The Singapore Government has slashed its official growth forecast for this year to between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent and announced a S$2 billion (about HK$9.21 billion) package to cut business costs and stimulate the economy.
The package will result in an S$800 million budget deficit this year - the first in over a decade - but was still criticised by some economists for its parsimony.
Finance Minister Richard Hu Tsu Tau said growth would be 'very weak and possibly even negative' in the second half of the year.
In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post published today, Deputy Prime Minister and monetary policy chief Lee Hsien Loong has warned it could be five years before high growth returns to Singapore.
'The region is going to be limping along for five years and we are not going to get high growth for five years,' Mr Lee said.
'If countries like Indonesia do the right things, they may begin to recover in four to five years. But the situation is complicated and you will have to watch how the scenario unfolds.
