PM Lee Says '08 Growth To Slow: CNBC

Source : The Business Times, November 16, 2007

Singapore's prime minister expects economic growth to slow next year and predicts inflation will run at 4-5 per cent 'for some time' in 2008, CNBC television quoted him as saying in remarks released on Friday.

'I don't expect that we will go into a recession, but it won't be like this year,' Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, according to an extract from an interview with CNBC to be broadcast on Saturday.

Singapore will release final third-quarter GDP data on Monday and a Reuters poll of economists predicts the economy grew at an annualised rate of 6.4 per cent in the quarter, matching an official advance estimate, as booming construction and services offset manufacturing weakness.

Mr Lee reiterated the government's forecast for the economy to expand at the high end of a 7-8 per cent range this year compared with 7.9 per cent in 2006.

The government's growth forecast for next year is 4-6 per cent and Mr Lee said he expected an update on the official forecast within days.

Mr Lee, who is also Singapore's finance minister, said he was watching inflation carefully, adding that the effect of higher prices for oil, food and the impact from a rise in sales tax on July 1 would become visible in the consumer price index in the coming quarters.

'I expect that the property prices will also show up in the CPI ... and therefore I think next year the CPI will be 4-5 per cent for some time.' -- REUTERS