SINGAPORE, March 21 (Reuters) - Singapore's export-dependent economy will take at least three years to recover from the recession triggered by the financial crisis, the Southeast Asian country's most powerful politician was quoted as saying.
The daily Straits Times on Saturday quoted former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew as saying that a recovery within two to three years was part of an optimistic scenario that assumed a turnaround in the U.S. economy next year. Under a pessimistic scenario, it could take up to six years for the island-state to bounce back from recession, he said.
He has previously said that Singapore's recovery depends on that of the United States and that the world's biggest economy was "fundamentally sound".
Lee, 85, was modern Singapore's first prime minister and held that office for 31 years. He remains a powerful player in the small country's politics and serves as "minister mentor" in the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Earlier this month, Lee forecast that gross domestic product of the island of 4.8 million people could shrink by 10 percent this year.
He also said he was reassured by U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks in February that the economy of the United States would pick up by 2010, once the government's stimulus package frees up lending to households and businesses. The newspaper separately reported that up to 66,000 Singapore civil servants could face a cut in their salaries this year as a result of the economic slowdown. (Reporting Harry Suhartono; Editing by Jan Dahinten)