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Singapore, Inc. Versus the Private Sector: Are Government-Linked Companies Different?

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  • Ms. Ling Hui Tan
  • Carlos D. Ramírez

Abstract

Government-linked companies (GLCs) have a significant presence in Singapore's corporate sector. Unlike parastatals in many other countries, these companies are run on a competitive, commercial basis, ostensibly without government privileges. Based on data from publicly listed GLCs and non-GLCs, we indeed find no evidence that GLCs have easier access to credit. However, we do find that being a GLC is rewarded in financial markets with a positive premium, over and above what can be explained by the usual determinants of Tobin's q.

Suggested Citation

  • Ms. Ling Hui Tan & Carlos D. Ramírez, 2003. "Singapore, Inc. Versus the Private Sector: Are Government-Linked Companies Different?," IMF Working Papers 2003/156, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2003/156
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mukul G. Asher & Azad Singh Bali & Chang Yee Kwan, 2015. "Public Financial Management In Singapore: Key Characteristics And Prospects," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 60(03), pages 1-18.
    2. John Fernald & Brent Neiman, 2006. "Measuring the Miracle: Market Imperfections and Asia's Growth Experience," 2006 Meeting Papers 785, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Reda Cherif & Fuad Hasanov, 2015. "The Leap of the Tiger: How Malaysia Can Escape the Middle-Income Trap," IMF Working Papers 2015/131, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Paiva-Silva, João, 2022. "Understanding the Singaporean approach to state ownership: ‘commercially viable strategic alignment’ in historical perspective," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 43-58.
    5. Bryan Cheang, 2024. "What Can Industrial Policy Do? Evidence from Singapore," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-34, March.
    6. Nguyen, Thang V. & Le, Ngoc T.B. & Bryant, Scott E., 2013. "Sub-national institutions, firm strategies, and firm performance: A multilevel study of private manufacturing firms in Vietnam," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 68-76.
    7. Neil McGregor & Neil M. Coe, 2023. "Hybrid governance and extraterritoriality: Understanding Singapore's state capitalism in the context of oil global production networks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(3), pages 716-741, May.
    8. John Fernald & Brent Neiman, 2011. "Growth Accounting with Misallocation: Or, Doing Less with More in Singapore," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 29-74, April.
    9. Reda Cherif & Fuad Hasanov, 2019. "The Return of the Policy That Shall Not Be Named: Principles of Industrial Policy," IMF Working Papers 2019/074, International Monetary Fund.
    10. Isaac Khambule, 2025. "State Institutions and Development in South Africa: The Case of Two State-Owned Enterprises," Insight on Africa, , vol. 17(1), pages 63-79, January.
    11. Moritz Breul & Fabio Pruß, 2021. "Applying Evolutionary Economic Geography beyond case studies in the Global North: Regional diversification in Vietnam," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2124, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2021.
    12. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Lu, Yindfa, 2018. "Historical Evolution of Entrepreneurial Development in the Global South: The Case of Ghana, 1957-2010," MPRA Paper 88179, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Cherif Reda & Hasanov Fuad, 2019. "Principles of True Industrial Policy," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, June.
    14. Raphael W. K. Lam, 2006. "Markup Variation and Productivity Measurement in Singapore," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 355-377, December.
    15. Yong Sarah Zhou, 2013. "Explaining ASEAN-3’s Investment Puzzle A Tale of Two Sectors," IMF Working Papers 2013/013, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Jang Ping Thia & Xinyu Kong & Jiaqi Su, 2023. "How Large is the Borrowing Cost Advantage of State-Owned Enterprises?," Review of Development Finance Journal, Chartered Institute of Development Finance, vol. 13(1), pages 92-103.
    17. Congleton, Roger D. & Lee, Sanghack, 2009. "Efficient mercantilism? Revenue-maximizing monopoly policies as Ramsey taxation," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 102-114, March.
    18. Hong-Nham Nguyen Thi & Hong-Thuy Le Thi & The-Dong Phung, 2021. "Study on the Impact of Institutions on the Labor Productivity of Private Enterprises in Vietnam through the Spillover Effect from State-Owned Enterprises," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-10, August.
    19. King Yoong Lim & Shuonan Zhang, 2023. "Optimal fiscal management in an economy with resource revenue‐financed government‐linked companies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 2202-2225, April.
    20. Amran Rasli & Chin Fei Goh & Saif-Ur-Rehman Khan, 2013. "Demystifying the role of a state ownership in corporate governance and firm performance: Evidence from the manufacturing sector in Malaysia," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 31(2), pages 233-252.
    21. Reda Cherif & Fuad Hasanov, 2014. "Soaring of the Gulf Falcons: Diversification in the GCC Oil Exporters in Seven Propositions," IMF Working Papers 2014/177, International Monetary Fund.

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    JEL classification:

    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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