S'pore narrows forecast

S'pore narrows forecast

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's deputy premier Lee Hsien Loong said the island state, hit by an electronics slowdown, should post economic growth at six to seven percent this year, narrowing an earlier government forecast.

"Singapore's growth slowed down last year, mostly because of the global electronics downturn. But we expect to make steady six to seven percent growth this year and for the next few years," Lee said at a Singapore-British Business Council dinner Tuesday.

The electronics industry is the backbone of the city state's manufacturing sector.

The global slowdown in electronics demand had pulled down Singapore's crucial manufacturing output, resulting in economic growth slowing down to seven percent in 1996 from 8.8 percent a year earlier and 10.5 percent in 1994.

Lee's latest 1997 growth forecast is now closer to private sector projections, which average about seven percent.