Singapore is currently forecasting growth in a wide range of 0.5 to 2.5 percent this year. Chan is part of a government task force set up to tackle the coronavirus in Singapore. Families in Singapore, many of which are ethnically Chinese and have relatives in mainland China, are currently traveling for Lunar New Year holidays. The virus has so far spread to more than 10 countries and the viral outbreak may end up hitting Japan’s fragile economy harder than the SARS outbreak of 2003, according to economists. Tourism has become a much more important prop to Japan’s growth over the past decade, and Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders.
