Looking at the special section of the Straits Times today, with the different companies that have a local presence and some of the home-grown local companies, such as Crocodile and OCBC, it seems hard to dispute that our nation has been able to grow tremendously over the past 50 years since its independence. I'm going to share some of my reflections on SG50 in the post (writing this while watching NDP)
(Image source: https://www.singapore50.sg)
From our ever changing skyline, we can see that our nation has been developing at a rapid pace. The stock market, which is one way for us to participate in this growth of the economy, has also grown by leaps and bounds, weathering storms such as the Asian Financial Crisis, the 2008 Depression and others before that. The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) has been able to grow at a 5% annual rate without including dividends (info I have is since 1988). While our past performance does not guarantee future success, it definitely sets a better backdrop for future growth.
But for this growth we have made some trade offs, our Gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality) is one of the highest among developed countries and our press freedom ranks at 153 (by Reporters Without Borders). No one is perfect but we can definitely take actions to reduce some of these trade-offs that we have made in the coming years.
I hope that for the next 50 years up to SG100, or we should even start now, that we can create a more fair and equal society. I also hope that the financial literacy rate of Singaporeans can also increase (I remember reading an article that said it was quite low), allowing more people to understand how to manage their money better and are able to grow their money for a retirement fund sufficient to provide them a reasonable retirement fund (I aim to help contribute as a financial blogger:)).
What are your national day wishes?
If you have enjoyed this post and would like to receive notifications on new posts, you can subscribe to my blog via email
No comments :
Post a Comment