The world is teetering on the edge of the worst recession for a generation, according to the chief of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, the world's third-largest sovereign wealth fund.

Tony Tan, executive director of GIC, which has estimated assets of more than $300bn (€189bn, £151bn), told a global staff conference: "We could be facing a recession which is longer, deeper and wider than any recession that we have encountered in the last 30 years."