Singapore  - Singapore on Thursday said its export-reliant economy might grow between 3 and 5 per cent next year after the city-state emerged from its worst recession in history, adding to evidence that Asia is leading the rebound of the global economy.

"A sluggish recovery in final demand in the advanced economies will moderate Singapore's growth prospects in 2010," the Ministry of Trade said in a statement.

Even though there had been some initial signs of a rebound in private demand, it added, "the durability of the recovery remains uncertain."

"Asia is likely to continue to post positive growth rates," said the ministry, "however, the recovery in the advanced economies remains fragile" as high unemployment would weigh on consumer demand.

For 2009, the ministry maintained its forecast, saying it expected Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) to contract between 2 and 2.5 per cent.

In the third quarter of 2009, Singapore's GDP rose 0.6 per cent compared to a year ago, after a 3.3-per-cent contraction in the second quarter, said the ministry, confirming that the city-state was out of recession.

The expansion in the third quarter was slightly weaker than earlier estimated as the government last month had predicted a 0.8-per-cent increase.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Singapore's economy grew 14.2 per cent in the three months through September, following a 21.7-per-cent expansion in the second quarter, said the ministry.

The rise was led by the manufacturing sector which grew 26.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter as biomedical production continued to surge.

The construction sector slowed down and expanded just 0.9 per cent in the third quarter, a sharp contrast to the 32.7-per-cent growth in the previous quarter, said the ministry. (dpa)