It lies about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. It is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet, the combined area of which has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation
Economy: It is a highly developed free-market economy with dirigiste characteristics. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is headquartered in Singapore. Alongside the business-friendly reputation for global and local privately held comp. and public comp., various national state-owned enterprises play a substantial role in It. The sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings holds majority stakes in several of the nation's largest bellwether comp., such as Singapore Airlines, SingTel, ST Engineering and MediaCorp
singapore
