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About
Located at the southern end of Singapore, Raffles Place is the island's business and financial hub. The district is overwhelmed by skyscrapers, owned by local and foreign banks as well as Multi-National Corporations (MNCs). This is also where you find the offices of the major ministries and Government-Linked Companies (GLC), such as Temasek Holdings, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Communications, Information and The Arts (MICA).The Singapore River runs through Raffles Place, in an area known as Boat Quay. Raffles Place is also the place to go to experience the arts in Singapore, where you can visit museums or watch performances in old colonial buildings.

History
Raffles Place is named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. You can see a statue of this man in Boat Quay, which used to be the centre of trade in colonial Singapore. During those days, Boat Quay was a free port that was flooded by coolies, merchants and traders from all over the world. It was segmented into different quarters, as were many districts in Singapore. Just behind the port was the Chinese quarter; to its left was the Malay quarter, and the European quarter was behind it. It served as a port till the 1970s, when the whole area was redeveloped into an entertainment districts. Today, Boat Quay is filled with pubs and eateries.

Places of Interest

• Clifford Pier
  This old colonial structure used to be a ferry terminal, facilitating travel to nearby Indonesian islands. It has closed down since and is in the process of being rebuilt. However, you its façade is visible from the outside, and you can admire the beautiful pillars and arches that characterize colonial architecture.

• Lau Pa Sat
  Literally translate into “old market”, this was a wet market during the colonial days. Today, it is a food centre that has retained its old charm as its architecture has been preserved. Lau Pa Sat is famous for its satay – satay stalls line the street, which is closed specially for this purpose.

• Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall
  The theatre and concert hall are also colonial buildings that are located side by side. Before the new Esplanade was built, this was the place where almost all concerts and productions were held. Today, there are still performances in these buildings.

• Asian Civilisations Museum, Empress Place
  This is the second installation of Asian Civilisations Museum, the first being a building on Armenian Street near City Hall. This branch is much larger than the first and has sections on Southeast Asian, Chinese, South Asian and Middle Eastern history. Here you find artifacts from ancient civilizations in these areas. The museum also organizes workshops, film screenings and music performances.

• The Arts House
  Formerly the Parliament House, this building has been converted into an Arts House that screens international films, stages theatre productions and sometimes holds gigs.

• Boat Quay
  The Boat Quay area is one of the hotspots of Singapore nightlife. It comprises pubs, restaurants and clubs, and is popular with the older expatriate community in Singapore. Some places that are popular are The Penny Black Irish Pub, Harry's Jazz Bar and Jazz @ Southbridge. For clubbers who are tired of trance, hip hop and conventional club music, you can go to Dhoom, a Hindi music club located in Circular Road.

• The Fullerton
  The Fullerton comprises The Fullerton Hotel and One Fullerton, a row of restaurants across the road. The hotel and One Fullerton are connected via an underground pass. The Fullerton is not only popular for its hotel, but also for its chocolate buffet. It is a colonial building that was the former Post Office building.

Commerce
More than anything else, Raffles Place is filled with commercial buildings. This is where Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX), a financial capital and infrastructure company, is located. Temasek Towers, the home of Temasek Holdings, is also located in Raffles Place, as well as the UOB Building, Singapore's tallest structure. Companies such as Bloomberg, Hitachi and JP Morgan are also located in Raffles Place.