Social Reserves refer to the intangible ties that bind a country together. As a resource, they may be contrasted to a country's financial reserves. The term bears some similarity to the

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

ese concept of

Gross national happiness Gross National Happiness (GNH), sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. Gross Nat ...

, in that it attempts to value quality of life in a way that goes beyond traditional economic indicators. The term was coined in November 2013 by Singapore President

Dr Tony Tan Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment. ...

at an event organised by

St. Joseph's Institution, Singapore St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent Catholic educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1852 by the De La Salle Brothers, it is the first Catholic school and the third oldest school in the country. SJI has been offering a dual-t ...

. Speaking in a lecture series on leadership, President Tan said: :”The social reserves of a nation are the intangible ties that bind us to one another, and make a nation greater than the sum of individual citizens.

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

are the goodwill that makes us look out for one another even during difficult times, the resilience to overcome challenges and constraints, and the tenacity to progress as individuals and as a nation.” Singapore maintains large financial reserves, primarily through two

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

s. The

Government of Singapore Investment Corporation GIC Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund in Singapore that manages its foreign reserves. Established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, its mission is to preserve and enhance the ...

(GIC) manages Singapore's

foreign reserve Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence ...

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...

is an

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under t ...

owned by the Government of Singapore. Prior to running for Singapore's elected presidency, President

Tony Tan Tony Tan Keng Yam (; born 7 February 1940) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017. He did not seek for a second term as president in 2017 due to a constitutional amendment. ...

was executive director of GIC. An example of an effort to build up social reserves, he said, was the way that he had expanded Singapore's

President's Challenge President's Challenge is an annual campaign supported by the kindness and generosity of people from all walks of life, regardless of culture, religion or family background, to help those less fortunate — specifically for the beneficiaries that a ...

charity event to go beyond fund-raising to promote volunteerism and social entrepreneurship.Leong Wai Kit, “S’pore needs both financial and ‘social’ reserves to thrive: President Tony Tan”, ''Today'', 6 November 2013.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Social reserves Index numbers National accounts Social ethics Social philosophy