S'pore eyes holidaymakers to boost population

Singapore, May 19: Singapore is to allow young foreign holidaymakers to work in the city-state as part of efforts to attract skilled migrants, leading newspapers said today.

Singapore, which wants to raise its population from 4.5 million to 6.5 million, will allow undergraduates and graduates from seven countries including France, Germany, Britain and the United States and the Chinese region of Hong Kong to look for employment while on holiday in the country.

''This programme will target to bring bright young people to Singapore,'' Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen was quoted by The Business Times newspaper.

The government hopes these students, aged between 17 and 30, will return to Singapore after an initial working holiday of up to six months.

''These students and graduates are a rich source of talent whom we should try to tap on when they eventually join the workforce,'' he added.

Singapore is widely seen as one of the world's freest economies but it also has one of the lowest global birth-rates.

Reuters>