Singapore Tours

Singapore is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, and is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia. Singapore is one of four remaining true city-states in the world. Prior to European settlement, it was the site of a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. In 1819 the British East India Company established a trading post on the island, which was used thereafter as a strategic trading post along the spice route. Singapore would become one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire, and the hub of British power in Southeast Asia. The city was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, which Winston Churchill called "Britain's greatest defeat". Singapore reverted to British rule immediately postwar, in 1945. Eighteen years later the city, having achieved independence from Britain, merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. However, less than two years later it seceded from the federation and became an independent republic. Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has been on the rise. Foreign direct investment and a state-led drive to industrialisation have created a modern economy focused on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services. Singapore is the 8th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.