Singapore economy grew steadily at 0.7 per cent in 2019 heading into election year

Growth in construction and services offset continued decline in manufacturing, which fell 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter

The flash estimate was within the government’s 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent range but the slowest growth over the course of a year for the decade

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: EPA

Published: 8:35am, 2 Jan 2020Updated: 9:32pm, 2 Jan 2020

Singapore’s export-focused economy expanded a steady 0.7 per cent in 2019, data released on Thursday showed, as solid growth in the construction and services sectors helped compensate for weakness in manufacturing.

The flash estimate, while markedly lower than the 3.2 per cent growth Singapore registered in 2018, was within the government’s 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent range.

Fourth-quarter growth came in at 0.8 per cent compared to the same period a year ago, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said. It was, overall, Singapore’s slowest growth over the course of a year for the decade.

Notwithstanding Singapore’s long-standing status as a bellwether for Asian economic health, the city state’s economy is under particular scrutiny with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong expected to call a general election in the first half of 2020.

Lee’s designated successor, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, will deliver the 2020 budget statement on February 18.

The latest figures showed the manufacturing sector fell 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, extending a 0.9 per cent decline in the July-September period.

On a quarter-to-quarter annualised basis, the drop appeared even more acute: the sector shrunk 7.3 per cent, reversing growth of 8.9 per cent in the third quarter.

“The contraction was due to output declines in the electronics, chemicals and transport engineering clusters, which more than offset output expansions in the precision engineering, biomedical manufacturing and general manufacturing clusters,” MTI said.