The Extent of Singapore's Investments Abroad

by Samuel Bassey Okposin

This text aims to focus on four main objectives, these are to; examine the causes of inward and outward direct investment in Singapore's economy; investigate the motivation for Singapore's firms to invest abroad; provide a theoretical explanation for overseas direct investment from Singapore; examine Singapore's direct investment strategies, strengths and weaknesses and consider whether the trend of outward direct investment will continue into the next millenium. The methodology adopted in this book is a modified kojima theory. It is argued that Singapore's direct investment abroad is determined by two sets of phenomena: the objective conditions of profitability for capital, and the subjective motivation of Singapore-based firms for foreign direct investment (FDI) as influenced by state policies and firms desires to invest outside Singapore. It is concluded that profitability, a limited domestic market, product diversification and risks, labour shortage, trade barriers, culture, religion and tax incentives are some of the other determinants of overseas direct investment from Singapore.

207 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999