Singapore's two proposed casino resorts could boost the city-state's economic growth by nearly two percentage points and indirectly create about 20,000 jobs, an economic study predicted.
Tilak Abeysinghe and Choy Keen Meng of the National University of Singapore said their findings, based on a macroeconomic simulation, provide a partial analysis of the casinos' impact.
Bidders for the casino project are to submit their proposals by March next year for an opening in 2009.
"The model simulation results indicate that Singapore's economy will be lifted for about five years," the study said.
After one year, GDP, the total of all goods and services produced in the country, would get a boost of 0.75 percentage points, it said. There would then be further annual increases in GDP peaking with a 1.8 percentage points gain in year five.
The economy will be primarily boosted by higher production of services led by increased tourist arrivals, Choy said. The study showed service sector output would gradually rise, peaking with a 2.2 percent increase in year five.
"Employment will expand correspondingly by 0.9 percent, translating into roughly 20,000 new jobs," the economists said.
They noted that they did not include the direct employment creation estimated to be more than 10,000.
Singapore, Southeast Asia's wealthiest economy, had a GDP last year of S$181 billion (US$108 billion).
Choy and Abeysinghe cautioned that their findings are not definitive.
"It's very much conditional on the assumptions that we made," Choy told reporters yesterday.
The simulation's findings are based on an assumed 10 percent rise in business and leisure travelers, a 20 percent increase in private construction contracts, a 10 percent gain in share prices and a one percent increase in government consumption spending to bolster law enforcement, social services and other measures.
Choy said the study was unable to account for the economic costs of law enforcement and the wider social costs of gambling.
"We are not able to quantify these effects but neither do we dismiss them as trivial," the study said.
Singapore in April lifted a four-decade ban on casinos despite strong domestic opposition and said two gaming resorts, with a combined cost of S$5 billion, would boost the tourism sector and draw more visitors.
Tourism earnings totaled S$9.6 billion last year from 8.3 million visitors. Singapore wants to increase arrivals to 17 million with receipts of S$30 billion annually within a decade.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS