There have been plenty of stories that I have heard about cities like Singapore and Hong Kong being places of little financial visibility and auditing of companies. Our tour guide was very up front about the amount of money laundering and “shady” business practices that lots of Singaporeans employ through these businesses and side hustles.
Singapore is a country of no natural resources, so it is in the government’s interest to let the shipping and finance businesses operate freely without strong handing them. Foreign direct investment as well as ease of access to foreign workers on work permits are the two most crucial factors that correlate with one another and cause Singapore’s business environment to be one of the most investment friendly in the world.
Property in Singapore is extremely expensive and the older classes of society are extremely wealthy due to the retirement system and equivalent social security. It is not very apparent that there is a large wealth gap in Singapore, however it is certainly the biggest problem that the utopia like country will need to solve in the coming years.
As an avid investor of the stock market, it has been a fantastic experience to learn more about Asian and large companies and their presences in Singapore. The US stock market is not one of a kind as many beginner investors may falsely believe. There is an entire system across the world involved in the exchange of goods and services through hundreds of currencies and markets all looking to improve their business models and day to day lives of their respective populations.
Towards the end of the trip, we were able to meet with hedge fund CEO Ted Haley at Waypointe Partners with an AUM of about $500mm. I gave him a copy of my resume and sent him a piece of my investment research and have scheduled a call with him to learn more about Asian investments and conducting research.
I will definitely miss Singapore and, I have definitely not excluded it as a potential place that I will work sometime in my career.
