Tharman: S'pore not headed for recession
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...82708,00.html?
Published June 9, 2008
Tharman: S'pore not headed for recession
But there will be discomfort on the ground, he says
DESPITE the growing prices of food and oil around the world, Singapore is not heading for a economic recession, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.
According to Channel NewsAsia reports, Mr Tharman said at a community event that from all indications at this point, he did not think Singapore was heading for an economic recession.
But he admitted that there would be discomfort on the ground.
'But overall, we are in a situation which isn't temporary. This will be with us for a while,' he said, adding that 'commodity prices are much higher than what they used to be. But we are tackling it, and we are confident of tackling it, both through the government's measures, the growth dividends, the goods and services tax credits, as well as the way in which you see a lot of community initiatives on the ground.'
In April, Singapore's annual inflation rose more than expected to a 26-year high of 7.5 per cent due to higher oil and food prices, prompting the government in May to raise its full-year inflation forecast to 5-6 per cent from 4.5-5.5 per cent.
Gross domestic product in Singapore grew 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year from a year ago, and the government stood by its GDP growth forecast of 4-6 per cent this year, which is below the average growth of about 8.1 per cent in the last four years. -- Xinhua
No signs of a recession, says Tharman
http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapor...ry_245832.html
June 9, 2008
No signs of a recession, says Tharman
But the hike in fuel prices in Malaysia will cause discomfort here
SINGAPORE is not heading for a recession, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, although fuel price increases in Malaysia would lead to discomfort.
'From all indications we have at this point, I don't think we're heading for a recession.
'But there will be discomfort on the ground,' he said, speaking to Channel NewsAsia at the Entrepreneur-in-You Carnival at Republic Polytechnic.
At the event, about 7,000 people turned up to pick up tips on starting their own business.
'Unfortunately, the fuel price increase in Malaysia does mean that vegetable, poultry and some other prices will go up. We can't avoid that,' he said.
Malaysia's decision to trim subsidies for petrol and diesel and raise pump prices has meant that overnight, there has been a 41 per cent increase in petrol prices, from 80 Singapore cents to $1.13 per litre, while diesel prices rose 63 per cent, from 66 cents to $1.08 per litre.
Prices of a range of goods are set to go up as the cost of trucking them in rises, and fresh food tops the list.
But practically everything imported from Malaysia, including building materials, will also cost more soon.
He added that it was fortunate that rice prices globally were going down.
'But overall, we're in a situation which isn't temporary - this will be with us for a while.
'Commodity prices are much higher than what they used to be,' he said.
This was being tackled through government measures such as Growth Dividends, goods and services tax (GST) credits, as well community initiatives on the ground, he said.
