Greece is in huge trouble. The home to the very first advanced civilizations in Europe may now very well be kicked out of the Eurozone itself after the once-great nation missed a deadline to repay roughly 1.6 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam expressed his apprehension over the possible economic fallout should it happen, Channel NewsAsia reports. Though the country was saved by other Eurozone countries and the IMF in 2010 under a financial bailout, Greece's predicament now and failure to repay its crippling debt will mean that it might head into bankruptcy, creating instability in the region — which could affect Singapore as well. "Any setback in confidence could hurt a still tentative economic recovery in Europe, which will have spillover effects in the rest of the world economy," he remarked at the annual dinner of the Association of Banks in Singapore yesterday. "We should therefore not be alarmed, notwithstanding the drama of recent days, but we should stay alert and vigilant."
However, the minister assures that the collapse of the Greek economy may not significantly leave a significant impact, as the European Central Bank and the European Union are more than likely prepared to secure the Eurozone financial system in the weeks ahead.
Photo: Global Panorama via Flickr
Greece is in huge trouble. The home to the very first advanced civilizations in Europe may now very well be kicked out of the Eurozone itself after the once-great nation missed a deadline to repay roughly 1.6 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam expressed his apprehension over the possible economic fallout should it happen, Channel NewsAsia reports. Though the country was saved by other Eurozone countries and the IMF in 2010 under a financial bailout, Greece's predicament now and failure to repay its crippling debt will mean that it might head into bankruptcy, creating instability in the region — which could affect Singapore as well. "Any setback in confidence could hurt a still tentative economic recovery in Europe, which will have spillover effects in the rest of the world economy," he remarked at the annual dinner of the Association of Banks in Singapore yesterday. "We should therefore not be alarmed, notwithstanding the drama of recent days, but we should stay alert and vigilant."
However, the minister assures that the collapse of the Greek economy may not significantly leave a significant impact, as the European Central Bank and the European Union are more than likely prepared to secure the Eurozone financial system in the weeks ahead.
Photo: Global Panorama via Flickr