The Republic of Singapore is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometers North of the Equator, South of the Malaysian state of Johor and North of Indonesia's Riau Islands. Singapore is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia.

Singapore is the busiest port in the world in terms of tonnage shipped and is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre after London, New York City and Tokyo. Factors such as fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports and internal flexibility has led Singapore to reach real GDP growth averaging 7.5 % annually from 2004-2007. In terms of total exports, Singapore is in the top ten lists and has been ranked 11th for its total imports in 2007. Singapore also has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world, with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations.

The manufacturing industry is well-diversified into electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction and biomedical sciences manufacturing.