Singapore’s economy grew at a slightly slower pace in the first half of the year mainly because of the continued threat of the global financial crisis and the worsening economic condition in the United States and Europe, the government reported on Sunday.

In his televised speech on the eve of Singapore ’s 45th National Independence Day celebration, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reported the country’s economy, as measured by its gross domestic product (GDP), has increased by 17.9 percent from January to June this year from 6.5 percent in the same period last year.

The Singapore government has recently launched a new program that would provide training to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the manufacturing industry in an effort to boost the country’s economic growth.

The program, which was developed by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), will focus on providing managers from SME with trainings that would raise productivity and promote “excellent business operation”.