Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he did not believe the Republic’s economy was overheating

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday said that he did not believe the Republic’s economy was overheating, with inflation under control despite firm economic growth.

‘This year, we expect 7-8 per cent growth. It’s a good figure but at the same time inflation is well under control,’ Mr Lee said.

He acknowledged that property prices had increased rapidly and that there were shortages in office space, which the government was trying to solve by, for example, building interim office space.

‘In the medium term, we will have enough supply but in the short term there is a problem because so many businesses want to set up in Singapore,’ Mr Lee said after officials from the two countries signed cooperation agreements on economic, scientific and educational matters.

Mr Lee also described the situation in Myanmar - where the government has violently suppressed pro-democracy protests - as ’serious’, saying international powers needed to work on bringing together the two sides of the conflict - the ruling military and the opposition groups.

‘What is necessary is to find reconciliation and an agreement amongst the parties in Myanmar on the way forward,’ he said after meeting his Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsany. ‘There’s no easy way forward . . . It is not simply a matter of regime change,’ Mr Lee added.

‘I think that if you look at Iraq, you know that regime change is a slogan but may not be a policy.’ - AP

Source : Business Times - 10 Oct 2007