Embedded Co-Operation in the Context of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited

• Main Authors: YEOH, Caroline, KWAN, Adeline, WONG, Siang Yeung
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2004
• Subjects: Transborder industrialization; Industrial parks; Singapore; Batam; Indonesia; Asian Studies; International Business
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2880; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/3879/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The development of Singapore-styled industrial parks has resided on the country’s ability to negotiate investment concessions at inter-government level, to provide superior infrastructure, and where existing, through the links to influential business groups in the investment location. Singapore’s first transborder industrialization project in Batam (Indonesia) reflects this stratagem. This paper revisits the debate on the attractiveness of the low-cost investment enclaves for multinational investments, with insights from Batamindo Industrial Park. Through evidence from on-site interviews and case studies, this paper concludes that while the project’s progress to date has been largely overshadowed by socio-political uncertainties in the host environment, its future outlook remains promising.