Full steam ahead for Lion City

Singapore is a modern day economic success story. Even by Asia's standards - a standout globally - this tiny city state delivers a stellar performance. With so many countries still forging a growth path after the devastating slowdown, Singapore's economy jumped by 18.1 per cent in the first half of this year, the biggest rise since records began in 1975.

The republic's international kudos is of the highest order. In a World Bank report, Singapore ranked top for ease of doing business for the fourth year in a row (Hong Kong came third, with New Zealand second). Singapore was also commended for staying proactive, being named with Hong Kong as one of the most consistent reformers.

Swiss business school IMD ranked Singapore in top spot, elbowing out Hong Kong and the United States, in its World Competitiveness Yearbook rankings this year.

Singapore is also one of the world's most livable cities. According to Mercer's 2010 quality of living survey, Singapore remains the highest ranking Asian city (ranked 28th globally), followed by Tokyo (40th).

The foundations for Singapore's success include political stability, sound business infrastructure, integrated urban planning, and strong manufacturing and tourism sectors.

Visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 996,000 in August, up 18 per cent year-on-year, setting a new record for the month. And, with the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix a sell-out last month, the figures should only get better.

In addition to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, held in Singapore in August, the upswing is largely attributed to the opening this year of two integrated casino resorts, the US$4.4 billion Resorts World Sentosa and US$5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands. The resorts are expected to contribute up to 2 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product, help the country achieve visitor arrivals of 17 million by 2015 (from 10 million in 2008) - and add 35,000 jobs to the economy. The government hopes to boost tourism earnings to S$30 billion (US$21.5 billion) by 2015, tripling present figures.