goh chok tong : staying ahead of the asian curve speech by mr goh chok tong, senior minister of the republic of singapore and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at barclays asia forum, singapore, 1 november 2007. * * * i extend a warm welcome to all of you, especially to those who have not come to singapore in recent years. i would also like to thank barclays for organising this asia forum as well as this weekend ’ s singapore open. i hope the singapore open will grow in prestige as you expand your presence in singapore and asia. singapore ’ s economic growth rates in the past few years have surprised many, including ourselves. we did not expect to be able to consistently achieve growth rates of above 6 % per annum as we are a mature economy. yes, we have remade our economy but the good growth was also due to the buoyant world economy and a surging asia. singapore ’ s future growth will depend not only on our own efforts but also on our ability to anticipate trends in our external environment and stay ahead of the curve. this morning, i would like to share with you how we see developments in asia and the challenges before us. political outlook let me start with the political outlook. i believe that asia will remain stable and the regional environment conducive to growth. post - 9 / 11, the world had to adjust to new insecurities posed by terrorism. in southeast asia, some radical muslim groups tried to turn the region into an islamic caliphate through terrorist acts, including suicide bombings. this threat remains, despite recent successes by security agencies in foiling attacks in indonesia and elsewhere. however, the extremists will not succeed in their political and religious goals. more importantly, although terrorist acts may disrupt our economy, its impact pales in comparison to the structural shifts in the international order led by the re - emergence of china and india. china ’ s reach is now global, in search of friends, influence, markets and resources. india is also seeking to expand its links and influence abroad. the us and japan will try to co - opt india as a countervailing weight to china. but india, while seeking to balance its relations with all three, will preserve its own independence. both china and india will compete but they will be careful not to collide. both desire stability for their continued growth. japan has adopted a more conciliatory foreign policy under prime minister yasuo fu

asean summit, it will not be the most important story for asean. of greater importance is the fact that asean leaders will sign a politically - binding declaration to establish an asean economic community by 2015. asean will evolve into a single market and production base with free flow of goods, services, investment and skilled labour. asean, with its half a billion people and a combined gdp of more than us $ 1 trillion, will then be a competitive investment proposition. asean leaders will also sign the landmark asean charter which will transform asean into a more cohesive, effective and rules - based organisation. singapore : remaking itself as asia rises, singapore will not content itself with being lifted by the rising tide. it will continuously remake itself – strengthening the hull, refitting with a more powerful engine, refurbishing the interior, acquiring new knowledge and learning new skills. to reduce dependence on the global electronics cycle, we have built strong growth momentum in areas such as financial services, tourism and biomedical sciences. our growth will increasingly stem from knowledge - and innovation - intensive activities. this necessitates more investment in human resource development and the creation of a workforce capable of keeping up with the demands of new economic activities. singapore is therefore planning to build a fourth publicly funded university. concurrently, we are enhancing our connectivity with our major economic partners and increasing our economic space through ftas. we have ftas with 11 countries, including the us, india, japan, south korea, australia and new zealand. negotiations are underway for 11 more, including agreements with china and the gulf cooperation council ( gcc ). these ftas will enable investors and businesses to leverage on singapore to reach out to our fta partners. we will press on to develop the financial sector. we are already an important centre for asset management and the trading of financial products like foreign exchange and derivatives. we have made good progress in developing as the regional hub for innovative equity products, business trusts, exchange - traded funds ( etfs ) and project finance. we envision singapore as a centre of excellence for financial training, education and research. hence, we are deepening specialist capabilities in fields such as risk management, financial engineering and actuarial science. in growing our financial sector, we are mindful of industry concerns over the sharp increase in office and housing rentals and the growing waitlists for places at international schools. we are actively addressing these concerns. finally, singapore is sprucing up its image as a vibrant, eclectic city with