reporter2
10-06-14, 16:18
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/archive/thursday/premium/singapore/metropolis-beyond-borders-cultures-currencies-20140605
Published June 05, 2014
A metropolis beyond borders, cultures, currencies
S'pore, Johor and the Riau Islands form the Sijori growth triangle
[SINGAPORE] Darren Chin gave up a 15-minute train journey to his office in Singapore for a two-hour drive with a stop at passport control.
The reason: By commuting from Malaysia, he can afford his own two-storey home and car.
"It's worth it," said the Malaysian financial adviser, who leaves his house before 6.45am to get to his job at OCBC Bank on time. "I'm saving on rent and I'm paying for my own house."
Mr Chin is part of the expansion of South-east Asia's richest city across its borders as residents and companies seek property, labour and amenities, often at half the cost or less.
The result is a three-nation urban complex with a population bigger than London and an economy that would rank as one of the fastest-growing in the region.
"Without the regional perspective it would be a lot more difficult, if at all possible, for Singapore to maintain the role that it has as a global city," said Milica Topalovic, an associate professor at Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore.
"Most of the pressing questions that Singapore has today - of land, of workforce, of ageing - can be solved easily in a regional perspective."
Combine the dominant forces of the 21st-century economy - globalisation and urbanisation - and the result is a metropolis that crosses borders, cultures and currencies.
South-east Asia's prime example is known as Sijori, an acronym derived from Singapore, the neighbouring Malaysian state of Johor, and Indonesia's Riau Islands.
For an island-state at its limits, access to land and labour in neighbours is crucial.
Economic growth and soaring immigration have strained Singapore's resources, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the world.
Singapore's population density rose to 7,540 per sq km in 2013, closing in on New York's 10,425.
The Ion mall in the Orchard Road shopping district descends four stories into the ground, and the government is exploring building underground storage, transport hubs and shopping areas.
The island, whose US$290 billion economy is bigger than that of Nigeria, the Philippines or Greece, has seen its population surge by almost a third in the past decade to 5.4 million.
Add Johor and the Riau islands, and the number was about 10.1 million in 2010, according to estimates by Aris Ananta, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
That could rise to 18 million by 2030, he said.
The Sijori triangle's economy will expand 5.7 per cent annually in 2013-2020, compared with an average of 4.2 per cent for Singapore, show forecasts by Toh Mun Heng, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore Business School.
With cheaper land plentiful in southern Malaysia, money is pouring across the border.
Singapore has invested at least RM11 billion (S$4.27 billion) in Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone in southern Johor established in 2006 that's three times the size of the city.
Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings, the state-owned investment companies of Malaysia and Singapore. are developing projects including an 85 hectare area that will comprise a wellness centre, apartments, malls and spas valued at about RM3 billion.
"There's a natural economic dynamic that will make a lot of Singaporeans invest in Johor Baru," said Francis Yeoh, managing director of one of Malaysia's biggest builders, YTL Corp. "It's quite a good time to invest in property." - Bloomberg
Published June 05, 2014
A metropolis beyond borders, cultures, currencies
S'pore, Johor and the Riau Islands form the Sijori growth triangle
[SINGAPORE] Darren Chin gave up a 15-minute train journey to his office in Singapore for a two-hour drive with a stop at passport control.
The reason: By commuting from Malaysia, he can afford his own two-storey home and car.
"It's worth it," said the Malaysian financial adviser, who leaves his house before 6.45am to get to his job at OCBC Bank on time. "I'm saving on rent and I'm paying for my own house."
Mr Chin is part of the expansion of South-east Asia's richest city across its borders as residents and companies seek property, labour and amenities, often at half the cost or less.
The result is a three-nation urban complex with a population bigger than London and an economy that would rank as one of the fastest-growing in the region.
"Without the regional perspective it would be a lot more difficult, if at all possible, for Singapore to maintain the role that it has as a global city," said Milica Topalovic, an associate professor at Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore.
"Most of the pressing questions that Singapore has today - of land, of workforce, of ageing - can be solved easily in a regional perspective."
Combine the dominant forces of the 21st-century economy - globalisation and urbanisation - and the result is a metropolis that crosses borders, cultures and currencies.
South-east Asia's prime example is known as Sijori, an acronym derived from Singapore, the neighbouring Malaysian state of Johor, and Indonesia's Riau Islands.
For an island-state at its limits, access to land and labour in neighbours is crucial.
Economic growth and soaring immigration have strained Singapore's resources, making it one of the most expensive places to live in the world.
Singapore's population density rose to 7,540 per sq km in 2013, closing in on New York's 10,425.
The Ion mall in the Orchard Road shopping district descends four stories into the ground, and the government is exploring building underground storage, transport hubs and shopping areas.
The island, whose US$290 billion economy is bigger than that of Nigeria, the Philippines or Greece, has seen its population surge by almost a third in the past decade to 5.4 million.
Add Johor and the Riau islands, and the number was about 10.1 million in 2010, according to estimates by Aris Ananta, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
That could rise to 18 million by 2030, he said.
The Sijori triangle's economy will expand 5.7 per cent annually in 2013-2020, compared with an average of 4.2 per cent for Singapore, show forecasts by Toh Mun Heng, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore Business School.
With cheaper land plentiful in southern Malaysia, money is pouring across the border.
Singapore has invested at least RM11 billion (S$4.27 billion) in Iskandar Malaysia, a special economic zone in southern Johor established in 2006 that's three times the size of the city.
Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings, the state-owned investment companies of Malaysia and Singapore. are developing projects including an 85 hectare area that will comprise a wellness centre, apartments, malls and spas valued at about RM3 billion.
"There's a natural economic dynamic that will make a lot of Singaporeans invest in Johor Baru," said Francis Yeoh, managing director of one of Malaysia's biggest builders, YTL Corp. "It's quite a good time to invest in property." - Bloomberg