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.