Singapore may avoid recession for now: PM Lee

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore should brace for slower growth ahead, even as a technical recession may be avoided for now. 

Speaking at the end of his official visit to New Zealand on Tuesday, Mr Lee told reporters that the GDP numbers of the second quarter of this year may look a little better than the first estimate. 

Singapore's economy shrank 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2012, compared with the three months before, triggering fears of a technical recession. 

The prime minister indicated that the final Q2 numbers may be revised upwards, and if they turn out to be positive, a technical recession won't happen for a while. 

But he added a technical recession later may be unavoidable with the prospect of slower growth. 

Mr Lee warned that slow growth also means that Singapore will not have a lot of margin for error. 

That's why the country needs to keep its economy strong. 

Advance estimates for the third quarter will be released by MTI on Friday.

Turning to calls by some Singaporeans for the country to focus less on material aspirations, Mr Lee said Singapore needs to find the right balance between growth, social considerations and quality of life. 

He said there also needs to be dynamism and buzz so that there'll be opportunities for Singaporeans. 

One key challenge, Mr Lee said, is to raise productivity to ensure a steady rate of growth.