Dear Alu
Consider me a realist and a sucker for tried and tested approaches :_)).
Cheers
Locke
Consider me a realist and a sucker for tried and tested approaches :_)).
Cheers
Locke
-
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SDP Fantasy Economic Paper
- Thread starter lockeliberal
- Start date
A
Alu862
Guest
That sounds so pro establishment.
Dear Alu
I meant the realist or Neo Realist approach in IR and IPE.
Cheers
Locke
I meant the realist or Neo Realist approach in IR and IPE.
Cheers
Locke
A
Alu862
Guest
Ah...i'm more on the principal-agent theory or constructivist or evne the post-structuralist side
Wealth management prospers in Singapore
By Neil Chatterjee and John O'Donnell ReutersPublished: December 14, 2008
SINGAPORE: As pressure mounts on UBS, the flagship bank of Switzerland, and that country's secrecy code comes under fire from the United States and Germany, Singapore's star as a haven for the super-rich is rising fast.
Singapore, a sun-drenched Asian city-state with the highest density of millionaires in the world, is seeing its wealth management industry prosper as the United States and Europe grapple with the worst slump in a generation.
Singapore's strict bank secrecy rules are likely to be spared an assault similar to the one that Switzerland is defending itself against now, after UBS's wealth management chief was charged with helping Americans hide money.
With close ties to power throughout Asia, Singapore is in a stronger position to resist pressure from the United States than either Switzerland or Liechtenstein, which partially reduced its bank secrecy protections recently.
"It's a wealth center," said Martyn Schilte, a manager in charge of selling million-dollar cars in Singapore. "If you look at the type of client we sell to, it's people with a net worth of $50 million-plus."
Today in Business with Reuters
Japanese business confidence hit hard
With rates falling, Fed seeks new tools to fight recession
Markets advance in Europe and Asia
The city-state has its sights on attracting the world's wealthy to its palm-tree-lined coastline, where some apartments come with a private yacht berth. Its plan is working.
As Asia's elite move billions to the country, assets under management soared by a third last year to more than $800 billion.
The industry is still small compared with Switzerland's. Singapore had $500 billion in offshore assets under management last year, according to the Boston Consulting Group, while Switzerland had four times as much.
But it puts the region on the map for banks hoping to capitalize on a more resilient Asia as economies in the West slow.
As jobs cuts cloud London and New York, banks like Credit Suisse and Macquarie Group of Australia are hiring wealth management staff in Singapore.
Bank of China is one of the latest to plan a wealth management arm in Singapore, hoping to meet millionaires like those who recently gathered to buy and sell private jets on the sidelines of a Formula One race.
"Singapore has developed a lot and has all the ingredients to compete internationally," said Deepak Sharma, an executive in charge of Citigroup's global wealth management business outside the United States.
Like Monaco, another tax haven, Singapore has a hard line on bank secrecy. It has not agreed to the standards of transparency and exchange of information as put forth by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, a grouping of 30 industrialized democracies.
Singapore, which is trying to grow financial services to wean itself from dependence on manufacturing, is on the International Monetary Fund's list of tax havens and is a target of a proposed new U.S. law to fight tax abuses.
Another country that had similarly shunned the OECD, Liechtenstein, recently agreed to a landmark deal with the United States, paving the way for the exchange of account details with Washington in cases of tax evasion.
The agreement may pressure Switzerland into similar concessions, which could work to Singapore's advantage.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore said this month such scrutiny in the West could lead to more European money flowing into the country, a hot talking point in the industry.
"It is interesting to notice a growth in the number of European clients booking wealth through Singapore, which unlike Switzerland does not recognize the European tax directive," said Sebastian Dovey, a consultant at Scorpio Partnership.
But European cash comes with the risk that Singapore could be targeted in the crackdown on tax havens. "I expect Singapore to come under pressure, too," Lee said.
The United States told Singapore and its banks last year to sever financial links with Myanmar's military junta, widely believed to use Singapore as its main offshore banking center.
"Increasingly Singapore is looking out on a limb," said Jeffrey Owens, director of the Center for Tax Policy Administration at the OECD. "It's for the Singapore government to assess how the political climate is changing to protect the reputation of the Singapore brand."
Singapore's central bank has said that its confidentiality laws are not a shield for criminal activities and that banks can disclose customer information to assist such investigations.
Singapore is in a stronger position to resist the strong arm of Washington. Experts in the region point out that it is a U.S. military ally and one of the few Asian countries with a deep-water port that could hold a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Brussels, too, might shy away from a fight, as it is unclear how many Europeans park money in Singapore. Bankers have played down its significance as a destination for European money and say that most came from Asia, and in particular Indonesia.
1 | 2 Next Page
By Neil Chatterjee and John O'Donnell ReutersPublished: December 14, 2008
SINGAPORE: As pressure mounts on UBS, the flagship bank of Switzerland, and that country's secrecy code comes under fire from the United States and Germany, Singapore's star as a haven for the super-rich is rising fast.
Singapore, a sun-drenched Asian city-state with the highest density of millionaires in the world, is seeing its wealth management industry prosper as the United States and Europe grapple with the worst slump in a generation.
Singapore's strict bank secrecy rules are likely to be spared an assault similar to the one that Switzerland is defending itself against now, after UBS's wealth management chief was charged with helping Americans hide money.
With close ties to power throughout Asia, Singapore is in a stronger position to resist pressure from the United States than either Switzerland or Liechtenstein, which partially reduced its bank secrecy protections recently.
"It's a wealth center," said Martyn Schilte, a manager in charge of selling million-dollar cars in Singapore. "If you look at the type of client we sell to, it's people with a net worth of $50 million-plus."
Today in Business with Reuters
Japanese business confidence hit hard
With rates falling, Fed seeks new tools to fight recession
Markets advance in Europe and Asia
The city-state has its sights on attracting the world's wealthy to its palm-tree-lined coastline, where some apartments come with a private yacht berth. Its plan is working.
As Asia's elite move billions to the country, assets under management soared by a third last year to more than $800 billion.
The industry is still small compared with Switzerland's. Singapore had $500 billion in offshore assets under management last year, according to the Boston Consulting Group, while Switzerland had four times as much.
But it puts the region on the map for banks hoping to capitalize on a more resilient Asia as economies in the West slow.
As jobs cuts cloud London and New York, banks like Credit Suisse and Macquarie Group of Australia are hiring wealth management staff in Singapore.
Bank of China is one of the latest to plan a wealth management arm in Singapore, hoping to meet millionaires like those who recently gathered to buy and sell private jets on the sidelines of a Formula One race.
"Singapore has developed a lot and has all the ingredients to compete internationally," said Deepak Sharma, an executive in charge of Citigroup's global wealth management business outside the United States.
Like Monaco, another tax haven, Singapore has a hard line on bank secrecy. It has not agreed to the standards of transparency and exchange of information as put forth by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, a grouping of 30 industrialized democracies.
Singapore, which is trying to grow financial services to wean itself from dependence on manufacturing, is on the International Monetary Fund's list of tax havens and is a target of a proposed new U.S. law to fight tax abuses.
Another country that had similarly shunned the OECD, Liechtenstein, recently agreed to a landmark deal with the United States, paving the way for the exchange of account details with Washington in cases of tax evasion.
The agreement may pressure Switzerland into similar concessions, which could work to Singapore's advantage.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore said this month such scrutiny in the West could lead to more European money flowing into the country, a hot talking point in the industry.
"It is interesting to notice a growth in the number of European clients booking wealth through Singapore, which unlike Switzerland does not recognize the European tax directive," said Sebastian Dovey, a consultant at Scorpio Partnership.
But European cash comes with the risk that Singapore could be targeted in the crackdown on tax havens. "I expect Singapore to come under pressure, too," Lee said.
The United States told Singapore and its banks last year to sever financial links with Myanmar's military junta, widely believed to use Singapore as its main offshore banking center.
"Increasingly Singapore is looking out on a limb," said Jeffrey Owens, director of the Center for Tax Policy Administration at the OECD. "It's for the Singapore government to assess how the political climate is changing to protect the reputation of the Singapore brand."
Singapore's central bank has said that its confidentiality laws are not a shield for criminal activities and that banks can disclose customer information to assist such investigations.
Singapore is in a stronger position to resist the strong arm of Washington. Experts in the region point out that it is a U.S. military ally and one of the few Asian countries with a deep-water port that could hold a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Brussels, too, might shy away from a fight, as it is unclear how many Europeans park money in Singapore. Bankers have played down its significance as a destination for European money and say that most came from Asia, and in particular Indonesia.
1 | 2 Next Page
Wealth management prospers in Singapore
By Neil Chatterjee and John O'Donnell ReutersPublished: December 14, 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Singapore's central bank says over half the money managed in the city-state comes from outside the Asia-Pacific region, although this includes pension funds and hedge funds as well as private banking.
Ultimately, however, it may be politics that makes throwing down the gauntlet to Singapore difficult. To do so, said experts, would be an indirect challenge to China.
"If I were the Singapore government, I would not sign unless it's on equal footing with Hong Kong, the key competitor," said Roman Scott, managing director of Calamander Capital, a consulting firm.
The European Union, Scott said, is not putting pressure on Hong Kong, however, because it is reluctant to confront Beijing.
Furthermore, any agreement with Europe could pave the way for demands for the same treatment from places like Indonesia, Thailand or Taiwan.
"That is one of the reasons for the resistance as they do not want to open a Pandora's box," Scott said. "They are scared what might come up. The European customers are minor - what's more important is that you do not want to open up everything for everybody."
John O'Donnell reported from Frankfurt. Laurence Tan and David Fogarty in Singapore and Lisa Jucca in Zurich contributed reporting.
By Neil Chatterjee and John O'Donnell ReutersPublished: December 14, 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Singapore's central bank says over half the money managed in the city-state comes from outside the Asia-Pacific region, although this includes pension funds and hedge funds as well as private banking.
Ultimately, however, it may be politics that makes throwing down the gauntlet to Singapore difficult. To do so, said experts, would be an indirect challenge to China.
"If I were the Singapore government, I would not sign unless it's on equal footing with Hong Kong, the key competitor," said Roman Scott, managing director of Calamander Capital, a consulting firm.
The European Union, Scott said, is not putting pressure on Hong Kong, however, because it is reluctant to confront Beijing.
Furthermore, any agreement with Europe could pave the way for demands for the same treatment from places like Indonesia, Thailand or Taiwan.
"That is one of the reasons for the resistance as they do not want to open a Pandora's box," Scott said. "They are scared what might come up. The European customers are minor - what's more important is that you do not want to open up everything for everybody."
John O'Donnell reported from Frankfurt. Laurence Tan and David Fogarty in Singapore and Lisa Jucca in Zurich contributed reporting.
Don't worry we don't have any illusions. Should the alternative party, WP/WPAP form the alternate government, we can be rest assured that the one single action they will retain is to keep the multi-million dollar salaries of the PAP for themselves.
The actions of the past, points the way to the future.
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