Singapore will have to depend on India and China if the US is hit by a recession, says Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. But that’s a fact downplayed by Singapore’s main newspaper, The Straits Times. Why? Usually it highlights anything he says. But this time it has been very selective.
Here is what Lee Kuan Yew said, according to Channel News Asia:
"I do not believe the Chinese economy is immune to a US slowdown, nor is the Indian economy. But I believe they are now much less… influenced by US recession because they’ve got enough going in their own internal economy. They can increase investments in infrastructure; they can increase consumption; they can increase all their projects and keep the economy buoyant," he said.
Wrapping up his five-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Mr Lee said if China can maintain economic growth at around eight to nine per cent a year, then it could weather the economic storm well.
How well Singapore does, he said, will depend on how other economies fare, though he feels Singapore should be able to ride on the healthy performance of China and India.
Now look at what The Straits Times reported:
He said while the Chinese and Indian economies were not immune to a US slowdown, he believed they were much less influenced by a US recession because they have got enough going in their internal economies.
"They can increase investments in infrastructure, they can increase consumption, they can increase all their projects and keep the economy buoyant. And,if they can keep their economy up, say,instead of making 11, 12 percent, they make 8,9 percent, then we will not go down so much. But that may take one, two years before we see the results."
That was all it said: If the Chinese and Indian economies remain strong, "then we will not go down so much".
Channel NewsAsia was far more explicit. It underlined how much depends on China and India. This is how it started the story:
Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said he is not certain what impact a possible US recession will have on Singapore.
Although it is not clear whether financial markets will take up to two years to recover from the ordeal, Mr Lee said he feels that China and India may provide some cushion for the slowdown in the US.
And then it added: "he feels Singapore should be able to ride on the healthy performance of China and India".
The Straits Times instead led with his son, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s optimistic assessment that Singapore should be able to weather the storm. That’s fine.
But it should not have downplayed what Lee Kuan Yew said. It glossed over Singapore’s relationship with not only India and China but with the global economy as a whole.
Lee Kuan Yew said:
"Our total trade is 300 per cent of our GDP (gross domestic product). So when the external trade goes down, you tell me how we buffer ourselves. But the external trade may not go down so dramatically because of India and China." (Channel NewsAsia)
That’s not mentioned in The Straits Times.
If you read The Straits Times, check other newspapers and websites as well to get the full story.
Related posts:
