Singapore to grow 1.5-2.5pct this year: PM
Singapore’s trade-reliant economy is expected to grow 1.5-2.5 percent amid “serious economic problems” in the US and Europe, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday.
The upper end of the projection, made during a speech on the eve of National Day, is lower than earlier government forecasts for gross domestic product to expand by up to 3.0 percent this year.
“We celebrate National Day amid an unsettled world,” said Lee.
“Europe and the US face serious economic problems. Asia is doing better than other regions but China and India are slowing down and tensions are simmering in the South China Sea,” he added.
Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong (AFP/File, Raveendran)
“Against this backdrop, Singapore is doing quite well. Our economy grew 1.7 percent in the first half of 2012, and we are on track for one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half percent growth for the year.”
Singapore’s economy, seen as a bellwether for Asia due to its sensitivity to demand from key markets such as Europe and the United States, grew 14.8 percent in 2010 and 4.9 percent in 2011.
Category: Singapore
