Singapore's trade-dependent economy contracted by a record 11.5 per cent in the first three months of 2009 from a year ago as non-oil exports fell 17 per cent in March, the 11th consecutive monthly decline.
The-sharper-than-expected deterioration in the economy's performance forced the government to cut its full-year GDP forecast from minus 6 per cent to minus 9 per cent, which would make it Singapore's worst postwar recession and Asia's worst economic performer this year. The economy contracted 4.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Previously, the worst downturn in Singapore occurred in 2001 when the economy contracted by 2.4 per cent due to the bursting of the global technology bubble. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's elder statesman, recently said that it could take as long as six years before the economy makes a firm recovery.