Singapore PM to hand over power to successor Wong
Singapore: Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong announced on Monday that he will hand over power to his successor, Lawrence Wong, on May 15. Wong is currently the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Singapore. In a statement posted on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office, Lee called the leadership transition a “significant moment”. Wong did not immediately comment. An election is expected to follow in the months after the handover of power.
China’s economy is expected to have slowed in the first quarter as a protracted property downturn and weak privatesector confidence weigh on demand, maintaining pressures on policymakers to unveil more stimulus measures.
Data on Tuesday is forecast to show gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.6 per cent in JanuaryMarch from a year earlier, slowing from 5.2 per cent in the previous three months and hitting the weakest since the first quarter of 2023, according to a Reuters poll.
AMBITIOUS TARGET
The world’s secondlargest economy has struggled to mount a strong and sustainable postCovid bounce, burdened by a protracted property downturn, mounting local government debts and weak privatesector spending.
The government has set a target of around 5 per cent for this year, which has been described by most analysts as ambitious, partly because last year’s growth rate of 5.2 per cent was likely flattered by a comparison with a Covidhit 2022. The economy was off to a solid start this year, fanning optimism among some analysts for an improved 2024 outcome, but March data on exports, consumer inflation and bank lending showed that momentum could falter again and policymakers may need to launch more stimulus to spur demand. On a quarterly basis, the economy is forecast to expand 1.4 per cent in the first quarter, quickening from 1.0 per cent in OctoberDecember, the poll showed.
GDP data is due on Tuesday. Separate data on March activity is expected to show both industrial output and retail sales slowing. For 2024, the economy is expected to grow at a subdued 4.6 per cent pace yearonyear, the poll showed, falling short of the official target of around 5.0 per cent. Last