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Singapore : Chinese business community welcomes strong H1 growth |
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2004-8-10
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The Chinses Business community of Singapore has welcomed the impressive 10 percent economic growth for the first half of this year.
However, they also expressed caution at the fact that it is not broad-based and several sectors were yet to recover.
The Chinese business community gathered on Sunday to celebrate Singapore''s birthday.
They also paid tribute to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong for his contributions and expressed confidence in his successor, Lee Hsien Loong.
"The economy is growing strongly. Growth in the first half was 10 percent. For the whole year, we can expect growth to be between 8 and 9 percent. Now is a good time for me to hand over the controls to a new captain and his crew," said Mr Goh.
The strong numbers were a surprise to many; they knew the economy was picking up, but did not expect the recovery to be so strong.
"This is certainly a very good sign and I believe in the period to come, Singapore''s economy will continue to recover and improve," said Kwek Leng Joo, president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
But, some businessmen say they are concerned about small- and medium-sized enterprises still struggling to stay afloat.
Lee Choon Giart, managing director of Chiap Seng & Co, said, "Not all sectors have fully recovered. Some sectors are performing better than others. So as such, we''ve still got to keep an eye on the progress to see how is the situation."
Said John Lu, managing director of South Grand Textiles, "I only hope that this growth rate can be more broad-based. Maybe the growth is led by certain sectors, so it will be better if it is applied to all sectors. And I hope that this growth rate can be sustained in the coming years." |
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