Endless Love

"Some government support will be necessary and we have indicated (that) to the other parties concerned," said Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's minister for community development, youth and sports.

"I hope in the next few days or weeks there will be some good news," he said, speaking at a Foreign Correspondents Association lunch.

Singapore is keen to host a Formula One race in order to boost tourism and jazz up its image.

Last week, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone met with Singapore tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who controls resorts developer Hotel Properties Ltd. , to discuss the possibility of holding a street race in the city-state.

Ecclestone told Reuters on Saturday that one of the obstacles in the talks had been that the Singapore government wanted the event to be a private enterprise.

The plan is for the race to be held at night, under floodlights, a first for Formula One. Besides providing a local spectacle, such a race would also boost European television audiences due to the time difference.