Singapore’s economy set to grow faster than expected on pandemic rebound

The city state revised its forecast for annual economic growth to 6-7 per cent, up from 4-6 per cent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday

Singapore has remained a relative bright spot in Southeast Asia as the Delta variant severely threatens economies struggling to boost vaccination rates

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A view of the city skyline in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:40am, 11 Aug 2021Updated: 11:40am, 11 Aug 2021

Singapore’s economy is set to expand at a faster clip than the government previously expected as the city state shakes off an uptick in virus cases and looks to reopen more sectors through to the end of the year.

The city state revised its forecast for annual economic growth to 6-7 per cent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday as it reported final second-quarter data. In its initial second-quarter GDP report last month, the agency had left the annual forecast unchanged at 4-6 per cent.

Among nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg who updated their Singapore GDP forecasts this month, six saw growth exceeding 6 per cent.

Singapore’s economic recovery has largely been supported by ‘outward-oriented’ sectors, including exports. Photo: AFP

“Barring a major setback in the global economy, the Singapore economy is expected to continue to see a gradual recovery in the second half of the year, supported in large part by outward-oriented sectors,” the ministry said in a statement accompanying the data.

“The progressive easing of domestic and border restrictions as our vaccination rates continue to rise will also help to support the recovery of our consumer-facing sectors and alleviate labour shortages in sectors that are reliant on migrant workers.”