Conference 7.286::digital

         "....PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR OUR NEXT,EXCITING EPISODE !"
    
                                                 Peace,
                                                 -RAM-

    actually i agree with .0. it's long overdue. LONG overdue. and
    Singapore is actually a very liveable and beautiful city.

    re .2
    
    It should be for what it costs to live there.  
    
    My only concern with this move is the number of "essential" trips 
    to Singapore that will now need to be made from Canada and Latin 
    America HQ (Florida).  These North American entities are still under
    the management umbrella of APA.  At least for now...
    
    Eventually Latin America/Caribbean, Canada, and the US are supposed to
    be lumped together into "The Americas". The Digital version of NAFTA.
    

    I wondered two things:

    Why not break off Canada and central/south America?

    Why Singapore rather than Japan? I confess that my pacific geography
    knowledge is not that great but looking at a map the geographic
    advantage of Singapore is not obvious to me. I assume there are
    multiple factors that come into play in this sort of decision.

    			Alfred

    re .4
    
    Assuming the decision has been made to shift the HQ to the Asia Pacific
    region, then I believe the only appropriate choice is Singapore or Hong
    Kong. Japan is out of the question. It is a mature and developed
    economy, not part of the newly industrialized nations that are
    currently coming on-line. The choice of Japan is also socially
    sensitive due to WWII, Eastern and South-east Asia are where the
    greatest horrors were committed.
    
    Many other newly industrializing countries (Malaysia, Thailand, etc)
    have much higher growth and represents a bigger market, but their
    business facilities and infrastructures are only beginning to become
    developed. Hong Kong and Singapore have the best facilities in terms of
    telecoms, transports and so on. Singapore is the gateway into
    South-east Asia, and perhaps Indochina in future. Hong Kong is the
    gateway into China and northern Asia. That's the reason why DEC Asia is
    still HQed at Hong Kong while GIA (oops, APA) is being moved to
    Singapore. FWIW, the World Economic Forum will hold its
    Europe/Asia-Pacific meeting for political and business leaders
    alternating between Singapore and Hong Kong.
    
    Hong Kong suffers from the uncertainty of 1997, while Singapore enjoys
    political and social stability. I think there may also be the reason of
    tax breaks offered by the Singapore government for companies
    establishing their operational HQ here. Due to that same fact, many
    global companies have established major presence here in Singapore,
    many of which are our corporate customers.
    
    Anyway, the bulk of the APA HQ staff will remain in Acton (eg, the CBUs
    will stay), only Bobby Choonavala and senior management for MCS,
    Digital Consulting, Human resource, etc will relocate here.
            

    RE: .5 Thanks. It's nice to have some understanding of why a
    place is picked.
    
    			Alfred

    re.4 (again :)
    
    �knowledge is not that great but looking at a map the geographic
    �advantage of Singapore is not obvious to me. I assume there are
    
    Actually, the greatest assset Singapore have (or at least once had) is
    its geographical location. Sitting right in the middle of the sea lanes
    between East Asia (China primarily), the Spice Islands (we're talking
    about 1100-1900 here) and India, Arabia and Europe. Even in the middle
    ages, it is the HQ of the sultanates from Johore (Southern Malaya) and
    Java. It is already known to Chinese sea merchants as a trading post
    during the Sung dynasty (around 1200).
    
    With the development of air travel, that advantage may be lost, but the
    government had invested heavily in infrastructures to ensure that it is
    now the air travel hub in  the region. Same was done to the sea port to
    ensure that ships and cargo continue to find it attractive to stop
    here. This is done by ensuring that port operation continue to be one
    of the most efficient in the world (a ship sitting in port cost big
    bucks every hour). Major shipping line uses Singapore as the
    international transhipment point, where goods are loaded from trunk
    routes to be redistributed to the region using smaller carriers. Most
    of the imports of Singapore and reexported to the region. With 2�
    million population, we'll never be able to sustain that volume of
    import/export trade. Singapore and Hong Kong more or less alternates as
    the busiest port in the world (in tonnage).
    
    Sorry, no lecturing intended, thought it might be useful for DECcies to
    know something about the new "APA HQ" :)

    
    last few.
    In addition to .5.
    
    Singapore is crime free. Panelty for drug use/traffic is death, period.
    Excellent food, Chinese, Malay, Thai, European and Indian. Not to
    mention McDonald, Pizza Hut and other fast food joints.
    Tax free shopping.
    Singapore transportaion, subway, cabs, buses and airlines are tops. 
    Singapore airport has been voted the best in the world 4 years in a row.
    Hotel rates and services are simply outstanding.
    
    And for those with cowboy roots looking for bar room fun, Bangkok 
    (Patpong) is only two hours plane ride. Perfect for R&R.

    And please notice the last lines of Heng-Wah's (ZPOVC::HWCHOY) reply...
    "only a few people will move to Singapore, Bobby Choonavala, senior
    managers of DC, MCS, HR, legal and logistics". There will be two APA
    H/Qs, APA SIngapore and APA Acton. That may change in the course of the
    next few years, but since no more than 50 people will be located in
    Singapore (and most likely closer to 30), the bulk of the H/Q team will
    remain in AKO to be closer to the Corporate entities we need to
    interface with, in addition to travelling to the Territories. And,
    since most APA management meetings will continue to take place in AKO,
    the amount of flying will probably remain the same.
    
    Debbie
    AKO resident
    

    re .9
    
    Debbie, I supposed you wouldn't be needing that nice bungalow we're
    preparing for you on Sentosa Island huh? ;-)

    Re .8
    
    Don't meant to be a wet blanket.
    
    But let's not get overboard here....
    
    >Singapore is crime free. Panelty for drug use/traffic is death, period.
     
    This is partly true. But in the ONLY English Newspaper published here, The
    Straits (or is that Straights !) Times, on average at least 1 page is 
    dedicated to the court cases. Crimes like rape, burglary, armed robbery 
    and fraud are quite regularly committed. Of course, to complement the 
    ONE Newspaper, we also have ONE broadcasting station, Singapore
    Broadcasting Corporation (SBC, a Digital customer BTW). Where there are
    3 channels of programmes (no, not 'R' rated or Adult stuff) in the 4
    official languages, viz English, Malay, Chinese & Tamil. And which has
    just decided that some American show about teenagers (Beverly Hills
    90210, FYI) and their lives should be axed because it's a bad influence
    on local teenagers. And where for the sake of time, even sports
    programmes get censored. 'Nuff said about that.
    
    >Excellent food, Chinese, Malay, Thai, European and Indian. Not to
    >mention McDonald, Pizza Hut and other fast food joints.
    
    Very true. But with the current National campaign towards a healthier
    lifestyle, fast food may take a one-way, supersonic journey out of this
    place. And, btw, chewing gum is BANNED here. Peddle it & you may face a
    fine or jail or both. This is a FINE City !
    
    >Tax free shopping.
    
    Oops, tax-free only until 1st April 1994. 'Coz on that day, the GST
    (Goods & Services Tax) will come into effect. It's similar to what's
    already in place in places like Canada & Australia. The tax will start
    at 3%. It won't come down but it could go UP and AWAY !
    
    >Singapore transportaion, subway, cabs, buses and airlines are tops. 
    
    The airlines part is true. But if I wanted to get from here to say, the
    U.S., and price is a major consideration, Singapore Airlines would not
    be at the top of my list. 
    The other modes of transportation leave a lot to be desired. Try
    getting a cab on a Friday or Saturday night, for example !
    And when you get tired of trying, then try buying a little (less than 
    1000cc) Japanese car ! First, you pay for Certificate of Entitlement
    (COE). This is a bidding system. At current prices, the price of the
    COE is about S$20,000. Add to that the price of the car, about
    S$30,000. And the cheapest car is a whopping S$50,000 !
    
    > Singapore airport has been voted the best in the world 4 years in a row.
    
    	Very true. I used to work for the airport authorities in a previous
    incarnation. For the pittance they paid me and the kind of amount they
    rake in from airlines, it's a very good business. In one year, they
    made a pure profit (after Tax, etc) of S$ 120 million, which was put
    into the National reserves. 
    
    > Hotel rates and services are simply outstanding.
    
    	No argument here.
    
    > And for those with cowboy roots looking for bar room fun, Bangkok 
    > (Patpong) is only two hours plane ride. Perfect for R&R.
              
      	Well, that 2 hour ride may become longer if the Thai authorities
    are serious & successful in their attempt to rid the nation of such
    places. BTW, there are no such places in Singapore. 
    
    Bottom Line: Like .0 said, we're long overdue some recognition and
    visibility. And like .5 said the region is poised for explosive
    economic growth. This is the are where the action wil be. BUT, please
    don't go away with the impression that Singapore is that great a place.
    If you can bear not being able to afford to buy your own dream home, dream
    car. (In other words, LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS.) And bear the all-year round
     humid weather. Then all I can say is:
    
    
    "My friends, My name is Mr. Roarke and this is Tatoo."
    
    "Welcome to Reality Island."
    
    
                    <<< Note 2702.8 by ICS::VERMA >>>
                        -< Quality of life is good too >-
    
    Oh yes, Quality of life is good. But only if you have lots of dosh,
    doe, $$$$.
    
    
    Regards,
    
    Kumar
    
    (personal milestone: I never thought I'd ever enter a note in the
    esteemed DIGITAL notes conference. YYYiiipppeeeee !!! )
    

    Re .-1
    
    Kumar,
    
    I hope Singapore's reputation of being a a very conformist police state
    doesn't extend to the goverment monitoring its citizens postings in
    this notesfile. Not sure your comments would be looked upon too highly.
    I've often wondered how the Yanks survive in Singapore given the
    chewing gum ban. Here in the USA it seems like half the population
    chews gum. A revolting habit (in my opinion) but I recognize and
    support the right of anyone to chew gum.
    
    Dave

    re: .10
    
    Hi Heng-Wah,
        Looks like I might be visiting Sentosa in Dec. when I'm there, but
    no one told me you were preparing a bungalow !! :*)
    
    Debbie
    

re .12
    �chewing gum ban. Here in the USA it seems like half the population
    �chews gum. A revolting habit (in my opinion) but I recognize and
    �support the right of anyone to chew gum.
    
    I too thought that the government has gone overboard to ban a thing as
    seemingly trivial as gum. I wished they'd raise the penalty for gum
    spitting instead. I hope no one here is going to champion people's
    right to spit gum ! :) Then again, seeing as it's my tax $$ they're
    spending to clean up the gum...
    
    Actually it's not an offense to chew the gum per se. The ban is on the
    sale of gum, you can bring them in for your own consumption as long as
    you don't get caught spitting them in public places.
    
    As long as they (the gov) remain sane on the important things, I let
    them by. The government recently introduced a change in the
    constitution so the people can elect a president with the executive
    power to prevent the government from freely spending the county's
    fiscal reserves, and veto certain goverment decisions (such as
    appointment of ministers). Amazing even to a Singaporean. In fact, a
    little bird tells me that the President will soon request that the
    government DISUSER the account ZPOVC::KUMAR ;-)
    
    Heh heh heh...
    
    
    re.13
    
    Deb, no bungalows, but if you come after 22nd Dec, you can use my
    cubicle :) BTW, if you're on Sentosa for the first time, make sure to
    visit the Surrender Chamber (WWII) and Fort Siloso (be sure to visit
    the bunkers and cells). Many war-time buildings, tunnels and bunkers
    have also opened on Fort Canning, you might want to visit those too.

    Re: .12
    
    	Well done, Dave. Obviously, you have heard about Singapore Internal
    Security Act which allows for detention without trial. It doesn't
    happen to just anybody, of course. Only those who have Communist
    tendencies or use religion as a cover to further their political cause.
    So since I don't (honestly !) belong to any of the above 2 groups, I'm
    safe for a while...
    
    Re: .14
    
    	Actually, I must admit I was wrong on the chewing gum part. Yes you
    may chew it and have posession of it. But you cannot sell it. So, if
    you're coming here and you're a gum-lover, make sure you bring
    life-time supply :-). But then again, that could be construed as
    intention to sell ! Complications....
    	I know Heng Wah's reply had a smiley on it and so the DISUSER thing
    was in jest. But some things are a little bit close to my heart... 
    	I don't want to turn this into any kind of political crusade
    AGAINST Singapore, especially since I'm a Singaporean. All I want is a
    sense of balance. People in this country (especially those in
    government) always like to knock the Western world's government, press,
    economics and think that Singapore is the GREATEST place, UTOPIA even.
    But I think that it's wrong. Yes, the Western has its faults. But so
    does Singapore. And it behooves me to point out these things. For
    example, a gathering of 3 or more people can be regarded as a riot. I
    can't imagine this kind of law in the Western world. Lawmakers might be
    lynched if they passed this kind of laws !!
    	So, all I ask for is that anyone reading this topic should come to
    a conclusion that Singapore might be an extraordinary place. But it has
    its faults and these can range from the inane to downright absurd.
    	BTW, the same little bird tells me that the government doesn't know
    how to use VMS Authorize utility. It seems they're still trying to to
    come to grips with the MVS on the IBM...:-)
    
    Regards,
    
    Kumar
    	 

    Hmmm.  My own pet theory is that APA HQ is being moved to Singapore so
    that that whole crew will no longer have to feel bad about not being
    able to "walk and chew gum at the same time."
    
    As I said, mega- :-)s on this...  
    

    
    About that 'chewing gum' law, there was a story about the whole
    episode..
    
    One day, our Senior Minister (LKY) went on a surprise visit to the
    spanking new subway (or MRT as it is called here) with his troop of
    ministers etc. Everything went along fine until he placed his hands
    under the seat he was sitting on.....yuk.!@#@$!@^#   He 'discovered'
    chewing-gum and was he MAD...
    
    That's how it became law...
    
    Mike
    
    ps: I don't chew gum so it's fine with me...8-)

    
    no doubt the trains run on time there eh?

    The Singapore government has asked me to gently move this thread back
    to the topic. :)
    
    Anyway, as I mentioned before part of the reason of the move could be
    due to tax breaks. Does anyone know if that means the revenue from all
    APA countries will be taxed in Singapore instead of the US? The
    corporate tax rate here is 33%, but I believe in our case we'll enjoy 3
    or 5 years' waiver of taxes. Someone mentioned US$500M, I wonder if
    that's right.

Re:                   <<< Note 2702.11 by ZPOVC::KUMAR >>>

>	This is a bidding system. At current prices, the price of the
>    COE is about S$20,000. Add to that the price of the car, about
>    S$30,000. And the cheapest car is a whopping S$50,000 !
    
How does the Singapore dollar (I assume what S$ stands for) compare to the U.S. 
dollar?

-  David

    re.21
    
    Singapore is the only place where you can buy a Mercedes 190 for
    US$100K, drive it around like crazy for a year, and resell it for may
    be US$110K. You'd wish you can sell VAX 9000s like that too huh?
    
    Anyway, 1 S$ is currently doing 63US�. Anyway, the current prices for
    the COE is a whopping S$37K!
    
    Singapore is probably the only place on Earth where people's car cost
    as much (if not much more) as the house they live in :) But I think
    this situation is overheating. Can anyone name a place where people
    queue up (at least we still have the civility to queue, whew!) THREE
    DAYS IN ADVANCE to place bookings on condo units costing S$1M apiece?
    
    Fascinating place, this. That's why the Tourist Promotion Board came up
    with the slogan "Surprising Singapore" ;)

	One US dollar = approx 1.50 Singapore dollar



ed

Re:<<< Note 2702.23 by SUBSYS::NEUMYER "I owe it all to my Blue-collar roots" >>>

>	One US dollar = approx 1.50 Singapore dollar

Thanks.  So we're talking about U.S. $33,000 for the least expensive car?  Wow!

-  David

   Cars being made so expensive in Singapore is done for a reason and 
   is something a lot of other big cities can emulate. The whole island being 
   so small (a couple of miles X a couple of miles) and having excellent public
   transport (tons of excellent cabs that *CANNOT* rip you off for fear of
   severe retribution) and good public transportation system (buses as well
   a metro rail system), cars are just for rich people showing off that
   they're rich. If they don't do this the whole island will be in total
   gridlock one day and it'll be an episode from the "Twilight Zone". :-)

   Nari

    To put it in perspective, a Honda (Acura) Accord 2.0i would cost
    US$75k. In addition, you have a pay an annual road tax that is
    dependent on your engine capacity. For a 2000cc car, it comes to
    US$1300 a year of taxes. The taxes (road tax and import duty which was
    why the cars cost so much in the first place) are control measures the
    government uses to discourage car ownership due to the lack of land. We
    have a total area of only 230-40 sq miles (the size keep changing,
    we're always filling in various parts of the sea, all the time).

	They also make you turn the car in after ten years max. You receive a 
salvage payment of about S$10K. 

	If you think the price of cars is high, try looking for an apartment.

ed

                                      
    For those of you who knew her, I found out yesterday that Margaret
    deacon (with a small 'd') died a few weeks ago.  She was the former
    Voice Comm manager for GIA, and retired from Digital several years ago.
    
    She has been suffering from a degenerative disease for the last 2 years
    or thereabouts, so this was not totally unexpected.  I last saw her 8
    weeks ago.  She was in good spirits and seemed to be doing fairly well,
    though compared to her former active lifestyle, I knew she probably
    wouldn't be with us much longer as she was having great difficult
    coping with the toll that the disease was taking on her body.
    
    For those of of you who are spiritually-inclined, your prayers for her
    and her family would be most welcome.
    
    Cindy
    
    PS. During my last visit with her, I took along my Digital PC laptop and
        gave her a demo.  Her comment was, "Isn't that *adorable*!"  (;^)

    Thanks Cindy for letting us know.  She was a great lady.
    

    
    You're very welcome.                          
    
    In fact, your note just gave me an idea.  
    
    I was going to write to her daughters to express my regrets and include
    some great memories I have of knowing Margaret for so many years.  If 
    any of you would like to write an email of your own (as short or as long 
    as you like) and send it to me for inclusion, I would be delighted to do
    this.  Given her work with communications and networks, somehow I think
    it would be both fitting and appropriate.  Margaret was highly regarded
    by so many here, and I'd like to see that her daughters know this too.
    
    Or, if you would prefer to express your thoughts to them directly, then 
    send me a note and I'll provide the addresses to you directly.   I still 
    have to track the addresses down as I've never met her daughters 
    personally, though over the many years, I feel I know them quite well.  
    And her grandchildren too. (;^)  If that's not possible, then I'll
    provide the address of the nursing home to you, and they will forward the
    mail on to them.  
    
    Their names are Kim and Roberta.
    
    Cindy