SINGAPORE'S economy, which is already in recession, may face years of slow growth, the country's prime minister said on Friday, as it is hit by the fallout from the world economic crisis.
'Singapore must be prepared for several years of slow growth,' Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told journalists at a lunch hosted by Singapore's Foreign Correspondents Association.
He also said he expected unemployment to rise, particularly in the manufacturing industries, which account for about a quarter of its economy.
The Singapore economy is already in recession and with major demand centres including the United States and Europe also in recession, the outlook for Singapore for next year is bleak, economists have said.
Last month, the government pledged to spend S$2.3 billion to help firms get credit and said it would run a larger budget deficit to support an economy that it said could shrink 1 per cent in 2009 and at best would expand 2 per cent.
Mr Lee said the government would partly rely on construction projects to try to help growth with the cost of projects coming down.
'It makes sense for us to take advantage of that,' he said.
The government plans an expansionary January budget and is trying to diversify away from manufacturing into service industries such as finance and tourism. - REUTERS
'Singapore must be prepared for several years of slow growth,' Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told journalists at a lunch hosted by Singapore's Foreign Correspondents Association.
He also said he expected unemployment to rise, particularly in the manufacturing industries, which account for about a quarter of its economy.
The Singapore economy is already in recession and with major demand centres including the United States and Europe also in recession, the outlook for Singapore for next year is bleak, economists have said.
Last month, the government pledged to spend S$2.3 billion to help firms get credit and said it would run a larger budget deficit to support an economy that it said could shrink 1 per cent in 2009 and at best would expand 2 per cent.
Mr Lee said the government would partly rely on construction projects to try to help growth with the cost of projects coming down.
'It makes sense for us to take advantage of that,' he said.
The government plans an expansionary January budget and is trying to diversify away from manufacturing into service industries such as finance and tourism. - REUTERS
I thought Singapore was in the midst of a prolonged golden period. His father said so!
