Bao Ka Leow

Saturday's Straits Times did a special report on Singapore wanting to be a Philanthrophic Hub. Mmm.. so we now want to be a hub for NPOs. In addition to being an aviation hub, a shipping hub, education hub, medical (tourism) hub, biotech hub, MICE hub, financial hub, insurance/reinsurance hub and let-me-know-if-I'd-left-it-out hub. Erm, whatever happenened to the theory of competitive advantage? If we are injecting our resources in a million different directions with the hope of diversifying our economy and risks, are we not also running the risk of spreading ourselves too thin? This mentality of placing our bets on so many different sectors, and some of them I am not even sure if we have some expertise/competitive advantage in, and then hoping eventually that at least some of them pay off in the long run just doesn't sound like a solid strategy at all. And why a Philanthrophic hub? I think I got my answer from the title and intro to Saturday's article:

Doing good PAYS
US$2 trillion: That's what non-profit organizations spent in 40 countries. 5% of GDP: Their contribution in 8 developed countries. Yes, there is money to be made from this sector and Singapore wants a piece of the pie.