Arab ethnic enterprises in colonial Singapore: Market entry and exit mechanisms 1819-1965

Ethnic entrepreneurs often concentrate in specific economic activities. Arab entrepreneurs in Singapore from the time of their first recorded arrivals in 1819 until the 1850s were concentrated in the consumer goods industry. The exit of the Arabs from consumer goods provision saw them moving into the real estate industry in the 1880s, where they remained concentrated until the 1940s. By the 1970s, however, no visible concentration of Arab entrepreneurs could be discerned. This paper argues that the entry and exit of Arab ethnic entrepreneurs into and out of consumer retail and real estate investments may be better explained with reference to political-economic conditions which facilitate movement than embedded personal relations that enact a chain-link pattern of industrial mobility.