Pedestrians cross a deserted street outside the Bangkok Bank building during a phased lockdown due to the coronavirus in the central business district of Singapore, on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Mostly empty offices, staggered work hours, face shields and contact tracing -- that's what Singapore's cautious return to work will look like under the watchful gaze of the hub's financial regulator. The authority's approach is part of a phased reopening of the city-state, which has been under one of the longest lockdowns in Asia as authorities battled a second wave of coronavirus infections. Photographer: Lauryn Ishak/Bloomberg

Singapore: Economists mixed on prospects of manufacturing; estimate job losses to hit 150,000 in 2020

  • Jun 29, 2020

SINGAPORE (June 29): Economists expect Singapore’s manufacturing to weaken in the coming months, following the plunge in May’s factory output numbers. The metric fell 7.4% year-on-year, reversing into the red after two months of stellar growth.

RHB Securities’ economists attribute this to the circuit breaker measures which restricted the operations of non-essential services from April 7 to June 1. This in turn, “halted production and dampened demand,” they elaborate in a June 29 note.

Specifically, declines were seen in the transport engineering and marine and offshore engineering sectors which were hit hard by disrupted works. This comes as the segments were heavily impacted by the spread of Covid-19 infections in migrant worker dormitories, as these individuals account for 75% of their workforce.

Meanwhile, the shuttering of retail joints, food and beverage outlets and service providers also caused a dent in the consumption of services.

For now, the RHB team has their doubts on a rebound in numbers. “We expect manufacturing output to remain weak, as support from the biomedical sector (which was a significant driver of economic activity previously) tapers off,” they note. They are looking at full-year manufacturing activity plunging 10% year-on-year.

CGS-CIMB economists Michelle Chia and Muhammad Zulkeffeli share the same sentiments. “We caution that the forthcoming recovery may be choppy, as policymakers remain vigilant about the risks of community transmissions.

Maybank Kim Eng economists Chua Hak Bin and Lee Ju Yu expect this to cause a 20% plunge in Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2Q20. This is to account for the shut down of about 30% of Singapore’s economy during the circuit breaker, they point out in a June 26 note.

The duo are looking at better times ahead, as the local and global economy re-open. 

“The manufacturing outlook is improving as countries exit from lockdowns and consumer spending normalizes. Demand for pharmaceuticals will stay resilient while semiconductor production will be supported by data centres and cloud services,” they note.

As such, they are looking at a more moderate dip of FY20 GDP to -7%. This translates to possible “employment losses of around 100,000 to 150,000 in 2020, with more than two-thirds borne by foreigners,” they add.

Source: https://www.theedgesingapore.com/capital/singapore-economy/economists-mixed-prospects-manufacturing-estimate-job-losses-hit-150000