Singapore - History

It was Sir Stamford Raffles, a 19^th century British civil servant, who founded Singapore in 1819. An official of the British East India Company, Raffles combed the straits of Malacca for a small trading station to counter the Dutch influence in the area. The tiny fishing village of Singapore was perfect because it was at the crossroads of the East and West. Raffles did not just discover Singapore. He literally laid the city's foundations. After establishing a trading post, he planned to build a business quarter on one side of the Singapore River. But because it was low-lying, he ordered a small hill to be excavated to fill up the area. Today, that land is the core of the city and the heart of Shenton Way-Singapore's answer to Wall Street.

After Raffles, the next man credited with the rise of modern Singapore is Lee Kuan Yew. His potent formula for nation building since Singapore's independence in 1965 has been initiated but hardly paralleled in any part of the world. Mr. Lee is presently the senior minister in the government. Economists describe Singapore as a 'modern miracle' because it has built its success on only one resource, its people. Highly regarded by Business Environment Risk Intelligence as one of the best labor forces in the world, Singaporeans are resilient, hardworking and goal-oriented.