The new green asian tiger

Implications: After devoting the last two decades creating world-class industrial and IT infrastructure, Singapore is positioning itself not only as a leading commercial and financial center, but also as the regional champion of knowledge based services and technologies.

Recent announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong regarding Singapore’s push towards clean energy mirrors the rapid developments of renewable energy and bio-fuels projects in the South/South East Asian region. This strategy follows in the footsteps or decades of development in clean technologies and services in sustainable water reclamation, waste remediation, energy efficiency and land use.



Analysis: Singapore has virtually no natural resources, and the environmental issues it faces are characteristic of a highly urbanized city. The existing relevant issues pertain to pollution from industrialization and urbanization and the protection of nature areas. Pollution was recognized to be a problem since the 1960s, and significant steps have been taken since to alleviate industrial and urban pollution. Singapore today is a clean, modern and well-planned country, with extremely stringent and well-enforced environmental regulation.

Water is in short supply, and Singapore’s potable water needs are met through importing water from neighboring Malaysia as well as the efficient use of advanced technologies such as water reclamation (Singapore has pioneered the unique and innovative concept of “Newater”) and seawater desalination.

Through its investment arm Temasek and a host of government linked companies, Singapore has equipped itself with world-class infrastructure as well as a pool of local knowledge and expertise: in the area of water technologies, Singapore’s international ambitions have materialized into two regional champions: Hyflux (ticker HYFL) and Keppel Seghers.

Given the recent explosion of renewable energy and bio-fuel projects in South and South East Asia, with neighboring countries such as Indonesia embarking on an ambitious $17billion bio-fuel program or Malaysia’s export-led palm oil industry undergoing major restructuring, a well-crafted mix of government support and local entrepreneurship in the area of clean energy will most certainly earn Singapore its first stripes as the new Green Asian Tiger!