SINGAPORE EXPECTS 2009 INVESTMENT EXCEEDS S$10 BILLION

SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Singapore expects to be able to yield more
than S$10 billion in fixed asset investment (FAI) and S$6.0 billion to S$7.0
billion in total business spending this year despite the biting economy.

Saying it would redouble efforts to keep up the pipelines of new investments
for the future, the republic's Economic Development Board (EDB) said it expected
the FAI to exceed S$10 billion for the third successive year.

In a statement MOnday, EDB also said it would focus on preserving and
creating more jobs by extending assistance to companies with major operations in
Singapore in view of the global economic uncertainty.

The board said it met investment forecasts in 2008 when it attained S$18
billion in FAI and S$7.8 billion in total business spending from committed
projects in both the manufacturing and services sectors.

About 16,400 skilled jobs would be created when these projects were fully
implemented, EDB said, adding that another 6,000 would be available when new
projects start to come on-stream in the coming months.

EDA said the bearish sentiments in the last fourth quarter had affected
various companies' ability to invest and some projects had to be delayed or
might be cancelled because of the sharp drop in demand or difficulty in securing
financing.

It said while the situation would not have a major impact on 2009 investment
numbers, it would affect investment commitments in 2010 if global economic
sentiments did not improve over the coming year.

However, EDB ensured that it would continue to attract investments that
create new jobs and help companies ride out the recession so that as many jobs
as possible could be preserved.

"The present global economic uncertainty is very challenging for attracting
new investments. However, given Singapore's strong fundamentals in supporting
business, we are cautiously optimistic of achieving a respectable level of
investment commitments for 2009," EDB chairman Lim Siong Guan said. (US$1=S1.49)
-- BERNAMA