...................City skyscrapers in Singapore (file pic)20 May 2010
Singapore's GDP expands by 15.5% on-year, 38.6% on-quarter in Q1
SINGAPORE: Singapore's GDP expanded strongly by 15.5 percent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2010.
This data far exceeded the initial 13.1% preliminary estimate last month.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis the economy grew 38.6 percent, 6.5 percent more than the official government estimate.
Despite the strong growth, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has chosen not to revise its growth forecast for the economy, keeping it at 7 percent to 9 percent for the year.
The strong momentum seen in the first quarter was broad-based, led by the manufacturing sector which expanded by 32.9 percent.
The electronics cluster enjoyed the strongest growth, underpinned by strong global demand for semiconductor chips.
The construction sector also grew by 13.7 percent, reflecting continued growth in public sector construction activities.
The services producing industries grew by 10.9 percent in the first quarter, due to a broad-based expansion in all services sectors.
In particular, financial services which grew 18.1 percent while wholesale and retail trade grew 17.7 percent on a year-on-year basis.
In its outlook for the year, MTI noted that the US economic recovery is becoming more broad-based.
It said signs of a labour market recovery, coupled with improving business conditions, suggested that private demand in the US will continue to improve.
Growth in key Asian economies, including China, will also likely remain buoyant on account of robust domestic demand, intra-regional trade and fiscal stimulus measures.
The global electronics industry is also seeing a ramp-up in activity due to sector-specific factors, including the corporate IT replacement cycle in the US and inventory restocking in Asia.
The ministry, however, cautioned about downside risks.
It warned of heightened market anxiety over the possibility of a sovereign debt default in Europe and concerns over excessive asset price inflation in emerging Asia.
MTI said if these risks materialise, they could affect the global recovery and negatively impact Singapore.
- CNA/de
1 = Singapore Dollar (SGD) = 0.714 United States Dollar (USD)
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