The Singapore government Friday abandoned plans for imminent

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.