Betting on F1

Like most countries in the world, Singapore will suffer from slowing economic growth this year. Now most countries will grudgingly admit this and try to put a positive spin on things. Singapore is no different.

So when Singapore government said that Singapore is not facing stagflation, rising inflation accompanied by falling industrial production and high unemployment, I wasn’t surprised. What surprised me was the reason the Singapore government gave.

While admitting that Singapore’s economic growth has slowed, the Singapore government says that strong foreign investments and upcoming tourism projects, including the Formula One race in September, will provide relief for the rest of the year.

Now I know that the F1 race on Sept 28 is supposed to be a major tourist attraction, but is it right to bet on the whole year’s economic growth on one race? I mean Malaysia has a F1 race for years and I never heard of them betting their yearly growth on the race. Surely, the Singapore government can come up with a better reason than a F1 race.

So the next time the Singapore government wants to say that the Singapore economy is doing fine; go right ahead. Just please, try to give a better reason.