World Bank Singapore OfficeFounded by former East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice-President, Mr. Jean-Michel Severino, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of Singapore, Mr. Lim Siong Guan, the World Bank Singapore office opened on September 1, 1999.  Initially, the World Bank Singapore office focused on collaborating with local and regional private and public sector groups in order to identify and share information and expertise for the benefit of developing countries, especially in areas related to rapid globalisation.
The office has since broadened its scope, becoming the center for the Bank’s regional civil society work and communications. The Singapore office works closely with other World Bank offices in East Asia and the Pacific, including Beijing, Jakarta, Pacific Islands (managed from Sydney) Tokyo, Dili, Port Moresby, Manila, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Ulaanbaatar, and Hanoi. The World Bank and the Singapore government continue to strengthen their working relationship. World Bank President Robert Zoellick visited Singapore in December 2008 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Singapore, agreeing to establish a World Bank-Singapore Urban Hub in 2009. Leveraging the development expertise of both Singapore and the World Bank, in its first year of operation the Hub will develop collaboration on at least five projects, focused on the thematic areas of city management, city financing, urban design and climate change; deliver workshops and training programs; begin the creation of a virtual knowledge network; and develop and pilot advisory products for urban practitioners. Singapore is a member of all five World Bank Group institutions, namely the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre of Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). To review each of the five agencies’ responsibilities, please click on their respective icon for additional information. 
Partnerships Regional
In recent years, the World Bank and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) have embarked on developing closer ties in order to mainstream social development into national development agendas in ASEAN countries. ASEAN has welcomed the World Bank's initiative to assist the regional bloc in addressing emerging social development challenges and issues related to rural development and poverty eradication. The World Bank’s current collaboration with ASEAN focuses on managing the poverty impact of globalisation, trade liberalisation, and regional integration. Public Sector
The Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) was set up in May 2006 by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, to share the nation’s wealth of experience in nation building and public sector development with interested foreign parties. The World Bank began initiating discussions with SCE in October 2007, primarily focusing on training and capacity building in collaboration with other government agencies. Private Sector
In hopes to develop a more vibrant and competitive private sector in Africa that is vital to the continent’s long term development, the World Bank Group and INSEAD Business School have worked together on the INSEAD-World Bank Africa Initiative. One of the goals is to increase Africa’s representation at INSEAD, providing them with expertise relevant in and for Africa. The expertise gained by African students attending INSEAD will potentially improve African development and spawn closer economic integration between Africa and other regions of the world. Hence, the World Bank and INSEAD aim to be a catalyst for development in Africa, and also leverage the knowledge gained to promote effective business practices in other under-developed regions.  Furthermore, Singapore has collaborated with the World Bank in areas of technical cooperation and training. From 2002 to 2004, Singapore officially joined the list of Trust Fund donors with the launch of the Singapore Consultant Trust Fund (SCTF). Through it, the Bank was able to tap into the skills of Singapore consultants to enhance the quality of its programs in developing countries. Since 2005, the Singaporean private sector has also developed a single point-of-access to the World Bank Group and its activities through the appointment of a Private Sector Liaison Officer (PSLO) at International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore). In addition to a PSLO, IE Singapore and the World Bank have recently collaborated on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on learning and knowledge-sharing programmes in human development for Africa.
In 2005, the International Organisations Business Association (INTOBA) was also formed, which is a grouping of Singapore-based businesses interested to network and partner with International Organizations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations, to help developing countries through the sharing of Singapore’s developmental experience and forging of partnerships between the public and private sectors. Together with the World Bank Office, IE Singapore and INTOBA jointly organize activities such as World Bank procurement seminars, report launches, and business outreach programs. Youth Sector
More than 20 percent of Singapore's population is between the ages of 15 and 24, representing a powerful force for change that needs to be empowered to participate actively in development and decision-making. Hence, in recent years, the World Bank office in Singapore has been building its active youth program, focusing on engaging Singaporean youth on issues that affect them locally, regionally, and globally. To enhance its youth awareness program, Singapore became a member of the Youth, Development & Peace (YDP) Network, an informal and inclusive network of youth organizations operating at the local, regional, and global levels that focuses on development and poverty eradication. This network aims to create direct interaction among youth organizations, the World Bank and other partners, in order to facilitate active youth participation in projects, policy design, and youth advocacy for development. World Bank in AsiaThe World Bank supports a variety of projects across Asia through loans and technical assistance. Some key areas of engagement include education, health, infrastructure, post-conflict, environment, governance, economic growth and trade. Below are a few projects the World Bank is currently supporting: A partnership with ASEAN to provide technical assistance to those affected by the May 2, 2008 cyclone in Myanmar Promotion of the expansion of economic and environmentally friendly geothermal power generation in Indonesia to reduce CO2 emissions Proposal to reduce urban wastewater and solid waste pollution of the Han River in China by implementing proper collection methods
For additional information on these and various other active projects the World Bank is supporting, please visit our Active Projects page. Annual Meetings 2006 The World Bank, working closely with Singapore authorities, hosted the Annual Meetings in September 2006. For more information, please contact: World Bank Singapore Office
10 Shenton Way #15-08
MAS Building Singapore 079117
Phone: (+65) 6501-5500
Fax: (+65) 6501-5510 Tina Taheri Moayed
Tel: (+65)Â 6501-5519
Email: ttaheri@worldbank.org |
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