Performance of Singapore's manufacturing sector in H2 expected to remain similar to Q2: EDB

A weighted 77 percent of the firms in Singapore's manufacturing sector expected business situation in the second half of 2016 to remain similar to a quarter ago, said the country's Economic Development Board (EDB) in a press release on Friday.

The authority revealed that a weighted 11 percent of manufacturers expected business conditions to improve, while a weighted 12 percent projected a deteriorating business outlook.

Overall, a net weighted balance of 1 percent of manufacturers expected a less favorable business situation for the period from July to December this year, compared to the second quarter of 2016.

EDB said a net weighted balance of 9 percent of manufacturers expected output to decrease in the third quarter this year, compared to the second quarter of 2016.

As for employment, a net weighted balance of 12 percent of manufacturers planed to hire fewer workers in the third quarter compared with the previous one. All, except the electronics and the biomedical manufacturing clusters, expected to hire fewer workers from July to September.

On export, a weighted 67 percent of firms in the manufacturing sector reported no limiting factors that would affect their ability to obtain direct export orders in the third quarter.

The weighted 30 percent of firms that indicated export constraints cited price competition from overseas competitors and economic and political conditions abroad as the most important limiting factors. Endit