SINGAPORE. July 6: Singapore's struggling economy could outperform the government’s official forecast of zero per cent to 2 per cent gross domestic Kiduct growth in 1999, Deputy me Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Tuesday, reports AP.

A revised growth forecast for the country's GDP will be released in early August. Lee said, answering questions in Parliament.

"The economy has been recovering well this year, faster than we had expected." said Lee. who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state's de facto central bank.

But Lee cautioned that Singapore must not yet abandon strict cost-cutting measures taken last year to fight the recession.

"We need to nurse the present economic recovery, and not choke it off by allowing costs to rise prematurely.” he said.

Lee attributed Singapore's growth to regional developments in Asia and growing global demand for electronics, which are one of the tiny country's key exports.

"It is also due to the decisive measures we took to reduce business costs, which have helped to boost our competi-fiveness," Lee said.

The government last year cut Singaporeans' wages by up to 15 per cent when it recommended pay reductions and slashed employers’ mandatory contributions to the state-run pension plan, known as the Central Provident Fund, or CPF.

Lee announced Tuesday that the government will consider raising employers' CPF contributions earlier than expected, possibly next year. But he said it would be best to wait before reversing other wage-reducing measures.