Shrinking Singapore Economy
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010The global economic slowdown has hampered the growth of trade-dependant nations like Singapore. The South East Asian country’s growth is expected to reduce to 9 percent this year. Singapore’s central bank has said that the trading range for the Singapore dollar would be adjusted. Exports tumbled for a consecutive eleventh month and Singapore’s Straits Times Index of stocks declined in value.
Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product decreased to 19.7 percent in the last quarter. The contraction in GDP is the biggest since 1975.Many companies like Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd and music system maker Creative Technology Ltd, have fired workers. Singapore Airlines Ltd has asked employees to take unpaid leave and Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. has cut wages.