Singapore exports suffer biggest fall in three years as exposure to Chinese economy, US trade war bites

New data showed that Singapore's non-oil exports fell by 15.9 per cent in May, with exports to China and Hong Kong down 23.3 per cent and 24.8 per cent respectively

Broad-based decline most keenly felt in important electronics sector, with analysts suggesting a ‘global technology slump’

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Exports to China and Hong Kong slumped by 23.3 per cent and 24.8 per cent from a year earlier respectively, showing Singapore’s vulnerability to fluctuations in regional trade as an important trade and shipment hub for Asia-Pacific. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:28pm, 17 Jun 2019Updated: 2:20pm, 17 Jun 2019

Concerns over Singapore’s exposure to the Chinese economy mounted on Monday after new data showed that its non-oil exports fell by 15.9 per cent in May, the largest decline for more than three years.

Exports to China and Hong Kong slumped by 23.3 per cent and 24.8 per cent from a year earlier respectively, showing Singapore’s vulnerability to fluctuations in regional trade as an important trade and shipment hub for Asia-Pacific.

Many of the goods bound for China from other nations pass through Singapore and are included in the data, since they count as re-exports. Similarly, many goods entering Hong Kong’s docks are bound for China, so the aggregate decline paints a bleak picture for demand among consumers and manufacturers in China.

China’s economic slowdown was laid bare by a series of headline-grabbing data releases recently, including a 17-year low growth figure for industrial production, which measures China’s manufacturing and mining sectors. Of more concern to Singapore, however, would have been the 8.5 per cent drop in imports, shown in data released by the National Bureau of Statistics last week.

China and Hong Kong account for 24 per cent of Singapore’s shipments, meaning that the city state will feel continued economic pain, should China’s downturn – closely linked to the trade war with the United States – persists.