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Mr Speaker, Sir
The Singapore economy had another
good year. Overall growth was 8.9 per cent, with
strong showing in manufacturing, transport &
communications and commerce. This reflected the
strength of the global electronics cycle and buoyant
regional growth. For the period 1990-95, Singapore's
economic growth averaged 8.5 per cent per annum,
better than the other Asian Newly Industrialised
Economies and about the same as Malaysia and Thailand.
The strong growth performance
has led to continued cost pressures. The Unit
Labour Cost (ULC) Index for the manufacturing
sector rose by 0.9 per cent in 1995. Our relative
competitiveness in manufacturing worsened in 1995.
The Relative Unit Labour Cost Index in US$ against
the NIEs grew by 9.1 per cent. This was due to
the appreciation of the Singapore dollar and larger
increases in ULC against Hong Kong and Taiwan.
However, consumer price inflation
moderated because of the strong Singapore dollar,
weaker sentiments in the property and stock markets,
and keen competition in the retail industry.
The external economy continued
to grow in tandem with the domestic economy. Factor
income from abroad accounted for 12 per cent of
GNP, compared with 11 per cent for 1994.
The good ecnonmic performance
has meant real progress for our citizens. In the
last ten years, per capita income increassed by
5.9 per cent per annum in real terms. Real wages
rose by 3.8 per cent per annum. In 1995, 90 per
cent of our households owned their own homes,
up from the 73 per cent in 1985. Singapore has
also made good progress in a wide range of socio-economic
indicators (Table 1).
Strong economic growth and sound
public finances have enabled the Government to
enhance the assets of citizens, by upgrading HDB
flats, and selling at a discount Singapore Telcom
shares, HDB shops and hawker stalls
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