He spoke with Asiaweek's Assif Shameen on the outlook for Singapore. We believe it will pick up within six months or so. Fundamentals are not as bad as they were two months ago. The worst hit sector was electronics manufacturing. There are signs of a turnaround there.
Inventories are down and demand is pretty strong.
Smaller, locally-listed electronics makers have fared better than large multinationals. The initial concern was that the electronics slowdown would also affect the banks' profits and so drag down the stock market for an extended period. That didn't happen, because the main lenders to multinationals are foreign banks. The impact on listed firms has also been far smaller than anyone anticipated. It's a foregone conclusion that the ruling People's Action Party will continue to dominate parliament.