by Fiona Chan

FIRST, the good news. Singapore's economy has moved beyond the initial post-crisis bounce of growth and will continue to expand as genuine demand begins to stabilise around the world.

But Singaporeans must prepare for a 'slower and steadier' pace of expansion next year than they are used to, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday.

Even though Asian economies have recovered strongly, many of Singapore's key export markets remain weak. In fact, half of the country's exports go to economies that are expected to grow more slowly than usual next year.

IMF raises Singapore's growth forecast again

by Robin Chan

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its growth outlook for Singapore for the second time this month while leaving forecasts for other Asian nations unchanged.

It now tips that Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) this year will be minus 1.7 per cent, up from an initial forecast of of minus 3.3 per cent.

Growth for next year was also raised - from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent - when the IMF released its regional economic outlook in Seoul yesterday.

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