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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Luring FT gives Singapore edge over Japs</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>wwwDRAGONwww <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>12:23 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 7) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>30765.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Luring foreign talent gives Singapore edge over Japan
Monday 18th August, 07:17 AM JST
SINGAPORE —
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday that Japan is not comparable to the world’s top cities such as London and New York because it lacks foreign talent. ‘‘Japan cannot do the same in attracting enough foreign talent, and therefore Japan cannot compare with London and New York. But we can and that’s our strength because we have an English-speaking environment, so we must try to make use of this advantage,’’ he said in a major annual speech televised nationwide to mark the country’s Aug. 9 National Day celebration.
Lee mentioned Japan, which is known to be reluctant to admit large numbers of foreign workers, when he was explaining the need for Singapore to continue to attract highly skilled foreigners to live and work here in its quest to become a global city. He said Singapore has to rely heavily on foreign talent to ensure its position as a major financial center in the region. ‘‘Our financial center depends on a large number of foreign talent. Not only Singapore, which does not have enough foreign talent—London and New York are the same,’’ Lee said in the speech that was delivered in Mandarin and simultaneously translated into English. Lee noted that in sports, the participation of foreign talent has helped Singapore achieve its first Olympic medal since 1960 in the Beijing Olympics, where Singapore’s women paddlers, originating from mainland China, have helped to assure a silver medal after beating the South Koreans last week. ‘‘Actually, in the noneconomic areas, the foreigners have added to our strength, a very clear example is sports,’’ he said. Half of the 25-strong team Singapore sent to compete in the Beijing Olympics are foreigners who have become ‘‘new Singaporeans,’’ he said. ‘‘Why do we need them? Make a simple calculation. The Chinese have a 1.3 billion population, Singapore has a population of 4 million, more than 300 times—when they get 300 medals, then we have a chance to get one medal,’’ he said. ‘‘If we want to win glory for Singapore and do well not only in sports but in many other areas, we cannot merely depend on local bonds, so we need to attract talent from all over the world to fight for Singapore,’’ he said. The small city-state’s 4.6 million population includes about 1 million foreigners who have taken up permanent residence here. In addition, there are about 500,000 foreign workers. However, some quarters are not happy with the rise in the number of foreigners working here on fears that they will compete for jobs with the locals.
KYODO
[URL="http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/luring-foreign-talent-gives-singapore-edge-over-japan"]http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/luring-foreign-talent-gives-singapore-edge-over-japan[/URL]
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Monday 18th August, 07:17 AM JST
SINGAPORE —
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday that Japan is not comparable to the world’s top cities such as London and New York because it lacks foreign talent. ‘‘Japan cannot do the same in attracting enough foreign talent, and therefore Japan cannot compare with London and New York. But we can and that’s our strength because we have an English-speaking environment, so we must try to make use of this advantage,’’ he said in a major annual speech televised nationwide to mark the country’s Aug. 9 National Day celebration.
Lee mentioned Japan, which is known to be reluctant to admit large numbers of foreign workers, when he was explaining the need for Singapore to continue to attract highly skilled foreigners to live and work here in its quest to become a global city. He said Singapore has to rely heavily on foreign talent to ensure its position as a major financial center in the region. ‘‘Our financial center depends on a large number of foreign talent. Not only Singapore, which does not have enough foreign talent—London and New York are the same,’’ Lee said in the speech that was delivered in Mandarin and simultaneously translated into English. Lee noted that in sports, the participation of foreign talent has helped Singapore achieve its first Olympic medal since 1960 in the Beijing Olympics, where Singapore’s women paddlers, originating from mainland China, have helped to assure a silver medal after beating the South Koreans last week. ‘‘Actually, in the noneconomic areas, the foreigners have added to our strength, a very clear example is sports,’’ he said. Half of the 25-strong team Singapore sent to compete in the Beijing Olympics are foreigners who have become ‘‘new Singaporeans,’’ he said. ‘‘Why do we need them? Make a simple calculation. The Chinese have a 1.3 billion population, Singapore has a population of 4 million, more than 300 times—when they get 300 medals, then we have a chance to get one medal,’’ he said. ‘‘If we want to win glory for Singapore and do well not only in sports but in many other areas, we cannot merely depend on local bonds, so we need to attract talent from all over the world to fight for Singapore,’’ he said. The small city-state’s 4.6 million population includes about 1 million foreigners who have taken up permanent residence here. In addition, there are about 500,000 foreign workers. However, some quarters are not happy with the rise in the number of foreigners working here on fears that they will compete for jobs with the locals.
KYODO
[URL="http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/luring-foreign-talent-gives-singapore-edge-over-japan"]http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/luring-foreign-talent-gives-singapore-edge-over-japan[/URL]
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