Critical infrastructure such as transport, water, power and telecommunications systems are also likely to be affected. Nearly all aspects of the economy in every country are therefore potentially at risk because of the widespread dependence on a country’s core infrastructure. The unprecedented scope of the Year 2000 problem means that a critical aspect of the issue is the management challenge. Substantial management resources are needed to coordinate the efforts to assess, repair, and test affected systems prior to the fixed deadline of BIS Review 85/1998  -2-  January 1, 2000. At the Federal Reserve, for example, we have created a number of management positions within our organization that are focused exclusively on different aspects of our Year 2000 preparations. A final point that underscores the need for urgent and sustained action is the increasing focus on the issue by the media, by the public and by market observers such as the rating agencies. Over the course of 1999, the extent of Year 2000 preparations by financial organizations will become the subject of ever more intensive scrutiny. As supervisors, therefore, we must do all we can to support the efforts of market participants to address the problem effectively, and to build confidence among others that this is being accomplished. While we must make it clear that supervisors cannot solve the problem, we can help mobilize others to take the necessary steps.
Changes in supply chains – with a shift in emphasis from efficiency to resilience – may also exert a drag on economic recovery. Overall, MAS expects the global economy to grow by 3.5% in the second half of this year, following an estimated minus 5.5% in the first half. [3] SINGAPORE ECONOMY 2 / 15  BIS central bankers' speeches  The Singapore economy is going through its most severe downturn since Independence. In year-on-year terms, the economy contracted by 6.5% in the first half of 2020, its first decline since the global financial crisis. It is more meaningful to evaluate the performance and prospects for the economy by type of activity rather than the usual categories of construction, manufacturing, and services. Construction, travel-related, and customer-facing domestic services bore the brunt of the COVID-19 containment measures. Construction, accounting for about 4% of GDP, was severely affected by the Circuit Breaker measures and the spike in infection among foreign workers in the dormitories. The travel-related cluster—comprising air transport, accommodation, arts, entertainment and recreation, and also accounting for about 4% of GDP — exerted the largest drag on economic growth. Consumer-facing domestic services—comprising retail, food services and land transport and accounting for another 4% of GDP—were affected by heightened fears of infection and the Circuit Breaker measures. Thus, roughly 12% of the economy is at the epicentre of the impact from COVID-19. The trade-related cluster – comprising manufacturing, wholesale trade, and water transport and storage – was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but less so.