The Straits Times, Sept 7, 1994
DESPITE all the uncertainties surrounding the 1997 deadline, Hongkong is still able to give Singapore a close fight in their race to be the most competitive Newly Industrialised Economy (NIE), a new global survey has found.
Although the Republic leads by a comfortable margin in its overall score, the British colony comes within breathing distance in a number of areas, said the latest World Competitive Report 1994.
In one particular area, "management", it actually beat Singapore -- taking the fourth place in the world, compared to Singapore's seventh. The colony's lead here is due to its strength in business efficiency and entrepreneurship, the report noted.
Overall, Singapore was given a score of 94.9 points, compared to the 86.4 points accorded to Hongkong. This put Singapore ahead of all NIEs, with Hongkong taking the second place.
In addition to "management", the British colony is also strong in three other areas: government, internationalisation and finance.
While Singapore is ahead of Hongkong in all three categories in broad terms, it loses out in certain aspects.
For example, Hongkong is deemed to have sounder monetary and fiscal policies, and a better record in the state's involvement in the economy -- including greater managerial freedom and a lower level of national debts there.
Similarly, the colony beat Singapore in terms of availability of finance and the performance of the stock market.
The latter was measured by indicators such as stock market capitalisation, value traded on the market, number of listed companies and whether the market reflects the real value of companies.
The report noted that Hongkong's ranking would have improved, if it had not been dragged down by its poor show in "people" -- where, incidentally, Singapore received the top score in the whole world.
On a regional basis, the Republic's score compares very favourably with Malaysia (70.8), Taiwan (69.4), Thailand (62.3) and South Korea (53.0), said the report.
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