Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that while Singapore's productivity and economic growth have been encouraging, they are still mainly concentrated in the manufacturing and export-driven sectors.

The economy grew a healthy 3.6 per cent last year, while labour productivity expanded 4.5 per cent. Mr Lee said: "I hope we'll be able to sustain that and continue to improve people's lives and, at the same time, improve amenities and services."

Even as he looks forward to another good year, he added that "it won't just be expansion because of other economies that are growing, but continuing upgrading and improving productivity, improving our companies, and improving the skills of our workers".

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