Singapore's Finance Minister,Tharman Shanmugaratnam cautioned Singaporeans to be prepared for the possibility of a sluggish world economy or even a double-dip recession in 2010.He pointed out that improvements in the United States economy and around the world were mainly driven by aggressive government stimulus packages and a correction in private sector inventories.According to him, there is yet to be a firm or sustainable rebound in private spending that can underpin global economic growth in 2010 and beyond. As such,he advised that the nation should be cautiously optimistic about the economy in the next few years, both globally and in Singapore.
A double-dip recession — also known as W-shaped — refers to an economy pulled out of recession by a short period of growth but which then slides back into negative growth.
Singapore’s gross domestic product grew 20.7 per cent in the second quarter compared with the first, signaling a rebound in the economy after four consecutive quarters of decline. However,the Government has forecasted that the economy will still shrink by 4 to 6 per cent over the full year.
Tharman said that although the asset management industry’s portfolio declined in value by 26 per cent to S$864 billion (RM2.1 billion) in 2008 from a year earlier, fund flows have resumed. In the first half of this year, the assets under management of the 20 largest asset managers in Singapore grew by 23 per cent. Also, the corporate debt market only shrank by 2 per cent to S$168 billion last year.
A review of what caused the economy to be buoyant must be studied. How much of this is generated by the generic drug industry and how much by other pillars of the economy? Is the structural underpinning sustainable?
No comments:
Post a Comment