The greatest impediments to entrepreneurship in Singapore are:
1. The default answer to any question in Singapore is "CANNOT"

2. The no U turn syndrome  (NUTS) which is to say you should assume that you cannot do anything unless it is explicity stated that you can.  This saying was made famous by Sim Wong Hoo, the founder of Creative Technology which was the first Singapore company to be listed on Nasdaq.
Here more amusing details about NUTS 

Sim Wong Hoo did not coin a term on "nuts," but rather "No U-Turn Syndrome" (NUTS), a term he coined in his 1999 book Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium to describe Singaporeans' tendency to wait for official permission before taking action. This is based on his observation that in Singapore, a U-turn is only allowed when a sign permits it, unlike in other countries where it's allowed by default unless prohibited. He used this analogy to criticize a culture that he believed stifled creativity and innovation by relying on rigid, default-no rules and an overly cautious approach. 

• The core concept: The term describes a social phenomenon where people seek approval from a higher authority and default to "no" when a rule doesn't explicitly allow an action.

• The analogy: Wong Hoo used a comparison to traffic rules:

  • In some countries, a U-turn is permitted by default unless a "no U-turn" sign is present.

  • In Singapore, a U-turn is only allowed if a sign permits it; the absence of a sign means "no".

• The criticism: Wong Hoo applied this to bureaucracy and education, arguing that this mindset hinders creativity, which requires venturing into uncharted territory where rules don't exist.

• Impact: The term became widely used in Singapore and is considered a significant critique of the rigid education system and a society that emphasizes rules over creativity.