Singapore economy grows by 2.1 pct in 2015

Singapore's economy grew by 2.1 percent year-on-year in 2015, which is in line with an earlier official forecast of "close to 2.0 percent," the government said on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the economy rose by 2.0 percent on a yearly basis in the fourth quarter of 2015, slightly faster than the 1.8 percent growth in the previous quarter.

The economy expanded at a faster pace of 5.7 percent on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, compared to the 1.7 percent growth in the preceding quarter, the ministry said.

The manufacturing sector contracted by 6.0 percent on a yearly basis in the fourth quarter, extending the 5.9 percent decline in the previous quarter. The sector was primarily weighed down by a decline in the output of the electronics, transport engineering and precision engineering clusters.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the manufacturing sector contracted at an annualized rate of 3.1 percent, following the 3.5 percent contraction in the preceding quarter.

The construction sector expanded by 2.2 percent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter, up from the previous quarter's 1.1 percent, supported by a pick-up in public sector construction activities.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, the construction sector expanded by 7.0 percent, a reversal from the 4.9 percent contraction in the preceding quarter.

Growth in the services producing industries came in at 3.2 percent on an annual basis in the fourth quarter, easing slightly from the 3.4 percent growth in the previous quarter, backed mainly by the wholesale and retail trade and finance and insurance sectors.

The services producing industries expanded at an annualized rate of 6.5 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, an improvement from the 2.9 percent expansion in the preceding quarter. Enditem