Singapore’s GDP expands strongly by 13.1% on-year in first quarter

Singapore’s GDP expanded strongly by 13.1 percent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2010.

It grew by 32.1 percent on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualised basis.

In advance estimates released on Wednesday, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said it expects the Singapore economy to grow by 7.0 to 9.0 percent in 2010.

MTI said growth was led by the manufacturing sector, which expanded by 139 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a contraction of 29.0 percent in the fourth quarter last year.

It attributed this to a robust expansion of electronics production and a stronger-than-expected surge in biomedical manufacturing output.

The construction sector grew by 11.3 percent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter, supported by sustained public sector civil engineering activities and an increase in the number of residential construction projects.

MTI said the services-producing industries also expanded, registering a growth of 8.4 percent on-year. Expansion was driven largely by wholesale trade, following sharp increases in exports of electronic goods.

Growth in the transport and storage, hotels and restaurants, as well as financial and business services also contributed to improved performance for the services sector.

In its external outlook, MTI said the global economy had shown further signs of improvement.

In the United States, the economic recovery has gradually broadened with growth in the manufacturing and services sector.

More importantly, MTI said it noted that the US labour market is also beginning to show signs of a turnaround with strong employment growth in March 2010. It said these developments would help shore up the recovery of private sector demand in the US.

Within Asia, economic growth is expected to remain firm, supported by China’s buoyant demand for electronics goods and commodities.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 14 Apr 2010
Singapore Property