Singapore,an island city-state off southern Malaysia, is a global financial centre with a tropical climate and multicultural population. Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, since independence it has become one of the world's most prosperous countries and boasts the world's busiest port.Combining the skyscrapers and subways of a modern, affluent city with a medley of Chinese, Malay and Indian influences and a tropical climate, with tasty food, good shopping and a vibrant night-life scene, this Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region.
Singapore is often referred to as theLion City, theGarden Cityand theRed Dot, and is the world's only sovereign island city-state."Easiest place to do business"(World Bank) for ten consecutive years, most"Technology-ready"nation(EIU), top"International meetings city" (UIA), city with "Best investment potential" (BERI), 2nd-most competitive country(WEF), 3rd-largestforeign exchangecentre, 4th-largest financial centre, 3rd-largestoil refiningandtradingcentre and one of the top twobusiest container portssince the 1990s.
