a university highly regarded for its quality programmes, faculty and students – not only in Singapore, but in the region and beyond.

The so-called ‘SMU experiment’ in Singapore tertiary education has been looked upon with much curiosity and generated great expectations during this time. And this year the University celebrated one of its most significant and anticipated milestones: the graduation of our first batch of students. More than just graduates, these students – now SMU alumni – are …

Strategic Development Of Airport And Rail Infrastructure: The Case Of Singapore, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article recounts how a number of strategic infrastructure investment decisions in airport and rail development taken by the Singapore government were at variance with recommendations emerging from cost-benefit analysis, but were considered necessary to support external competitiveness. This link between infrastructure provision and economic development may require decision makers to assess the trade-off between prudent macro-economic planning and efficient micro-economic management for major projects. In the case of airport hubs, the most difficult assessment might be the game consideration of how much, and how far ahead, excess capacity is needed to ensure the dominance of the hub.

Venture Capital And Economic Growth: An Industry Overview And Singapore's Experience, Francis Koh, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper provides an overview of the venture capital industry, and its development in Asia and Singapore. Venture capital plays an important role in innovation and economic growth. Indeed, the resurgence of the United States as a technology leader is intimately linked to the success of Silicon Valley. As Singapore enters the next phase of economic development, the creation of internal engines of growth is an urgent task. The Singapore government has done much to provide an environment for entrepreneurship to thrive. Its success at replicating the Silicon Valley culture will be important for Singapore’s future economic success.

Venture Capital And Economic Growth: An Industry Overview And Singapore's Experience, Francis Koh, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper provides an overview of the venture capital industry, and its development in Asia and Singapore. Venture capital plays an important role in innovation and economic growth. Indeed, the resurgence of the United States as a technology leader is intimately linked to the success of Silicon Valley. As Singapore enters the next phase of economic development, the creation of internal engines of growth is an urgent task. The Singapore government has done much to provide an environment for entrepreneurship to thrive. Its success at replicating the Silicon Valley culture will be important for Singapore's future economic success.

In Search Of Permanent Homes: Singapore's House Churches And The Politics Of Space, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper focuses on one category of the 'unofficially sacred'-namely, those secular spaces which are used for worship and, in particular, residential spaces which are turned into 'house churches'. Using the case study of a house church in Singapore, the paper examines issues about the politics of religion in urban landscapes in a secular and simultaneously multireligious state. Contrary and in addition to current wisdoms about the politics of religious space, it is argued that various politics are observed: a politics of inclusion; a politics of hybridisation and in-betweenness; a politics of appropriation and nationalisation; and a politics of impermanence …

The Impact Of Housing Prices On Aggregate Consumption: Evidence From An East Asian City-State, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Using aggregate consumption data for Singapore, this paper rejects the life-cycle/permanent income and myopia hypotheses as explanations for aggregate consumption behavior. We confirm the presence of liquidity constraints from the asymmetric reaction of consumption to income increases vis-a-vis income declines. When we allow for asymmetric response, anticipated house price increases appear to have a dampening effect on aggregate consumption while declines in expected house price growth also had a negative effect on consumption, although the results are statistically insignificant. There is no evidence that the housing price increases have produced either wealth or collateral enhancement effects on consumption.

Berita Volume Xxvi, Number 3 (Spring 2002), John A. Lent

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 2

Periodicals... 2

Books... 10

Conferences... 14

Prospectus... 14

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2002 - 2003, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

From a start-up institution with great expectations just three years ago, SMU has grown leaps and bounds. This past year was no exception, as we reached new heights while reaffirming the foundational vision of what we are – and want to be. A university with a rigorous curriculum and the right kind of academic and cultural environment for research, exploration and experimentation – where calculated risks can lead to ultimate success. A university full of dynamically talented students and academically outstanding faculty – interactive players in the process of education who make up SMU’s rich intellectual and personally diverse fabric. …

Small And Medium Enterprises In Singapore And The New Economy, Boon Chye Lee, Wee Liang Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

From its earliest days as a British outpost, Singapore has relied heavily for its economic survival on its position as an entrepot trading centre. In the first decades after independence in 1965, economic strategy was focused on building infrastructure, attracting foreign direct investment, and export-led growth. The political commitment to openness in both trade and capital — and, more recently, labour — is one of the key features of a strategy that has delivered remarkable returns in terms of the economic well-being of the people of Singapore. Between 1961 and 1996 GDP per capita grew at an average rate of …

The Role Of Rhetoric Content In Charismatic Leadership: A Content Analysis Of A Singaporean Leader's Speeches, Hwee Hoon Tan, Gladys Wee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study provides an extension to the Charismatic Leadership theories by delineating the roles of rhetoric content: in frame alignment and trust building. Propositions were developed from past literature on the rhetorical behaviors of Charismatic Leadership and the interpersonal trust literature. An empirical study was then conducted to test the propositions developed and it was found that Mr. Lee Kuan Yew use the Singapore National Day Rally speeches in limited ways to align frames and build trust.

Consumer Decision Making In A Multi-Generational Choice Set Context, Namwoon Kim, Rajendra K. Srivastava, Jin K. Han

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Most new product adoption models have focused on single-generation products. Only recently have researchers begun to focus on the importance of analyzing consumers' purchase demands in multi-generation products. This paper proposes a model that incorporates both initial and repeat purchases and allows for leap-frogging behavior for multi-generation technological products. Whereas most new product adoption models are based on aggregate market sales, the proposed model is estimated and validated on individual consumer data. Within a logistical modeling framework, the model combines a purchase incidence (buy/not buy) component and generation choice components for each time period. These model components allow for individual …

Housing Policy, Wealth Formation And The Singapore Economy, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper evaluates the contribution of housing policy in Singapore to financial sector development, housing wealth formation and macro-economic performance, both retrospectively and prospectively. It provides an overview of past housing policies and traces the linkages to the financial sector. Housing policy as effected through the Housing and Development Board and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) hampered the development of the commercial housing loans sector and domestic financial markets, but contributed to the overall growth and stability of the housing loans market and associated financial institutions. Housing policy and the trend of housing asset inflation contributed significantly to the formation …

Coping With Growth Transitions: The Case Of Chinese Family Businesses In Singapore, Wee-Liang Tan, Siew Tong Fock

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Families control more than half of the corporations in East Asia. The contribution of family businesses to Asia's economic growth is predicated upon successfully growing their businesses. Many family businesses in East Asia, spanning countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, are Chinese owned and managed. Some claim that these businesses will never develop into full-fledged multinational enterprises because of their cultural heritage (Redding, 1990). However, some Chinese family businesses have successfully made the transition.This paper presents an in-depth study of five Chinese family businesses in Singapore that have successfully made the transition in growth and size …

Motor Vehicle Taxes As An Environmental Management Instrument: The Case Of Singapore, Ngee-Choon Chia, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Being geographically small, land scarcity poses a potential constraint for economic growth in Singapore. Restraining car ownership and car use through motor vehicle taxes is part of the land-transport policy to ensure smoother traffic flow. This paper analyses the use of motor vehicle taxes in Singapore as an environmental management instrument. It evaluates the effectiveness of ownership and use taxes as instruments to internalise congestion and environment externality. Economic issues relating to the use of such taxes are also highlighted. It concludes that motor vehicle taxes offer Singapore a double dividend.

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2001 - 2002, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

If the first year of incorporation was the paving of the foundation for SMU, the second year was one of laying the first building blocks. For the university, this was a year for surging ahead – of exploration and adventure. With a sizeable student population, a faculty of international repute and two schools going on three, SMU is growing from strength to strength at an unbelievable rate. But beyond sheer numbers, I sense and see a spirit of fervour and adventure in the work of students, faculty and staff in every corner of this institution that we have founded. Our …

The Statutory Derivative Action In Singapore: A Critical And Comparative Examination, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As a mechanism for shareholder control of corporate wrongs and thus as a tool of corporate governance, the statutory derivative action has had much international attention given to it, particularly in the last 10 years. Singapore introduced its statutory derivative action in 1993 and since then, there have been two reported cases in which the action was invoked. In this paper, I consider the Singapore derivative action as contained in sections 216A and 216B of the Singapore Companies Act. The approach taken is a comparative one as I also look at the statutory derivative actions in Australia and other common …

Cultural Policy In Singapore: Negotiating Economic And Socio-Cultural Agendas, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, I examine the role of cultural policy in a newly industrialised economy, which is at the same time a state with a short history and only nascent beginnings in nation-building and efforts to construct a distinctive cultural identity. Using Singapore as the site of analyses, develop an understanding of the intersection between the economic and socio-cultural agendas behind cultural development policies. I illustrate the hegemony of the economic, supported by the ideology and language of pragmatism and globalisation. At the same time, I explore the reception of and attempts to negotiate (and at times, contest) state policies …

Achieving Growth Through Corporate Partnerships And Joint Ventures: Will Singapore's Strategic Leap Into The Region Work?, Ravinder K. Zutshi, Wee Liang Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

One of the characteristic features of the East Asian economic development strategy has been the interventionist role of the government in the economic sphere (Amsden 1989; Kwon 1994; Wade 1990; Zutshi and Gibbons 1998). Governments in East Asia have traditionally, worked closely with the private sector. As a result unique business systems embedded in networks and alliances have evolved in countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore (Hamilton and Biggard 1988). Singapore has attempted to extend this model of strategic cooperation beyond its borders into the region. Schein (1996) identifies a number of major development eras in the evolution of …

Assessing Export Platforms: The Case Of Singapore, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

The aim of this paper is to try to understand how Singapore was generally successful in its export promoting strategy. Historically, Singapore experimented with an import-substituting strategy in the first half of the sixties in anticipation of forming a common market with Malaysia and also briefly after its independence in 1965. The level of protection, however, was relatively low during its import-substituting phase.

Treatment Of Multi-Courts Jurisdiction Agreements, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

An increasingly popular manner of drafting jurisdiction clauses in cross-border contracts involves the selection of the courts of more than one jurisdiction. Traditionally, parties would submit all disputes to the courts of a particular country under an exclusive jurisdiction agreement or agree that the transaction is subject to a particular jurisdiction without intending to create an obligation to proceed there and nowhere else. Of late, the Singapore courts have encountered litigation over multi-courts jurisdiction agreements. A common form involves the naming of a particular court with one of the parties being given the option to proceed anywhere else.

Berita Volume Xxv, Number 1-4 (Spring/Summer/Fall 1999, Winter 2000), John A. Lent

Berita

Table of Contents

Periodicals... 2

Books... 6

Conferences... 8

Minutes - M/S/B Studies Group... 11

Prospectus & Order Form... 14

Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei/ASEAN Bibliography, Number 29, prepared by Jeff Ferrier, Edie Luce, and Lian The-Mulliner, Southeast Asia Collection & The Malaysian Resource Center, Ohio University Libraries... 15

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2000 - 2001, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

It has been an extremely gratifying first year for SMU. From scratch, we saw a curriculum developed, a more than credible faculty assembled, a campus bloom from the ground in record time, and a small group of bright and very promising young individuals set the standard as the historic pioneer intake of students. How did we even begin to persuade sponsors or students to come on board with us? We had no track record, no alumni, not even an existing undergraduate population. Yet, industry support was unabashedly warm from the time Singapore’s third university was announced. First year application for …

Companies Act (Cap. 50): Memorandum And Articles Of Association Of Singapore Management University (Registration No. 200000267z), Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

This is to certify that Singapore Management University is incorporated under the Companies Act Cap. 50 on and from 12/01/2000 and that the company is a public company limited by guarantee.

The objects of the Company are to establish, operate, maintain and promote the Singapore Management University (hereinafter called the 'University') which will provide courses of study or instruction pertaining to management, human resource development and any other fields of knowledge.

Berita Volume Xxvi, Number 1-2 (Spring/Summer 2000), John A. Lent

Berita

Table of Contents

Periodicals... 2

Books... 4

Conferences... 6

M/S/B Annual Meeting... 7

The E-Landscape: An Unexplored Goldmine Of The New Millennium, Thow Yick Liang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The Internet is an intangible cyberworld created by the human mind. Exploring and exploiting this e-landscape requires a totally redefined mindset. The fact that it exists in the mental realm also makes it a nonlinear system. In this respect, understanding both intangible and nonlinear dynamics is a requisite to the proper exploitation of e-commerce. The e-landscape is a new edge of chaos where order and disorder co-exist. It could be a goldmine for those who swiftly recognize structure in this highly disordered territory. The tremendous number of opportunities and uncertainties embedded in the submerged portion of this iceberg are still …

Hong Kong And Singapore, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

There are many similarities between Hong Kong and Singapore. They have both enjoyed high rates of economic growth over the past three decades, averaging six percent a year in real terms. The two have become known as “East Asian Tigers,” having made the transition from poverty to newly industrialized economies in a relatively short time. Both started off as British colonies, with British legal and administrative systems, and made their living as trading ports serving their respective regions. Singapore has been an independent republic since 1965; Hong Kong was returned to China on July 1, 1997. While Hong Kong and …

Religion And Modernity: Ritual Transformations And The Reconstruction Of Space And Time, Chee Kiong Tong, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper, we use the case of Chinese religion in Singapore to examine the relationships between religion and modernity, and between social processes, on the one hand, and spatial conceptions, forms and structures and temporal practices, on the other. Specifically, we look at how traditional Chinese rituals are being modified, reinterpreted and invented to fit with modern living. Such ritual transformations entail reconstructed notions of space and time. Through such transformations, modernity does not simply lead to the demise of religious beliefs and practices but allows for a continued role for religion in providing a meaning system for Chinese …

On Business Education In Singapore: The Past, The Present And The Future, Teck Meng Tan, Kwong Sin Leong, Yang Hoong Pang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Examines the developments in business education in Singapore and directions for its development. Post-graduate programs; Status of management education at universities; Broadening of education in Singapore universities.

An Investigation Of Price Discovery In Informationally-Linked Markets: Equity Trading In Malaysia And Singapore, David K. Ding, Frederick H. Harris, Sie Ting Lau, Thomas H. Mclnish

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Using transactions data for the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) for a major Malaysian conglomerate, Sime Darby Berhad, and intraday exchange rate data, we investigate whether and to what extent each exchange contributes to price discovery. Results indicate that the price series are cointegrated. The raw data appear to indicate the presence of arbitrage opportunities, but none exist after taking exchange rate changes into account. Using the common long-memory factors of Gonzalo and Granger (1995, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 13, 1-9), we show that while the majority of the price discovery (approximately …