SINGAPORE--Singapore's economy grew 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, a record year in which the city state was Asia's strongest economic performer, government figures showed Monday.
Singapore grew 14.7 percent for the year as a whole, the figures confirmed, bounding back from a 1.3 percent contraction in 2009 in part thanks to the biomedical sector. “At 14.7 percent, Singapore is the fastest growing Asian economy in 2010,” said Alvin Liew, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank based in the city.
Globally, only Qatar is thought to have grown faster, with growth in the energy-rich Gulf economy projected at 16 percent for 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund. Within Asia, economic powerhouse China is forecast to grow by around 10 percent this year....