High wages flash recession warnings in Singapore

SINGAPORE (Aug 22): SaladStop owner Adrien Desbaillets has eased off on expansion plans for his organic food chain in Singapore because high wages are pressuring profit margins at a time when the affluent city state is grappling with low growth and slack global demand.

Instead Desbaillets is branching out in Manila, Jakarta and even in wealthy Tokyo in a worrying sign for Singapore's small, open economy.

Indeed, while the city state's economy is expected to grow between 1-2% for the year, analysts say the wage-cost pressures are flashing warnings of a recession.

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