For Singapore, a global slowdown is another world

One step ahead: People sit on benches during lunch time opposite the Parliament building in Singapore. The city-state’s reopening in the wake of Covid, in particular, has given it an advantage over its competitors. — AFP

FOR a tiny place so intimately tied to the ebbs and flows of finance, it’s hard to see signs in Singapore of an approaching world recession.

The city-state is again sucking in foreign labour, driving the jobless rate to microscopic levels. The country’s airline is racking up profits, and the increase in housing rents is staggering. The global slowdown often feels like it’s happening on another planet.