Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the city-state requires a long time to achieve the pre-crisis growth levels of 7 to 10 per cent as the recent economic slowdown has adversely impacted almost all key economic parameters.

PM Lee, addressing a bursary award ceremony at Townsville Primary School, said that economy has been, however, showing the signs of resilience as demand in all spheres is slowly picking up due to stimulus measures taken by the government.

Projecting growth rate of 3 to 5 per cent for the year, PM Lee added, "When we recover, I don't think we can expect to go back to where we were before the crisis... I think it's going to be tougher."

The PM asked for the need to raise per-capita income of the country irrespective of the GDP growth rate which will automatically pick up due to rise in consumption and spending.

Mr. Kevin Scully, executive chairman of NRA Capital that Singapore's economy is largely dependent on world's economy, which is still reeling under pressure. He added, "When the global economy is firing on all cylinders, it's possible (for Singapore) to recover to previous levels of growth. But nobody knows when."