TRADE and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said in Parliament on Tuesday that the meltdown in the US financial market is causing 'new uncertainties' for Singapore.

'The dramatic developments in the US financial industry in the past few days have created new uncertainties,' Mr Lim said. 'We are closely monitoring these latest developments in the external environment and assessing their impact on our economy.'

US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was forced into bankruptcy on Monday as British bank Barclays, and Bank of America abandoned takeover talks amid the subprime mortgage crisis that has generated losses of more than US$514 billion (S$736.3 billion) worldwide.

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