Singapores GDP to grow by 3.8% in 2014 Private sector economists have become slightly less optimistic about Singapores growth prospects. According to the latest survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, they now expect GDP growth for 2014 to come in at 3.8%, slightly lower than 3.9% posted in the previous survey done three months ago. The slight downgrade reflects weaker prospects in finance and insurance, construction, wholesale and retail trade, and the accommodation and food services sectors. Manufacturing is the only sector that is forecast to grow stronger -by 5%, half a percentage point higher than the previous survey. But Asia Economist at Capital Economics Daniel Martin remains optimistic. The global economy is clearly picking up especially in advanced economies. Theres a bit of headwinds from China but Singapore exports most of its goods to the western world so hopefully it should be able to ride out that slowdown in China. The construction sector is expected to dip half a percentage point in growth from the previous forecast to 4.5%. Senior Economist at Mizuho Bank, Vishnu Varathan says there are other factors plaguing the construction industry besides the labour crunch. Part of the reason why we see a dip is the ongoing struggle with construction materials including the availability of sand, following Indonesias export stand on certain ores and minerals. You also see a tapering in fresh construction projects when it comes to property, so it goes hand in glove to the slightly slowing property market. The economists expect inflation to remain unchanged at 2.8%. The unemployment rate is expected to end the year at 1.9%. 938LIVE / gg
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:29:16 +0000
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