Singapore Turns to Service as Global Economy Weakens

Singapore is counting on its position as an Asian financial hub to bolster services exports as overseas demand for its goods falters amid an uneven global recovery.

The growing importance of services has prompted the government to release quarterly figures on the sector, Ow Foong Pheng, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told reporters Tuesday. Services trade rose to almost 27 percent of the total last year from about 20 percent a decade earlier, she said.