By Perla Ni
Tony Tan, deputy prime minister of Singapore, spoke at a Singapore American Business Association (SABA) event in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 12. Founded in San Francisco in 1992, SABA promotes business relationships between the Silicon Valley, Singapore and the rest of the Pacific Rim.
Tan spoke about the effect of the worldwide market downturn on Singapore’s economy. “We have revised our growth estimates from 5 to 7 percent down to 3.5 to 5.5 percent,” Tan said.
The bulk of the Singapore economy rests upon manufacturing, particularly electronics manufacturing, which has been substantially affected by the global softening of demand.
“These are the most uncertain conditions we’ve seen in 10 years,” he remarked, attributing much of the apprehension to the U.S. and Japan economies.
Another wildcard for Singapore’s economy is China’s entrance into WTO, which may draw foreign direct investment away from Singapore and to China.
Singapore is hoping to boost its trade with the United States through the signing of the U.S.-Singapore free trade agreement, which had begun negotiation under the Clinton Administration.
“We had hoped to have signed it before Clinton left office,” Tan said, “but we believe the agreement will be signed.” |
