Thailand
Singapore: Singapore GDP growth accelerates to three-year high
Singapore’s economic growth quickened to the fastest pace in more than three years last quarter as manufacturing and services rebounded.
Key points
Gross domestic product rose an annualised 9.1% in the three months to December from the previous quarter, when it declined a revised 1.9%, the Trade Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday
The median estimate of nine economists in a Bloomberg survey was for a 4% expansion
GDP rose 1.8% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared with the 0.3% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey
The economy expanded 1.8% in 2016, the slowest pace since 2009
Big picture
Singapore, among Asia’s most-export dependent nations, is seeking new growth engines to boost incomes as its population ages and trade falters. With global growth under pressure and the United States threatening to turn more protectionist under Donald Trump, the outlook remains cloudy. That will be a consideration for the central bank in its April policy review after it signaled in October it will stick to its neutral currency policy for an extended period of time.
“Overall, we are not doing badly, considering the global economic uncertainties,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a New Year message on Dec 31. “While the labour market has eased, unemployment remains low and we are still creating new jobs.”
Other details
The services industry, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, rose an annualized 9.4% in the fourth quarter from the previous three months.
Manufacturing jumped an annualised 14.6%.
The advance GDP estimates for the fourth quarter are computed largely from data in the first two months of the quarter, and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data become available.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/world/1173664/singapore-gdp-growth-accelerates-to-three-year-high