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Economic growth for this year expected to be close to 3%, says PM Lee

WASHINGTON, DC — Singapore’s economy is doing well this year and growth is expected to be at the “upper end” of the 2 to 3 per cent range, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, while stressing the need for the Republic to push ahead with industry transformation.

PM Lee Hsien Loong at a reception for Singaporeans in Washington. Singapore’s economy is expected to grow at the “upper end” of the 2 to 3 per cent range, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, while stressing the need for the Republic to push ahead with industry transformation. Photo: Albert Wai/TODAY

PM Lee Hsien Loong at a reception for Singaporeans in Washington. Singapore’s economy is expected to grow at the “upper end” of the 2 to 3 per cent range, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, while stressing the need for the Republic to push ahead with industry transformation. Photo: Albert Wai/TODAY

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WASHINGTON, DC — Singapore’s economy is doing well this year and growth is expected to be at the “upper end” of the 2 to 3 per cent range, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, while stressing the need for the Republic to push ahead with industry transformation.

“The third quarter (economic growth) results look good and I hope it will continue,” said PM Lee during a reception attended by over 250 Singaporeans at the embassy in Washington, DC on Sunday (Oct 22).

The Republic’s economy expanded 4.6 per cent in the third quarter from a year ago, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) earlier this month.

PM Lee noted that the manufacturing and services sectors have been performing well this year.

While there have been contractions in the construction sector, PM Lee said it could expand if there is demand.

“The construction side, if we need to build more, we can build more. Construction is one area where we don’t expect continuous expansion. We just want to keep it at a stable level so that is cyclical rather than structural,” the prime minister noted.

He said that the “difficult part” is for Singapore to upgrade its productivity and improve the various economic sectors so that “we will be able to perform faster”.

For the services sector, which covers logistics, healthcare, personal services and others, “it is very hard to make a sudden transformation”, he said.

“If you have a haircut, you have a haircut. It is very hard for the barber to cut your hair 20 per cent faster than last year,” he added, drawing laughter from the audience.

He noted that the government is developing 23 industrial transformation maps for the various sectors to drive economic transformation.

“I think there is going to be a lot of work. It is not easy to do. But it can be done. If we persist at it, I think we can improve our performance,” said Mr Lee.

“That means we can get better jobs for our people, better assurance for our people that they would be able to have jobs, and good jobs – either in the same industry or if they move to another sector and another business.”

Turning to bilateral ties, he said the Republic has a wide ranging relationship with the United States, encompassing defence and business to culture and the arts.

“This goes on whoever is in the White House and in the administration or which (political) party is in the administration,” he said.

“It is important for us to establish working relationships with the key people in every administration, to get them to know us, to understand them, to appreciate their perspectives, to be able to work together and to take the relationship forward.”

PM Lee added that given the US’ importance in Asia, “we want to know what America is thinking for the region, how we fit in, and which way things are going.”

The Prime Minister arrived in Washington, DC on Saturday (Oct 21). He will be here until Thursday (Oct 26) for an official working visit.

On Monday (Oct 23), PM Lee will hold talks with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office, and be hosted by the American leader to a bilateral working lunch together with Cabinet Secretaries and key White House officials.

Both leaders will also hold a joint press conference and witness the signing of a deal between Singapore Airlines and Boeing for the national carrier to buy 39 new planes. The deal will be worth US$13.8 billion (S$18.7 billion).

PM Lee will also deliver a speech at the Economic Club of Washington DC and meet Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin on Monday.

Singaporeans who attended the reception on Sunday were hopeful that PM Lee’s visit would further strengthen ties.

Ms Huang Ziling, a financial professional in her 20s, said: “The global landscape is fraught with challenges. It is great that PM Lee is here in a diplomatic visit to strengthen ties with the US.”

“I also feel very strongly on some of the other topics he spoke about, including the need to transform the economy… Other countries are catching up in terms of their labour and workforce and we need to improve ourselves further.”

According to the US Census Bureau, there were more than 30,000 Singaporeans living in the US as of 2014.

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