S'pore economy expected to grow 1.5% in 2012

S'pore economy expected to grow 1.5% in 2012
Posted: 16 November 2012 0818 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy is expected to grow by around 1.5 per cent in 2012 and 1.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent in 2013.

Early estimates show that on a year-on-year basis, the economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, following the 2.5 per cent increase in the earlier quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy contracted by 5.9 per cent, after growing by 0.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

MTI said the drop was attributed to the decline in externally-oriented sectors such as manufacturing and wholesale trade.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the manufacturing sector contracted by 9.6 per cent following a decline in the electronics manufacturing cluster.

On a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing sector declined by 0.8 per cent, compared to the 4.6 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.

The construction sector expanded by 7.7 per cent on-year compared to 12.3 per cent in previous quarter while the wholesale & retail trade sector contracted by 0.7 per cent on-year, after a 0.4 per cent decline in the second quarter.

On year-on-year basis, the finance & insurance sector declined by 2.7 per cent compared to 0.3 per cent increase in preceding quarter.

The year-on-year growth of the accommodation & food services sector moderated to 2.0 per cent, from 2.9 per cent in the preceding quarter.

MTI said Singapore's economic growth is expected to remain subdued for the rest of 2012 as sluggish external demand will likely weigh down the electronics manufacturing cluster.

However, it noted that expansion in the construction could help to provide modest growth support to the overall economy.

MTI said growth may be slightly lower than forecast if the weakness in the externally-oriented sectors persists into the final quarter of 2012.

- CNA/fa


- wong chee tat :)