Regional crisis worse than thought: PM Goh<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
\nyesterday warned that the region's economic crisis is worse than
\ninitially believed and called on Japan to do more to stimulate
\nits sputtering economy.<\/p>\n
\"The region is in deeper recession than earlier thought,\" Goh
\ntold a dinner audience from the Development Bank of Singapore
\nLtd., one of the city-state's big four banks. \"How much longer
\nthe turmoil will last or how much worse it will get before it
\ngets better, no one knows for certain.\"<\/p>\n
The prime minister, who said earlier this month that the
\nchances of a recession in Singapore are \"fairly high,\" told the
\nbankers that Southeast Asia faces the \"twin threats of recession
\nand inflation.\"<\/p>\n
The Singapore prime minister said the general weakness of the
\nJapanese yen and the \"poor performance\" of the country's economy
\nhas added to the region's misery.<\/p>\n
Without addressing directly the change of leadership in Japan,
\nGoh said, \"Japan has taken decisive steps to deal with its
\nbanking problems, stimulate its economy in the near term and
\nrestructure over the medium term. But it needs to do more to turn
\nthe economy around.\"<\/p>\n
Touring the region rhetorically, he said Indonesia faces the
\nprospect of \"a sharp contraction\", while Thailand and South Korea
\n\"are by no means out of the woods\" because their debt burdens
\nremain high.<\/p>\n
\"Malaysia,\" he continued, \"is looking for funds to rescue its
\nbank and debt-ridden corporations.\"<\/p>\n
Singapore, an island of about 3.1 million people, is
\nsandwiched between the much larger countries of Malaysia and
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
In admonishing domestic critics who say the government hasn't
\ndone enough to address the crisis, Goh reiterated that the
\nproblem in Singapore is caused by external shocks over which
\nSingapore has little control.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regional-crisis-worse-than-thought-pm-goh-1447893297",
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