FCA members are invited to attend the virtual book launch of Lion City: Singapore and the Invention of Modern Asia.

In 1965, Singapore's GDP per capita was on par with Jordan's. Now it has outstripped Japan. After the Second World War and a sudden rupture with Malaysia, Singapore found itself independent and in crisis. It took the bloody-minded determination and vision of Lee Kuan Yew, its founding premier, to take a small island of diverse ethnic groups with a fragile economy and hostile neighbours and meld it into Asia's first globalized city.  

But in the midst of a global pandemic, surging nationalism and great-power competition, what is the future of this globalized city? Singapore's buoyant economy, distinctive identity and reputation as a bridge across cultures and geopolitical divides will be put to the test as the coming decades challenge a global order forged nearly a century ago.

To find out how the city-state will navigate the future, it is instructive to look at how Singapore got to where it is — the subject of the new book Lion City, by Jeevan Vasagar. Jeevan is the former Singapore correspondent for the Financial Times and has written a personal, insightful and essential guide to the city, and how its remarkable rise has shaped East Asia and the world.

FCA member Shashank Bengali of The New York Times will be in conversation with Jeevan.

Attendees will be eligible for a discount on the book, distributed in Singapore by Pansing Books starting Aug 9.