SINGAPORE ECONOMIC SLUMP SLOWER THAN MOST

Singapore analysts expected the city-state’s economy to shrink 3.6 per cent in 2009, a survey by the central bank said on Wednesday, less than the government forecast of a 4- to 6-per-cent contraction.
In the second quarter, the economy rebounded as GDP soared 20.7 per cent compared with the previous quarter, mainly because of strong gains in biomedical manufacturing.
In 2008, Singapore’s economy grew 1.1 per cent.