Britain managed to set up Singapore as highly capitalistic entrepot. It is only a small island but it has an extremely high standard of living with a diverse economy. It is located in the middle of southeast Asia so it is in the middle of tons of trade. Hawaii, on the other hand, is one of the poorer states and most of its money comes from tourism. However, it's location is right in the middle of the Americas and Asia where there is also tons of trade.
Could Hawaii have been America's Singapore? What would have to be done in order for this to happen?
(I didn't compare it to Hong Kong because Hawaii doesn't border a much larger nation.)