October 6th, 2006, 07:44
Singapore pundit in hot water over email
Netty Ismail in Singapore
October 6, 2006
ANDY Xie's resignation as Morgan Stanley's chief economist in Asia last week followed an email in which he characterised Singapore as an economic failure that was dependent on illicit money from Indonesia and China. Dr Xie, who worked at Morgan Stanley for nine years, sent the email to his colleagues after attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings last month in Singapore. He questioned why Singapore was chosen to host the conference and said delegates "were competing with each other to praise Singapore as the success story of globalisation".
"Actually, Singapore's success came mostly from being the money laundering centre for corrupt Indonesian businessmen and government officials," said Dr Xie, who was based in Hong Kong before leaving Morgan Stanley on September 29. "Indonesia has no money. So Singapore isn't doing well."
Singapore's $US118 billion ($158 billion) economy is recovering from three recessions since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and is expecting growth of as much as 7.5 per cent this year. The city-state is grappling with growing competition from China and India where labor costs are less than a quarter of those in Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in September that Singapore's economy may sustain annual growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent for the next 10 to 15 years as the country expands industries from information technology to tourism.
"To sustain its economy, Singapore is building casinos to attract corruption money from China," Dr Xie said.
Singapore is ending a four-decade ban on casinos. The Government plans to triple tourism revenue to $US19 billion and double visitors to 17 million by 2015. Officials from the public relations departments of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Government's information service declined to comment on the contents of the email. They also declined to be identified.
Morgan Stanley confirmed the contents of the email and said the New York-based firm doesn't elaborate on the reasons behind employee departures.
"This is an internal e-mail based on personal suppositions and aimed at stimulating internal debate amongst a small group of intended recipients," Cheung Po-ling, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, said in a written statement. "The e-mail expresses the views of one individual and does not in any way represent the views of the firm. "Morgan Stanley has been a very strong supporter of Singapore and has a great deal of respect for Singapore's achievements."
Bloomberg
Netty Ismail in Singapore
October 6, 2006
ANDY Xie's resignation as Morgan Stanley's chief economist in Asia last week followed an email in which he characterised Singapore as an economic failure that was dependent on illicit money from Indonesia and China. Dr Xie, who worked at Morgan Stanley for nine years, sent the email to his colleagues after attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings last month in Singapore. He questioned why Singapore was chosen to host the conference and said delegates "were competing with each other to praise Singapore as the success story of globalisation".
"Actually, Singapore's success came mostly from being the money laundering centre for corrupt Indonesian businessmen and government officials," said Dr Xie, who was based in Hong Kong before leaving Morgan Stanley on September 29. "Indonesia has no money. So Singapore isn't doing well."
Singapore's $US118 billion ($158 billion) economy is recovering from three recessions since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and is expecting growth of as much as 7.5 per cent this year. The city-state is grappling with growing competition from China and India where labor costs are less than a quarter of those in Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in September that Singapore's economy may sustain annual growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent for the next 10 to 15 years as the country expands industries from information technology to tourism.
"To sustain its economy, Singapore is building casinos to attract corruption money from China," Dr Xie said.
Singapore is ending a four-decade ban on casinos. The Government plans to triple tourism revenue to $US19 billion and double visitors to 17 million by 2015. Officials from the public relations departments of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Government's information service declined to comment on the contents of the email. They also declined to be identified.
Morgan Stanley confirmed the contents of the email and said the New York-based firm doesn't elaborate on the reasons behind employee departures.
"This is an internal e-mail based on personal suppositions and aimed at stimulating internal debate amongst a small group of intended recipients," Cheung Po-ling, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, said in a written statement. "The e-mail expresses the views of one individual and does not in any way represent the views of the firm. "Morgan Stanley has been a very strong supporter of Singapore and has a great deal of respect for Singapore's achievements."
Bloomberg