Insular Southeast Asia - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 466

most advanced telecommunication networks. It should
be noted that Shanghai' s port recently surpassed Singa-
pore' s in terms of tonnage handled and Singapore was
devastated. There is a word that sums up the Singaporean
existential condition and that is kiasu —“afraid to lose.”

CREATING A HINTERLAND
Building an external economy is considered a national im-
perative. Foreigners, especially Indonesians, already make
up 20 percent of the labor force, and an overseas push is
the only place for expansion. Many companies have al-
ready relocated in such countries as China, India, Thai-
land, Vietnam, Russia, Hungary , and Belgium. China is
Singapore' s top location for investment. For instance, 22
Singapore companies are constructing a huge industrial
park near Suzhou (west of Shanghai). The rapidly growing
economy of India, especially the high-technology sector, is
also becoming an expanding source of foreign investment.
In 2007, 46 percent of Singapore' s investment was in
Asian countries, primarily in China, Malaysia, Indonesia,
and Thailand. The rest is spread around the world in re-
gions including Latin America, North America, Australia,
and the EU. Most investments are in the financial, insur-
ance, and manufacturing sectors. Cheaper labor in some
of these regions is not the only reason for these invest-
ments. Singapore is hoping to tap into large potential
markets as well. The country has made free-trade agree-
ments with 11 countries plus several more in the EU.
Singapore' is goal is for greater interdependence with
its neighbors, especially with Malaysia and Indonesia. Jo-
hor at the tip of the adjacent Malay Peninsula (The
Iskander Development Region) and Indonesia' s Riau Is-
lands, linking Singapore to Sumatra, have been inte-
grated as the Sijori Growth Triangle . “Sijori” refers to
Si ngapore, Jo hor, and Ri au. This combines the competi-
tive strength of the three areas to make the subregion
more attractive to regional and international investors. It
links the infrastructure, capital, and expertise of Singa-
pore with the natural and labor resources and the abun-
dance of land of Johor and Riau.
Riau' is Bantam island is being developed with indus-
trial estates while Bulan island is being converted into
agribusiness properties on which pigs, chickens,
shrimp, and orchids are raised. Pig production supplies
more than 50 percent of Singapore' s pork and the chick-
ens are destined for Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets.
Crocodiles and snakes are also raised for luxury clothing
items (Figure 16-16).The newest frontier is the island of
Bintan, which is being developed as a tourist mecca.

Figure 16-16
Crocodiles, snakes, and other reptiles are raised in Singapore.
Their meat is eaten and their skins are used to make fancy boots,
belts, and handbags. Photograph courtesy of B. A. Weightman.

Singapore' is growth triangle is neither complete nor
proven entirely successful. While these areas are not yet
fully integrated, it is still argued that there is more to be
gained from cooperation than from competition. This
growth triangle is still in the making. The lack of formaliza-
tion is partly because the growth triangle means different
things to each of the participants. According to geogra-
phers Scott Macleod and T . G. McGee (1996), “In many
ways the strength of the Growth T Triangle as a concept lies
in its vagueness; it can mean all things to all sides.”

FINDING AN IDENTITY
One way in which Singapore is forging a sense of place is
through heritage tourism. Certain districts of the city are
being refurbished to display their cultural origins. “Little
India” and “Chinatown” are examples of this phenome-
non. However, localism is combined with globalism, as
many buildings now host international business chains