China to impact on Asian economies if SARS worsens
China to impact on Asian economies if SARS worsens
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
Singapore's revised 2003 economic growth target of 0.5-2.5 percent will be at risk if the SARS situation in China worsens and dampening the mainland's giant economy, a Singapore minister said Tuesday.
"If the SARS situation in China continues to worsen over the next few months, it will dampen China's growth and Asia's economic growth," said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
"It will put at risk even our revised 0.5 to 2.5 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast for this year," he said in a speech to a business forum.
Singapore has scaled down its GDP growth forecast this year from 2.0-5.0 percent largely because of the impact of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak which has killed at least 27 people out of more than 200 infections here.
Many international economists have lopped off 1.5-2.0 percentage points from China's 2003 economic forecast, officially targeted for seven percent growth.
China, where the virus is thought to have originated in November, has been critisized for attempting to cover up the initial SARS cases, allowing the virus to be spread worldwide by travelers.
Tharman said while Singapore has taken extraordinary steps to contain the spread of the virus, the progress in the battle against SARS in China is "critical" for the rest of Asia.
"It is too early to tell which way it is going," he said, adding that while new SARS cases are declining in the southern province of Guangdong, they continue to surge in Beijing "and risk spreading elsewhere."
China is a growing market for Asian exports and its importance was highlighted during the economic slump in the US, Europe and Japan, according to analysts.
The death toll from SARS in China now stands at 214 after eight new fatalities Tuesday and the total number of cases is 4,409 after 138 cases were reported nationwide in the past 24 hours.
A leading Chinese economist warned in the state press that the effect of SARS on China's economy could surpass that of the Asian financial crisis six years ago.