Singapore Economy Grows At 2 Per Cent In 2015

By Massita Ahmad SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced Wednesday that the republic's economy grew by 2.0 per cent in 2015. For 2016, MTI has maintained the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 1.0 to 3.0 per cent. In a statement here, MTI said that for the whole of last year, the Singapore economy expanded by 2.0 per cent, slower than the 3.3 per cent in 2014. The manufacturing sector contracted by 5.2 per cent, a reversal from the 2.7 per cent growth in 2014. All the manufacturing clusters, with the exception of the chemicals cluster, saw a decline in output, it said. Growth in the construction sector moderated to 2.5 per cent, from 3.5 per cent in 2014, primarily due to a lower volume of private industrial and residential building activities. The services-producing industries grew by 3.4 per cent in 2015, easing slightly from the 3.6 per cent growth in 2014. Growth was supported mainly by the wholesale & retail trade and finance & insurance sectors, which expanded by 6.1 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively, it said. On economic outlook for this year, MTI said that domestically, while sectors such as finance & insurance and wholesale trade are likely to provide support to growth, the outlook for the manufacturing sector remains weak. "First, even though global growth is expected to improve, the continued slowdown in China, the services-driven nature of growth in the US, as well as the trends of in-sourcing in China and the US, may mean that external demand for our exporters may not see a significant boost this year. "Second, lower oil prices have weakened the prospects for new rig orders for firms in the marine & offshore segment, and heightened the risks of further deferments and cancellations of existing orders," it said. MTI said there could also be negative spillover effects on firms in the precision engineering cluster that support the oil & gas industry. Furthermore, the prospects for the construction sector have weakened in 2016 on the back of the drop in contracts awarded in 2015 and continued sluggishness in private sector construction demand. "Finally, labour constraints will continue to weigh on the growth of labour-intensive services sectors such as food services," the ministry said. --BERNAMA