Global crises slows down Singapore economy

The economy is expected to grow a mere 6 percent in 1Q11 as a result of the political unrest in the Middle East and the twin disasters in Japan.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin has lowered his first quarter economic forecast two digits below the original 8 percent he predicted at the start of the year.

Chua said global crises such as the brewing trouble in various Arab countries, the rising oil prices and inflation worries are bound to affect Singapore’s economic growth.

Sluggish manufacturing figures in February and lack of activity in the construction sector were also credited for the economy’s sluggish performance.

Factory output slowed to 4.8 percent Y-O-Y two months ago, the lowest in 15 months.

“Exports have also slowed, compared to last year’s double digit figures… [which means] things are slowing down,” Chua said.

Despite the downgrade in growth forecast, MAS is still widely expected to allow the further appreciation of the Singapore dollar when it conducts its semi-annual review of monetary policy later this month.

DBS Bank said in March that it expects the central bank to favor appreciation to ward off the threat of a high inflation rate.

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia