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.

GDP is one of the key indicators of economic performance of a particular country. It also measures the amounts of goods and service produced in the country in a fiscal year.

Meanwhile, Lee noted that the slow economic growth rate during the first semester will likely be carried over the second-half of the year, citing slow economic recovery process in the US and the volatile market condition in Europe.

“Contractions during the second-quarter dragged the entire first-half figures at a slight slower pace,” Lee said.

“The moderate growth rate will likely be carried over the second-half as risks remain in the global economy, particularly in the US and Europe”, he added.

Singapore recorded a 15.5 percent GDP growth in the first quarter, but officials did not provide the official second-quarter growth figure.

Analysts earlier estimated Singapore ’s GDP growth in the second-quarter at 19.3 percent while government estimates for the first semester were at 18.1 percent.

But despite the shortfall, Prime Minister Lee assured that Singapore will meet earlier forecast of 13 to 15 percent GDP growth rate for the year, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

To ensure the continued economic growth, the Prime Minister said the Singapore government is now beefing up control measures in the flow of migrant workers to address the looming crisis in the labor market.

“We have to control the flow of foreign workers to ensure the quality of people that is entering our country. We will only allow those who can contribute to the welfare of the society and economy, and we will have to work harder if we want to integrate them into our society,” Lee said.

With the shortage of Singaporean workers, the government has passed several immigration policies including the Singapore EntrePass and the Singapore Employment Pass which encourage foreign professionals to work in the country and businessmen to form a Singapore company.