The Singapore government Friday abandoned plans for imminent commercial and residential land sales, a day after canceling the sale of an industrial site as the worsening recession bites.

Laos signed a poverty-reduction agreement Thursday with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that turns the taps on for up to US$300 million in aid over five years, the lender said here.

The government is planning to spend some 1 bln rgt this year on airport development in East Malaysia, Bernama news agency reported, citing Transport Minister Ling Liong Sik.

The central bank said that it expects inflation this year to reach 6.5 pct, up from a previous projection of 5.8 pct. The upper limit agreed by the government with the IMF is 6 pct.

Guillermo Guemez Garcia, deputy chairman of the Bank of Mexico, said foreign investment inflows are likely to dwindle in the next few months as "nobody wants to take risks" at the moment, CNI reported.

China's GDP growth will not escape the impact of the worsening global economic situation and the recent terrorist attacks on the US, but prospects for the economy remain strong, analysts said.

Bank Negara Malaysia said the detailed breakdown of its international reserves at end-August under the IMF Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) format indicates that its reserves remain "usable and unencumbered".

Turkish businessmen urged the government on Friday to ease some targets in an IMF-backed programme to reinvigorate the country's crisis hit economy.