South Korea’s quarterly growth slowed to the lowest in more than two years as a severe drought hit agriculture and an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome sapped consumption. The economy expanded 2.2 percent in the second quarter over a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said yesterday. That’s the lowest since the first quarter of 2013. Asia’s fourth-largest economy eked out 0.3 percent growth from the previous quarter. The bank said private consumption turned negative as spending on services dropped while agricultural output plunged due to a drought. South Korea’s economy was expected to ebb last quarter as foreign tourists cancelled visits and people stayed home because of the MERS outbreak which began in May and has killed 36 people. No new confirmed cases of MERS have been reported in South Korea since July 4 and tourist numbers have begun to recover.
Singapore’s Tigerair makes turnaround in Q1
Singapore’s budget carrier Tigerair reported an operating profit of 600,000 Singapore dollars (USD440,040) in the first quarter of its 2016 financial year, reversing a loss of 16.4 million Singapore dollars (about $12 million) in the previous quarter, the airline has said. Tigerair’s total expenses for the first quarter ending in June fell 10.8 percent from the previous one to 167.7 million Singapore dollars ($123 million). Total revenue was 168.3 million Singapore dollars ($123.4 million), a 2 percent decline compared with the previous year. The airline said Wednesday that lower expenses, partly due to a decline in fuel costs, contributed to the turnaround, although Tigerair believed this was partially offset by an increase in expenses arising from accounting changes and a stronger U.S. dollar.
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