Singapore dollar in the context of "Brunei-Singapore Currency Interchangeability Agreement"

A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory, as opposed to a regular state or country comprising a capital city and other cities and/or a countryside. City-states have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, Carthage, Athens and Sparta and the Italian city-states during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as Florence, Venice, Genoa and Milan.

With the rise of nation states worldwide, there remains some disagreement on the number of modern city-states that still exist; Singapore, Monaco and Vatican City are the candidates most commonly discussed. Out of these, Singapore is the largest and most populous city-state in the world, with full sovereignty, international borders, its own currency, a robust military, and substantial international influence in its own right. The Economist refers to it as the "world's only fully functioning city-state".

The Monetary Authority of Singapore or (MAS), is the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore. It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well as currency issuance and manages the foreign-exchange reserves. It was established in 1971 to act as the banker to and as a financial agent of the Government of Singapore. The body is duly accountable to the Parliament of Singapore through the Minister-in-charge, who is also the Incumbent Chairman of the central bank. In May 2025 the fund had US$629 billion in assets under management.

The Brunei dollar (sign: B$, Malay: ringgit, will be renamed to dolar Brunei starting from the 2026 series; currency code: BND), has been the currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The currency is divided into 100 cents (Malay: sen) and is issued by the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank.

Under a Currency Interchangeability Agreement in 1967, the Brunei dollar is interchangeable with the Singapore dollar at par. As such, the Brunei dollar is accepted in Singapore as "customary tender"; likewise, the Singapore dollar is accepted in Brunei.

The Cabinet of Singapore forms the executive branch of the Government of Singapore together with the President. It is led by the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The Prime Minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) appointed by the president who in the president's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs). The other ministers in the Cabinet are Members of Parliament appointed by the president acting in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. Ministers are prohibited from holding any office of profit and from actively engaging in any commercial enterprise.

The Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is collectively responsible to Parliament. It also has significant influence over lawmaking. Ministers may be designated by the prime minister to be in charge of particular ministries, or as ministers in the Prime Minister's Office. Singapore's ministers are the highest paid in the world. Prior to a salary review in 2011, the prime minister's annual salary was S$3.07 million, while the pay of ministerial-level officers ranged between S$1.58 million and S$2.37 million. On 21 May 2011, a committee was appointed by the prime minister to review the salaries of the prime minister as well as the president, political appointment holders, and Members of Parliament. Following the recommended wage reductions by the committee which were then debated and subsequently accepted in Parliament, the prime minister's salary was reduced by 36% (includes the removal of his pension) to S$2.2 million. Nonetheless, the prime minister remains the highest-paid political leader in the world.

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore and a landmark of the city. At its opening in 2010, it was deemed the world's most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion (US$6.88 billion). The resort includes a 1,850-room hotel, a 120,000-square-metre (1,300,000 sq ft) meetings and conventions facility at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, a 74,000-square-metre (800,000 sq ft) luxury shopping mall, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, an ArtScience museum, a 2,183-capacity theatre, the world's first floating Apple store, the world's first Louis Vuitton Island Maison, celebrity chef and signature restaurants, and a casino with 500 tables and 3,000 electronic gaming machines. The complex includes three towers topped by the Sands Skypark, a 340-metre-long (1,120 ft) skyway connecting the towers with a capacity of 3,902 people and a 150 m (490 ft) infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 66.5 m (218 ft). The 20-hectare resort was designed by Moshe Safdie.

The resort is owned by Las Vegas Sands in agreement with the Singaporean authorities. Marina Bay Sands was originally set to open in 2009, but its construction faced delays caused by escalating costs of material and labour shortages from the outset exacerbated by the 2008 financial crisis. This pressured Las Vegas Sands to delay its projects elsewhere to complete the integrated resort. Its owner decided to open the integrated resort in stages, and it was approved by the Singapore authorities. The resort and SkyPark were officially opened on 23 and 24 June 2010 as part of a two-day celebration, following the casino's opening on 27 April that year. The SkyPark opened the following day. The theatre was completed in time for the first performance of Riverdance on 30 November. The indoor skating rink, which uses artificial ice, opened to a performance by Michelle Kwan on 18 December. The ArtScience Museum opened to the public and the debut of a 13-minute light, laser and water show called Wonder Full on 19 February 2011, marked the full completion of the integrated resort.

Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Eastern Caribbean dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Trinidad and Tobago dollar, and several others. The symbol for most of those currencies is the dollar sign $; the same symbol is used by many countries using peso currencies.

The name 'dollar' originates from the tolar which was the name of a 29-gram (1.0 oz) silver coin called the Joachimsthaler minted in 1519 in the western part of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The word thaler itself comes from the German word Thal, i.e. 'valley'.