Frenemy cities: a look at Hong Kong, Singapore's rivalry and partnership as Lion City marks key anniversary

During his first visit to Hong Kong in 1954, Lee Kuan Yew, who would later become Singapore's first prime minister, came across a small tailor shop one morning where he would experience the dynamism of Hong Kong people.

He had himself measured by the tailor, and ordered two suits.

"In the afternoon, I went back for a fitting. That night, the suits were delivered to my cabin, something Singapore tailors could not have done," he wrote in his memoir, From the Third World to First.

After Singapore became independent in 1965, the city state's founding father visited Hong Kong almost every year in search of inspiration and to see how the British colony was handling the challenges of rapid development.

"The Singaporean cannot match the Hongkonger in drive and motivation. In Hong Kong, when people fail, they blame themselves or their bad luck, pick themselves up and try again, hoping their luck will change," Lee wrote. But he said Singaporeans preferred job security and to be free from worry.

"When they do not succeed, they blame the government, since they assume its duty is to ensure that their lives get better. The Singaporean lacks that entrepreneurial drive, willingness to take risks."

When Singapore was cast out on its own after being asked to leave the Federation of Malaya in 1965, the city's gross domestic product per capita was just US$516, which paled in comparison to Hong Kong's US$679.