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Singapore narrows economic growth forecast for 2016

Xinhua, November 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Thursday narrowed the country's GDP growth forecast for 2016 to 1.0 percent to 1.5 percent, from 1.0 percent to 2.0 percent.

MTI said that global economic conditions have remained sluggish, with full-year growth for 2016 likely to come in marginally weaker than in 2015. In line with the sluggish external environment, Singapore economy grew at a slower pace of 1.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2016, compared to 2.1 percent over the same period a year ago.

The authority said growth was weighed down primarily by the weak performance of the business services and wholesale and retail trade sectors.

As for 2017, MTI said global growth is projected to pick up slightly in 2017. In particular, growth in the advanced and developing economies like the United States, Japan, newly-industrializing economy and ASEAN is expected to improve, even as growth in the Eurozone and China moderates.

However, MTI noted that external demand for Singapore and regional countries may not see a significant uplift in 2017 as investment growth slowdown in economies like the United States and China, as well as insourcing trends in China.

Against this backdrop, MTI forecast that the growth outlook for the Singapore economy remains modest in 2017, the economic growth may come in at 1 percent to 3 percent.

MTI on Thursday also modified GDP figures for the third quarter of 2016. Singapore economy grew by 1.1 percent in the third quarter on a year-on-year basis, which is slower than the 2 percent increase from the previous quarter, but higher than MTI's advanced reading of 0.6 percent.

While on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, Singapore economy contracted by 2.0 percent, a reversal from the 0.1 percent growth in the second quarter. Endit