S'pore faces new reality

S'pore faces new reality

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday the local economy is showing signs of bottoming out, but added the country faces a "new reality" and must focus on staying competitive.

"Our policies will take time to show results, but the economy is beginning to show signs of bottoming out," he said, in a May Day message to the National Trades Union Congress.

"There have been fewer retrenchments this year," he said. "The electronics industry is picking up"

Singapore's economy should record between a 1 percent contraction and 1 percent growth this year without difficulty, as forecast by the government, Lee said.

"But we cannot afford to declare victory prematurely," Lee said. The situation in the region is far from settled. If things turn out badly, especially in Indonesia, Singapore will be affected."

The deputy prime minister told the union group that Singapore must continue with measures to make its industry more trade- competitive, including cutting wages and costs, increasing productivity, "investing in our people" and retraining workers.