The Singapore 'Advantage' in Suzhou, China: Premium or Perception?

This paper revisits Singapore’s industrial development in Suzhou, China, which has been in operation for more than a decade. We aim to glean insights from this experiment and more importantly, to verify recent claims of it generating political gain and economic capital for Singapore. The flagship project took on an identical framework as the other Singaporean transborder industrialization ventures in the region by adopting Singapore’s expertise and reputation for an efficient and stable government and investment environment. These measures were coupled with the combination of local-specific advantages in the region, such as availability of cheaper labour and market access. Singapore’s regionalization stratagem is placed under scrutiny in this paper; the ensuing competitive interactions between competitor parks and Singaporean-styled parks have raised questions on the economics of competition and sustaining competitive advantage. This calls into question the value of Singapore’s, value-added services and infrastructure.