Chart of the Day: Singapore to be Asia's economic slowpoke this year

High inflation at 4%, sluggish growth at 3.2%.

According to DBS, the government will announce the FY13 budget on 25 Feb. This budget will focus more on longer-term challenges than short-term risks to the economy.

Growth will remain subdued in 2013 but recession is not expected. Europe will continue to be in recession and the US is expected to continue muddling along
at sub-par growth. Asia-10 growth will still rise to 7.3%, about long-run average, led by a recovery in China’s investment.

Here's more from DBS:

But Singapore will benefit comparatively less than its regional peers, due to declining competitiveness. At 3.2%, we forecast Singapore will post the slowest growth pace amongst the Asia-10 economies this year.

Inflation will remain fairly high at 4%, double the 30-year average of 2%.

Against such a backdrop, companies will feel the strain from lower revenues and higher costs. Weak demand, rising competition, higher business cost and the labour crunch are some of the challenges.

Households will also feel the pinch as companies pass on higher business costs to consumers.

Beyond these near-term concerns, the upcoming budget will focus more on longer-term growth strategies.

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