Thursday, January 24, 2008

S'pore To Keep '08 GDP Forecast Despite Volatility: PM

Source : The Business Times, January 23, 2008

Singapore is sticking to its economic growth forecast of 4.5-6.5 per cent for 2008 despite a likely recession in the United States, the city-state's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was quoted as saying by local media.

Channel NewsAsia quoted Mr Lee as saying on Wednesday that the government will not review its economic outlook in a 'knee-jerk' reaction to market volatility.

He said the Singapore economy had expanded at a pace that was faster than its long-term potential growth rate in the past four years. The Singapore economy is expected to have grown 7.5 per cent in 2007, government estimates have shown, slightly slower than the 7.9 per cent expansion in 2006.

'We should not have a knee-jerk reaction and lose our bearings in the middle of dramatic market volatility,' Mr Lee, who is in France for an official visit, was quoted as saying.

'We'll watch the situation closely and will update the forecast if necessary,' he said. -- REUTERS

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