Strategy for penetrating engineering & construction markets in Southeast Asia for Singapore through BOT contract

Abstract

Singapore's economy is currently making structural adjustments resulted by the Financial Crisis of 1997, the burst of the Internet bubble in 2000, and the emergency of different powers in the region. Its export-oriented manufacturing and trading model, which has served the city-state well in the last decades, has gradually added a new driver in services. Yet, Singapore still faces the problem of having much of its success dependent on its export-oriented manufacturing. At the same time, privatization of public infrastructures has just started to take shape in Southeast Asia. The concept of privatization will unlock an unlimited amount of engineering & construction business potential. Together, these two major economic forces present a special opportunity for Singapore to use Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project delivery method to not only capture a solid share in the privatization market, but also secure a long-term demand for its engineering & construction services, and facilitate the city-state's dependence on manufacturing and trading. The goal of this paper is analyzing the prospect of this proposal, and to provide strategic planning that will maximize the gains for both Singapore and Southeast Asian countries, as well as minimize the risks they have to take.