Beating expectations, Singapore's economy grew a strong 7.6% in the first half over the previous year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Aug. 8. The robust performance has prompted the government to raise its full-year economic growth target to between 7% and 8%.
Lee said a record 111,000 jobs were added in the first six months of the year and that unemployment is at 2.4%.
"Our efforts to transform our economy are paying off," he said. "The global economy is continuing to change. If we keep on adapting and readapting to it, we can keep growing strongly for many more years."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007
