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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>S'poreans spent 25% more during GSS <!--10 min-->
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SINGAPORE MasterCard holders spent almost 25 per cent more this year during the two-month annual sale even as inflation climbed to a 26-year high and the city- state's economic growth slowed to its weakest since 2003.
The cardholders spent almost US$453 million (S$637 million) from May 23 to July 20, with dining taking the top spot, MasterCard Inc. said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg on Monday.
The study was done among customers of MasterCard's credit cards in the city-state, the company said.
'According to our latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Retail, Singaporeans are among the most optimistic consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, with a bright outlook on the economy, employment and regular income over the second half of this year,' T.V. Seshadri, vice-president and senior country manager of MasterCard in Singapore, said in the statement.
Singapore's retail sales slowed in May as consumers bought fewer cars and spent less on furniture amid the fastest inflation since 1982, according to the latest data from the government.
That prompted Jannie Tay, president of the Singapore Retailers Association, to say in a July 15 interview that the government should consider a cut in the city-state's goods and services tax to improve consumer spending and ease inflation. Tourists spent more than US$248.4 million, 11 per cent more than a year earlier, with Australians replacing Americans as the top spenders, said MasterCard, based on spending by its cardholders.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>S'poreans spent 25% more during GSS <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
SINGAPORE MasterCard holders spent almost 25 per cent more this year during the two-month annual sale even as inflation climbed to a 26-year high and the city- state's economic growth slowed to its weakest since 2003.
The cardholders spent almost US$453 million (S$637 million) from May 23 to July 20, with dining taking the top spot, MasterCard Inc. said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg on Monday.
The study was done among customers of MasterCard's credit cards in the city-state, the company said.
'According to our latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Retail, Singaporeans are among the most optimistic consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, with a bright outlook on the economy, employment and regular income over the second half of this year,' T.V. Seshadri, vice-president and senior country manager of MasterCard in Singapore, said in the statement.
Singapore's retail sales slowed in May as consumers bought fewer cars and spent less on furniture amid the fastest inflation since 1982, according to the latest data from the government.
That prompted Jannie Tay, president of the Singapore Retailers Association, to say in a July 15 interview that the government should consider a cut in the city-state's goods and services tax to improve consumer spending and ease inflation. Tourists spent more than US$248.4 million, 11 per cent more than a year earlier, with Australians replacing Americans as the top spenders, said MasterCard, based on spending by its cardholders.
