Yesterday at the Singapore Business Awards (SBA), Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Finance Minister, said that the economy of Singapore could reach a low point within the next six months.
He told business leaders at the Shangri-La Hotel “On current indications, we expect to see a bottom in the economy within the next two quarters”.
“But growth thereafter is likely to remain weak till at least the end of the year, and possibly 2010 as well if there are no clear signs of recovery in the global economy”, Mr. Tharman said.
Mr. Tharman also believed that Singapore can endure the downturn, though he thinks that it is probably “our deepest recession” and even if the downturn takes for some time.
“We will emerge from this crisis fitter and stronger, as we have done before”.
The government will also exert efforts to aid the business by removing regulatory roadblocks and reducing administrative speed-bumps wherever possible.
Mr. Tharman also mentioned an initiative inaugurated last April, which allowed firms to register only one set of financial statements with the Corporate and Accounting Regulatory Authority, and not to repeat the procedure with the Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority.
One similar initiative is in the process that contains private sector partners like the Singapore Exchange, said Mr. Tharman.
The SBA awards that was organised by DHL Express and The Business Times made Mr. Tharman as the guest of honour.
As the awards arrived in the time when one of the most terrible declines hit Singapore, the winners of the year took the downturn as a great opportunity.
For example, the 63-year-old Mr. Ow Chio Kiat, who was awarded as the Businessman of the Year, said it was “during the crisis in the early to mid-1990s” when he managed to acquire many of troubled properties, “most of them in landmark locations overseas, and all giving positive yields”.
The Stamford Land Group’s executive chairman also referred to his conclusion to branch out in Australia in 1994, when he sensed “uncomfortable investing more money in ship-owning”.
Originally, Mr. Ow ran the Hai Sun Hup, which was a barge and tugboat operation he inherited from his father at the age of 16.
“This time around, perhaps one need not have to go very far. There’ll be bargains galore everywhere. Properties are still selling. My view is that there will be more opportunities in the property sector rather than in the shipping sector”, he added.
The president and CEO of Ascendas, Ms. Chong Siak Ching, who was awarded as the Outstanding Chief Executive of the year, also agreed that the present downturn gives opportunities to her company in markets with distressed properties.
In ten countries in Asia, Ascendas is the leader in providing business space.
“With the credit crunch, many companies are looking at capital preservation, meaning rather than developing or owning their own space, they’re looking at leasing space. That’s where we come in. Securing distressed assets aside, expansion is the key strategy for two local retailers flying their companies”, Ms. Chong said.