Singapore Dollar

• Country: Singapore
• Currency: Dollar
• Alias: Singapore dollar
• ISO 4217 CODES: SGD/702
• Symbol: S$

The Singapore dollar is the national currency of the Republic of Singapore, an island city- state situated in Southeast Asia. Originally founded as a colony of the United Kingdom in 1819, Singapore became a major international trading port in the region – a reputation which it continues to enjoy today. Singapore became part of the Malaysian Federation in 1963, but was forced to secede from the union in 1965, and subsequently become a separate country. The first Singapore dollars were placed into circulation in 1967, replacing the Malaysian ringgit that had been used by Singapore up until that time.

Background of the Singapore Dollar

Modern Singapore got its start as a trading post established in 1819 to support the needs of the British East India Company. The settlement expanded over the years, and rose to the status of a British crown colony in 1867. During World War II, Japanese forces occupied Singapore until Japan’s surrender to Allied forces in September, 1945. After earning independence from Britain in 1959, Singapore joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963, but was expelled on account of irreconcilable differences in 1965, becoming a separate country.

The country’s economy is driven largely by manufacturing and specialized services, most of which are provided by multinational corporations. Singapore’s majoring trading partners are the United States, the European Union, China and Japan. The government is in the process of negotiating free trade agreements with several nations to foster further economic growth. The first of these historic agreements, the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, was signed in May of 2003 and became effective on January 1, 2004.

The Singapore dollar is a free-floating currency, but its value is pegged to a basket of international currencies, the names of which are a carefully-guarded secret in order to avoid any possible speculation against the Singapore dollar.

The Singapore dollar is divided into 100 cents. Denominations for coins are are 1c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c and S$1. Denominations for notes are are S$2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and S$10,000.