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Stronger US Economy Would Help Asia: Singapore PM
Lynn Lee - Straits Times Indonesia | June 13, 2011

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left) greeting PM Lee Hsien Loong before their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Jakarta, yesterday. Mr Lee said Asean member states had to put aside their differences as part of a Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left) greeting PM Lee Hsien Loong before their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Jakarta, yesterday. Mr Lee said Asean member states had to put aside their differences as part of a 'strategic imperative' to collectively engage with a rising China and India. (AP Photo)
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DrDez
8:08am Jun 15, 2011

Xpat - silly comment really

The US is still a massive consumer of goods made and exported in Asia. Even a modest % improvment provides a large increase in spending thus trade. A strong US economy is good for everyone as is a strong Japanese economy


Valkyrie
7:04am Jun 15, 2011

And they met separately to talk about the weather too!

Xpat
9:43pm Jun 14, 2011

Not true Mr Lee....see how Asia has started to stand on its feet. You should say ...a stronger US economy is good for Singapore.

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If the United States can get its financial system in order, it would greatly help Asian countries which are struggling to tame rising inflation while encouraging growth, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday.

This could alleviate the impact of investments driving up property prices in Asia, which he noted was causing many problems.

Since the financial meltdown sent Western economies into a tailspin three years ago, capital has been flowing into emerging markets in Asia, pushing up commodity and asset prices in the region.

'If the Americans can get their house in order, that will help a great deal,' Lee said at the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual summit on East Asia. 'Money is running around looking for investments... the result is you get property prices going up in emerging markets, which causes many problems.'

He added: 'Singapore has seen it - our property market has seen very drastic increases in the past two years, to our concern. But it is an open global economy and we cannot cut ourselves off... neither is it easy for any individual country to solve the problem.'

The PM's comments came in response to a question from WEF chairman Klaus Schwab about how inflation could be addressed while encouraging growth.

Along with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Lee was participating in a wide-ranging discussion on Asia's prospects for growth as part of the Forum's opening ceremony.

When asked if he backed the US-led push for China to revalue its currency against the dollar,  Lee said he did not.

'That is a very sharp question,' he said, drawing chuckles from among the 400-strong audience of global government and business leaders.

'If you put it like that, my answer is no. But I would think that a gradual re-alignment of currencies is helpful,' he said, noting that a stronger yuan would allow China to grow domestic demand.

PM Lee added that China was aware of the challenges that an appreciating currency would pose, as it would push up the prices of exports, possibly hurting domestic industries and causing job losses.

'But I think between them and the Americans, they will discuss this very carefully. I think they have been doing so and have avoided collision so far,' he said, stressing the importance of a stable Sino-US relationship to Asean nations who wanted to be friends with both large powers.

This view was echoed by members of the audience, many of whom were upbeat about Asia's stability and growth potential.

Said the president of Indonesia's Paramadina University, Dr Anies Baswedan: 'Here in Indonesia, we hope that both the US and China do not forget about the stake that the world has in their relationship.'

Lee and Yudhoyono also underscored the importance of greater cohesiveness within Asean. Asean nations had not fought wars among themselves like their European counterparts, noted Lee, but were much more diverse in culture, political values and religion.

But he also acknowledged that the 10 member states had to put aside their differences as part of a 'strategic imperative' to collectively engage with a rising China and India, while maintaining linkages with the rest of the world.

'If you are not a practical, meaningful, economic community and integrated, you will fall off the radar screen and this will be of considerable detriment,' he said.

Yudhoyono cheered Asean's achievements so far, noting that 'Asean today is more structured, more rules-based and more unified'.

He and PM Lee yesterday also met separately for a bilateral meeting which saw them discussing issues such as stepping up economic cooperation.

At their meeting, the Indonesian leader could be overheard congratulating Mr Lee on the recently-held general election, while PM Lee apologized for missing the Asean summit in Jakarta held at the time.



Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055