Here's what dented Singapore's economic power in Asia

It has one of the weakest performances in a study's measure of cultural influence and future trends.

Singapore is the eighth most powerful country in Asia, only slightly behind super and major powers like the US, China, Japan, and India, Lowy Institute revealed.

According to its Asia Power Index, Singapore scored 27.9 out of 100. Its strongest performance is in the economic relationships measure, where it ranked in fourth place with a score of 44.5. Singapore also performed well in the defence networks measure, ranking in fifth place and scoring 40.6.

Singapore's lowest ranking occurs in the future trends measure, in 17th place with a score of 1.4.

Lowy Institute noted that Singapore ranked first for government effectiveness and political stability amongst index countries. Trade also made up 318% of Singapore's GDP in 2016, making it the most trade-dependent Index country.

Moreover, Singapore is considered an overperformer in Asia, because it is "highly networked and externally focused." However, the study also mentioned that Singapore’s success and small size poses unique strategic challenges.

"Its high dependence on global trade is a double-edged sword and, coupled with its geographic vulnerability surrounded by larger neighbours, explains Singapore’s 14th place ranking under resilience," the index said.

According to the report, Singapore's most influential two-way trade partner is China, which currently comprises 26% of the country's trade at US$132.3b. The island nation's most influential partner in culture is Malaysia, whilst US takes the top spot as its top defence partner.

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