Singapore to bridge Latin American interests in Asia

Singapore will continue to bridge interests and strengthen its role as Latin America's valued partner in this region, said the republic's Minister for Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang.

"Today, the global economy continues to be plagued by uncertainty. The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, sluggish US economic recovery, and the ongoing socio-political unrest in the Middle East are all precursors of slowing global growth," he said.

"Nevertheless, Asia and Latin America continue to be the bright spots, with higher growth than other major economies. In Asia, China and India are expected to become key global growth engines, with their 2011 GDP growth forecast at 9.5 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively," he added at the Latin Asia Business Forum 2011 here Wednesday, reports Bernama.

Lim said opportunities also abound in the fast growing Asian economies.

Trade and economic ties between the two regions has been growing, he said, adding that last year, bilateral trade between Asia and Latin America increased by 50 per cent to US$172 billion.

In fact, trade between both regions have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent since 2006.

This upward trend is likely to continue as we see strong demand for commodities in Asia, as well as Latin America's increasing appetite for Asian consumer goods.