SE Asia 'written off': S'pore the exception

SE Asia 'written off': S'pore the exception

SINGAPORE (AP): Investors have "written off" all Southeast
Asia, except Singapore, because of political instability in the
region, the island's deputy prime minister told a group of
university students.

Lee Hsien Loong said late Tuesday that Singaporeans needed to
differentiate themselves to keep foreign investment flowing in.
Lee, who also heads the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the de
facto central bank, is the son of Singapore's founding father Lee
Kuan Yew and is widely expected to be city-state's next prime
minister.

"Investors and analysts have become negative about prospects
for the whole of Southeast Asia," Lee said. "They have written
off the whole region, except Singapore, and are not even
following events closely."

Lee said Singapore, with four million people, was too small to
be a regional leader and that the wealthy city-state would lose
business to Hong Kong because enterprises want to be closer to
China.

"One country doing well in Asia is China. Its economy is
growing, it is rapidly modernizing itself, and it is about to
join the WTO, which will further open up its economy and
society," Lee said. "This is positive, but it will benefit
Northeast Asia more than Southeast Asia, Hong Kong more than
Singapore."

Lee said Thailand's recent elections and the downfall of
Philippines President Joseph Estrada had unnerved investors.

He said Indonesia was in the "midst of a wrenching transition"
and that Malaysia was "striving to fend off a strong challenge
from the opposition Islamic party."

To differentiate themselves, Lee said Singaporeans needed to
work together to maintain racial harmony.

"Singapore is an island that is stable, looks ahead, and works
cohesively together to tackle problems and challenges," he said.
"This will not only benefit Singapore, but will also encourage
the investors to maintain interest in Southeast Asia, so that
when conditions improve they will be ready to invest again."