What will Singapore economy turn out to be the next 5 yrs?
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Pls share your professional views.
Pls keep this tread active and serve it as a useful tread for understanding our future.
I am very fresh when talking about our economy. Pls correct me if I am wrong.
Personally, i think Singapore is losing its ground.
Singapore has no agriculture and manufacture industry.
All it sale is her service, her strategic location and stability of economy.
On service side, our population is to small to survive on our own ppl.
We will need tourist to boost our service line.
But our country lack that kind of attraction to attract more tourist.
Can anyone think of a attraction that is worth visiting again?!
On strategic location, now that thailand is opening up a new route where the ships can cut through the border of malaysia and thailand. More and more ships will past by there instead of Singapore.
On stability, our PM Lee stated that China is going to overlap us on that in a very near future. Once that happens, more global company will set up their regional HQ in China rather than Singapore.
Pls correct if I am wrong.
Would like to hear more views from different ppl.
To make your point sound more convincing, you may wish to enter your job position too.
Ok, keep it rollin' -
I don't think anybody is going to care wat I say anyway, but I will still put in 1 or 2 points.
SIngapore is very small, thus its property rental fees is exceptionally high. This had already put a strain on all business, whether is it from our own country or foreign investors. Our people aren't cheap to employ either, given the relatively strong singapore dollars and high standard of living here.
Our neighbours aren't very helpful too. Some of them r facing security and instability problems. Others are literally using "Cut and Paste" method on watever we have been doing for the past years. When we make chips, the others start to manufacture chips too. When our airport and port is profitable, they start to develop on tat too. When we sign FTA, others r planning to sign one in the near future too. If they keep following wat we r doing, in the end we will still lose out since we already have a disadvantage of high business costs.
I think the only strong point left is our reputation. Efficient, clean corruption free and diplomatically friendly. Thus service such as hospital and health, singapore still have some advantage over others in the region. If I am a rich person, I won't mind paying much more as long as I am in safe hands during operation. It is good to induce more people from the region to our hospital. Sad to say the failure of the Iran twins will fixed in people mind for a long time.
Education can also be a good direction to go into. People had to pay fees to study in the University. However we must work very hard to improve our University level and reputation since we r not so established tat tons of people wanna pay to study here yet.
R & D with patent can be a good area to go to. And tis have to depend a lot on our University, since the capability of researchers is more important than the cost of land and people. One good field for R&D, other than bioscience is defense related issues. Countries r willing to spend a huge sum for anything related to country security, like rifles, tank or even or thermo scanners etc. However we r still far from being a key player in tis field.
Another field is the ecommerce and software. If we are able to produce quality websites or develop software tat provide special services, we may be able to stand a niche here. But again we r facing strong opponents from US and china in tis. Probably anything under the sun tat can be achieve using software has been thought and came up with. However in one field, Singapore had done and succeeded to a certain degree is the massively multiplayer games. I hope to see increasing growth in tis field.
Some fields like making movies and music may work too, since the products is sold at the same price throughout and very profitable if successful. However we have LOTS, I mean LOTS, of catching up to do in tis. Especially since people here aren't as creative as people from other regions.
However sad to all the above industries need people to have a reasonable level of education in one way or another. And these aren't big industries tat employs a lot of people too. Or rather, if an industry requires a lot of manpower or land, it will not be suitable for singapore. Thus unemployment may not get better in the coming years.
How to solve unemployment ? The best suggestion I have is making Gov rich, and making them employ more people or give up more welfare. However tis will still not work on the long run. Unemployment is a problem even in US and Europe which they find it hard to solve too.
PS : all the suggestions above r the possible fields we can go into, not fields we can achieve now. The points get harder and harder to achieve as it moves down. If u wanna shoot, don't expect a reply. -
A very nice theory you have sounded.
Keep up the spirit.
We Singaporean have been too passive for too many decades.
Originally posted by stupidissmart:
Very true.
SIngapore is very small, thus its property rental fees is exceptionally high. This had already put a strain on all business, whether is it from our own country or foreign investors. Our people aren't cheap to employ either, given the relatively strong singapore dollars and high standard of living here.Originally posted by stupidissmart:
I believe you are referring especially to Malaysia.
Our neighbours aren't very helpful too. Some of them r facing security and instability problems. Others are literally using "Cut and Paste" method on watever we have been doing for the past years. When we make chips, the others start to manufacture chips too. When our airport and port is profitable, they start to develop on tat too. When we sign FTA, others r planning to sign one in the near future too. If they keep following wat we r doing, in the end we will still lose out since we already have a disadvantage of high business costs.
So far indonesia and other asean countries are not cutting and pasting too much from us or shall we say not a strong competitors to us yet.
But as our costs are too high, we lose out alot of deals for manufacturing.Originally posted by stupidissmart:
Our strong point is our reputation, which is the most non-corrupted government in the world. People has faith in us to place their region HQ in SIngapore, but how long will it stay? China is becoming more attractive and we can't neglect. Personally i don't think many people will even consider migrating to Singapore for retirement. I believe there are alot better and cheaper countries who is also offering high standard of health facilities like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Thailand, China and even Sri Lanka.
I think the only strong point left is our reputation. Efficient, clean corruption free and diplomatically friendly. Thus service such as hospital and health, singapore still have some advantage over others in the region. If I am a rich person, I won't mind paying much more as long as I am in safe hands during operation. It is good to induce more people from the region to our hospital. Sad to say the failure of the Iran twins will fixed in people mind for a long time.Originally posted by stupidissmart:
Hmm...I don't think NUS or NTU is a world class university. I am not sure about ranking or stuff. But i don't think we have such reputation.
Education can also be a good direction to go into. People had to pay fees to study in the University. However we must work very hard to improve our University level and reputation since we r not so established tat tons of people wanna pay to study here yet.Originally posted by stupidissmart:
Now we are living in a digital world.
R & D with patent can be a good area to go to. And tis have to depend a lot on our University, since the capability of researchers is more important than the cost of land and people. One good field for R&D, other than bioscience is defense related issues. Countries r willing to spend a huge sum for anything related to country security, like rifles, tank or even or thermo scanners etc. However we r still far from being a key player in tis field.
We are connected to the world via internet.
Nothing can be kept secret anymore.
Patent is rubbish nowadays.
You can create and patent a product.
But a similar product can be produce by using your idea but restructure your product whatever it is.
It is just like handphone.
Motorola starts out as a pioneer for mobile phone.
What about now?Originally posted by stupidissmart:
I wish to correct this.
Another field is the ecommerce and software. If we are able to produce quality websites or develop software tat provide special services, we may be able to stand a niche here. But again we r facing strong opponents from US and china in tis. Probably anything under the sun tat can be achieve using software has been thought and came up with. However in one field, Singapore had done and succeeded to a certain degree is the massively multiplayer games. I hope to see increasing growth in tis field.
I think we are facing strong opponent from India instead of China.
I heard Microsoft has build a research dept in India.
Future softwares from Microsoft should be MADE IN INDIA.
Personally i don't play game that much.
I don't see anyone playing RENEWAL in LAN shops or heard of any of my friends playing.
So i don't know if RENEWAL is a success or not.Originally posted by stupidissmart:
Our movie and music industry is too small.
Some fields like making movies and music may work too, since the products is sold at the same price throughout and very profitable if successful. However we have LOTS, I mean LOTS, of catching up to do in tis. Especially since people here aren't as creative as people from other regions.
Yes...SIngaporean are educated to be practical.
Born, study, find a stable job, work 8-5, retire, survive on cpf and die.
We are not creative because we lack competition.
Our strongest competitor is our own government, how to fight? -
5 yrs later, i'll be in japan. as long as SG doesn't go to the pits, i'm not really complaining. i believe that things are gonna be whacky for the next 10 years, at least till LKY is gone, and LHL is forgotten.
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In my opinion, I believe defence science is one area where we can explore. Since defence is critical in our small island and we have invested much resouces, we can built up a niche in this area, and become a leader hopefully. This is an area where there are lots of $$$.
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Defence science as in developing modern weapons?Originally posted by thinker:In my opinion, I believe defence science is one area where we can explore. Since defence is critical in our small island and we have invested much resouces, we can built up a niche in this area, and become a leader hopefully. This is an area where there are lots of $$$.
I don't think SIngapore has the talent to develop any useful weapons.
I am a military nuts.
Correct me if i am wrong.
I don't see any report that Singapore has been selling weapons to other countries that they develop? -
Many concluded arms sales of weapons and weapon systems manufactured by Singapore, go largely unreported.Originally posted by Goodeal:Defence science as in developing modern weapons?
I don't think SIngapore has the talent to develop any useful weapons.
I am a military nuts.
Correct me if i am wrong.
I don't see any report that Singapore has been selling weapons to other countries that they develop?
Our FH2000 Artillery was reported to be in use with the Indonesian Military in the present Acheh Campaign.
To meet the Indian Army requirements, the same artillery gun was put up for competition with similar calibre guns manufactured by Sweden and South Africa.
Thailand is known to have purchased Patrol Boats manufactured by ST Engineering Group.
Myanmar was "rumoured" to be a receipient of some of the rifles and artillery manufactured in Singapore; and with tight secrecy in administrative procedures in both countries, it is unlikely that this transaction have really occurred.
The Bronco All Terrain Transport Vehicle is reported being negotiated with Brunei
These are just samples of what is available taken from readings during 2002 and 2003. -
ooo
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Sorry, typo error. Anyway now I should focus on entertainment issues.
I wish to correct this.
True. There r many competitors in tis field. As I said it is a difficult task. Wat we should try to achieve now is not the be the best in the world, but if we made it to the 3rd or 4th best, I guess we have already achieved some feats.
I think we are facing strong opponent from India instead of China.
I heard Microsoft has build a research dept in India.
Future softwares from Microsoft should be MADE IN INDIA.
Personally i don't play game that much.
I don't see anyone playing RENEWAL in LAN shops or heard of any of my friends playing.
So i don't know if RENEWAL is a success or not.
Singapore based Massively multiplayer games does not consists of Renewal. It also El kardian, Prince of QIn, Elysium etc (source from a gaming friend) It is a good thing to note tat the gameplay and graphics does not lose considerably with other leaders in tis field Final fantsy 11). Thus the technology is already somewat here in singapore.
Wat we need now is generate some incredible idea for game play, incredible artists tat can produce good 3D graphics and we may have a chance to compete in tis arena. Tis may be a growing market in the near futureOur movie and music industry is too small.
Don't be so pessimistic yet. We r not working just for singapore market, we should be focusing on ALL the Chinese market instead. Tat will consists of Hong Kong, Taiwan, CHINA and maybe Canada. If possible, it may be a good idea to work on Indian or Malay market in tis field too.
Yes...SIngaporean are educated to be practical.
Born, study, find a stable job, work 8-5, retire, survive on cpf and die.
We are not creative because we lack competition.
Our strongest competitor is our own government, how to fight?
Our movie industry, up till now is more toward giving sponsorship. The 2 latest movies, Infernal Affairs 2 and Turn right turn left (actual wordings forgotten) actually has the sponsorship from Raintree productions. Even Edmund Chen and Tay Bin Hui got a chance to act in the shows. Especially Edmund Chen. His roles is quite meaty in Tun left Turn right. I guess singapore has taken a right step in tis field up till now. HOwever it will be better if we can find ways to make them produce the show in singapore and not rely on just giving up sponsorship and producing it in Hong Kong.
For music, we have some names out there. Stephanie Sun and old names like Chen Jie Yi is quite popular during certain times. Though tat is still little compared to big name from Hong Kong and Taiwan, I shall say, we had taken a right step up till now.
New suggestions:
We can start work on some field in entertainment industries like working on Malay market for movies. We can produce some shows tat will feel closer to Malay people etc to capture the Malay market. Pardon me if I am wrong but I seldom heard of Malay movies for the malay people recently. Though market may be limited, but we should be aiming to produce shows with small budget initially etc.
Another way we can do is to "import" Taiwan variety shows and produce a English version of it. (we have an advantage over other chinese countires) I guess most people will say tat Taiwan variety shows r very interesting, something the western r not exposed to. If we r able to produce out good quality English show in 'taiwan variety show' format, we may end up with fantastic result. However tis idea is not EASY to achieve. From my perspective, where to find good hosts in singapore ? Frankly all channel 8 and 5 hosts r boring. We may need some legend like Jacky Wu to start tis trend
Sad to say, if we follow tis route of chasing after the entertainment dollars, then we have a bad starting point since we had thrown away Art and Creative thinking during Singapore education process.
Again I must emphasise tat these r suggestions. They may turn out to be infeasible in the end or due to circumstances unknown to me at tis point of time.
However it will be best if Singaporean ourselves have some fighting spirit left, without blaming everyone,on Gov for our situation, or planning on migration if things don't get better etc etc. It will be good if we find ways to reverse this bad situation thrown to us instead of running away from it all, or declaring its all over and lament our fate. If tis is a sinking ship, fix it ! Be agressive ! R we just Quitters or Stayers ? -
Singapore needs to invent more things to sell. Selling service is not enough.
Currently holding only 296 patents, which is a bit miserable compared to Canon's 16000 patents.
A country with less patents than a company.
Anyway, I can't understand why the government wants more babies? For the aging population? That's hardly a reason for me. To me, I would like to think that it's because the GDP/citizen is too low, that's why they need more people.
Which is another reason why the government must try to increase quality instead of quantity. -
1. final fantasy 11 is NOT the leader in the field of MMORPGs. last i checked, it was everquest. in terms of pure membership numbers, it's linage.Originally posted by stupidissmart:Singapore based Massively multiplayer games does not consists of Renewal. It also El kardian, Prince of QIn, Elysium etc (source from a gaming friend) It is a good thing to note tat the gameplay and graphics does not lose considerably with other leaders in tis field Final fantsy 11). Thus the technology is already somewat here in singapore.
Wat we need now is generate some incredible idea for game play, incredible artists tat can produce good 3D graphics and we may have a chance to compete in tis arena. Tis may be a growing market in the near future
2. the games were not made in singapore, we just bought the rights over. we have the equipment, we don't have the expertise.
3. games are not about 3d graphics. if you checked, any game that had focused only on eye candy, but not bothered about game play, fades into oblivion very quickly -> anarchy online, ww2 online, uo3d. -
i think we should move away from manufacturing, reduce it to a minimum if possible.
put money into banking, finance, insurance, life sciences, and design.
the 1 problem with the local broadcast industry is that the domestic market is too small, the profits generated are too low to bring in those new shows that would usually cost an arm and a leg to air -> the latest transformers series costs 100k an episode to air
by going regional, they increase ratings and profits. plus by being a regional channel, they can finally screw SBA. -
Well, Singapore surely can't do away with manufacturing, at least for the time being. If we take away manufacturing, Singapore wouldn't have anything to sell already.Originally posted by nismoS132:[color=blue]i think we should move away from manufacturing, reduce it to a minimum if possible.
put money into banking, finance, insurance, life sciences, and design.[color]
the 1 problem with the local broadcast industry is that the domestic market is too small, the profits generated are too low to bring in those new shows that would usually cost an arm and a leg to air -> the latest transformers series costs 100k an episode to air
by going regional, they increase ratings and profits. plus by being a regional channel, they can finally screw SBA.
Design is very important. Singapore should instead come up with useful products that can be sold.
Oh it can pray for a super entrepreneur that can generate as much GDP as Walmart. -
sg equivalent = econ minimart!Originally posted by Parka:Oh it can pray for a super entrepreneur that can generate as much GDP as Walmart.
the culture is different lah, we can't expect marts to generate that much income, since they're mainly domestic.
cannot open too many super marts oso. even if open 100, 4 million ppl is 4 million ppl. it's just moving income from 1 branch to another, in the end it's just creates redundancy.
we can't depend too much on port activities as well, shipping lanes are bound to change eventually. maybe we could go more indepth into boats, like breaking them down for scrape, buliding them, maintainence, upgrades, etc.
honda and bmw might be opening R&D centres here, i hope they really do, then things would really brighten up, since they're sorta like market leaders.
it'd be nice for singapore to move away from menial, labourous work, and on to stuff that really taps our potential, our minds.
u know some cartoons always have those that specialize in stuff only? like port town, smith town, weapons town etc. hehehe would be fun if that could happen in real life -
keep rollin'
Give everyone a clearer picture of our mindset.
Maybe LKY surfs the forum when he is free?
He might come across our thread.
To rule this country he needs to understand his people needs.
We are conservative people.
We will never be the best, because we are highly self-content people.
Do you see any idea came out originally by Singaporeans?
They also do cut and paste from other countries.
When Singapore need professional jobs like 3D graphic, they will outsource instead of training their local people to be world standard. -
d00d don't get hysterical.
my friend's a guard at the instana. the only thing LKY does during his free time at night is ask dumb questions like "do you know that 90% of singaporeans are asleep now?" -
d00d don't get hysterical.
Tat is a good one
my friend's a guard at the instana. the only thing LKY does during his free time at night is ask dumb questions like "do you know that 90% of singaporeans are asleep now?"
Anyway I am dissapointed tat the games r not made in singapore... I was actually feeling some kind of pride when I learned tat singapore is coming out with decent games.
More suggestions:
I am dissappointed with singapore tourism. Singapore is boring, sentosa is dead ! I was wondering why people wanna spend money to upgrade the museum and fort siloso there ?? I mean if I go for a tour, I want something more fun. Museum ? I never even go to the one in my country ! Even if I had kids or bringing an aging dad, I won't bring them there either. I only have 3 days and I do not want to waste my time. Want to see how singapore with multi culture society lives ? Forget it ! I am not in a study trip ! Shopping ? Face it, we r losing to Malaysia now. They have plenty of Giant malls tat put suntec to shame.
Instead of making good clean fun, I rather focus on fun. Build a big amusement park ! One tat match US or tokyo ! Do not tie down rules such as not allowing rides tat r more dangerous. Follow the same safety level as in US ! Fantasy island should be reopen ! It should be combined with the new amusement park to offer wet and dry variety.
Beach should be more fun ! Thailand had a fast boat, and when the tourist get tied to a parachute, they can get to glide in the air. When the boat goes, it will make the person fly. Import tat ! Import more banana boats to make rental fees cheap ! Import more interesting thrilling beach equipment ! Build a stage there ! Have interesting shows at the stage at weekend night (rock bands, cabaret girls etc). Booze at sentosa or boat quay should collect 50% less tax ! Have all night partying license easily available to organisers !
Made all shopping and entertainment throughout singapore open for the whole night at weekends ! Made SBS and public transport operate till 3 ! Why close everything at weekend midnight ? People want to stay in city, but r forced to return due to midnight cab fees and closing of departmental stores.
Anyone with other any suggestion on boosting tourism ?? -
i think think we have para sailing mainly because of tight air space problems. it's not fun to have a tourist get killed by turbulance from a plane bringing in more tourists.
fantasy island closed because a new more accessible water theme park opened, in jurong i believe.
they should just turn the entire sentosa into a race track. that'll bring in the money.
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good idea.Originally posted by nismoS132:i think think we have para sailing mainly because of tight air space problems. it's not fun to have a tourist get killed by turbulance from a plane bringing in more tourists.
fantasy island closed because a new more accessible water theme park opened, in jurong i believe.
they should just turn the entire sentosa into a race track. that'll bring in the money.
i myself is also a racing enthuism.
they should make a racing track at tuas.
a world class racing track.
provide track day every weekend.
that will discourage risk taker to race in orchard gudang.
they will endure and wait for the weekend to come.
fuck the idea of sprinting or rallying in a carpark.
it is not even enough for me to play my rc car...
we will even get extra income from collecting fees at the custom for cars and motors from our neighbour joining our race.
F1, lemans, jgtc, F3, track days and even gravel rallying.
from all the track days, we can even boost our car sales by promoting road show and promotion during the weekend.(car will be cheaper
)
Sentosa is not a place for fun.
It is for recreation.
Do you think tourist who come to singapore expect recreational activities?
our neighbouring countries provide better recreational activities plus resorts at a much cheaper price than us.
they come here for the city life.
like hong kong.
one thing i never get bored of hong kong is their night life.
why cant singaporean operate their retail from afternoon to midnight?
what for operating in the day when everybody is bz working or slacking?
ppl like to come out at night, ppl are only available at night.
sad...singapore is a fine country
a good country to grow and get old.
but damn boring. -
I would like to disagree with stupidissmart.
Prince of Qin, Elysium, Renewal ALL SUCK! Have you even tried playing them before? Renewal is a crappy Diablo 2 ripoff that tries to join the ranks of MMOGs with a huge lack of depth and ONLY THREE CLASSES. Not just that. NO RECLASSES. You can't release a game like that. Even the folks making Ragnarok Online know better.
Elysium is just an "improvement" of Renewal and it's all the same. What's more. Both Renewal and Elysium will NEVER match the graphics of FFXI or the gameplay of Everquest. The Taiwanese mofos just won't get it. What works in Taiwan won't neccesary work in Singapore.. just like F4 and their lousy TV dramas.
Thank your lucky stars that there aren't many gamers in here. Those posts of yours will draw lots of flak.
Speaking of the future of our economy... I find our future pretty bleak. Many of our Singaporeans are just like drones... thanks to our efficient education system that just teach us to be like dogs. Do what we're told. And we're being good dogs at that. In a global economy that demands creativity to survive, you can't just tell students to be creative and try to nurture creativity. You don't do that. It just comes.
What's more, you get a very nice govt that allows MNCs to leave and don't care about the lost jobs while they just take a gamble on the biomed industry and hope that it works out. You don't take a gamble on the future of the youth of a country like that. You might scorn me but I'm a "quitter". After I get that damn piece of paper I'm outta here. -
great...then can get to soak in the racing atmosphere...but issnt us abit small for a large evnt...esp since msia aredi has a track....
but i feel very strongly tt we r a boring nation.... after a while, any novelty abt our island has dissipated n oni the creative n romantic ones try to make do with watever available...sometimes becoz there really is nothing 2 look forward to if there's no hope....
any1 hav idea abt 'having fun', let us noe.... i m drained of any juices for my dates.... -
Originally posted by nismoS132:sg equivalent = econ minimart!
the culture is different lah, we can't expect marts to generate that much income, since they're mainly domestic.
cannot open too many super marts oso. even if open 100, 4 million ppl is 4 million ppl. it's just moving income from 1 branch to another, in the end it's just creates redundancy.
we can't depend too much on port activities as well, shipping lanes are bound to change eventually. maybe we could go more indepth into boats, like breaking them down for scrape, buliding them, maintainence, upgrades, etc.
honda and bmw might be opening R&D centres here, i hope they really do, then things would really brighten up, since they're sorta like market leaders.
it'd be nice for singapore to move away from menial, labourous work, and on to stuff that really taps our potential, our minds.
u know some cartoons always have those that specialize in stuff only? like port town, smith town, weapons town etc. hehehe would be fun if that could happen in real life Yeah.
Another point also.
Singapore definitely must expand overseas instead of attracting people here. -
Dont you sense something?
Dont you find that all shopping centres in Singapore are the same?
Mostly all shopping centres in town or city have cinema and food court.
All shopping centre has the same old shop and selling the same old thing.
It makes ppl tired to go out becoz of the same old stuff.
Just hanging around an area all year round.
Anyone here been to Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is different.
Their shopping centres and shops are of different varieties.
You need to travel to different places for food, movies, arcade, billard saloon, kbox and etc etc.
Along your way to the destination you will walk past alot of shops selling different stuff.
There is as little food courts in Hong Kong as your fingers.
Their shops open late morning or afternoon and close at late evening.
Ppl are not so lazy to go out as they are use to travel around.
How rarely do Singaporeans travel around their own country?
Start asking yourself if you are tired of hanging around your town shopping centre?
Are you interested in going out with your date during anyday?
I would rather bring her home to rest or, than hanging anywhere.
They should focus different attraction at different areas.
All in one area make us lazy and bored.
Singaporeans are lazy ppl. -
Then the shopping centres should have all the necessary facilities and shop, plus the "extra" you have mentioned.
For someone who just want to get his regular stuff, he wouldn't want to travel far away for it. -
Hmmm... I thought the shopping centres have some favour of its own now. Takashimaya is selling Jap product. Paragon is selling high class product for high class people. Cineleisure is focusing on food now. Jurong Point selling things tat attract teenagers and young adult (NTU nearby). Parklane if u wanna play pool or Kbox. For bowling, steamboat with bbq u got to go to marina south. U can fly kites there too. Suntec is selling a lot of fashion accessories while lucky plaza offering budget items. U wanna buy computer ? Go to Sim Lim tower or Funan. A lot of shops appear the same but yet there is some favour to shopping malls in city area isn't it ?
Only places like Tampines, Pasir Ris, Ang Mo kio and Toa Payoh does everything look the same. They wanna convenient the people living there mah
Sad to say, I had never been to hong kong before... is it really tat interesting there ? I thought city is boring now since almost every countries have a big city of some sort. How different is it from other cities ??