Singapore’s exports expands 8.8% in May

This is the 6th consecutive month of exports growth.

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew 8.8% in May 2021, driven by non-electronics exports. This also followed the 6% rise recorded in the previous month.

NODX y-o-y growth

Non-electronic products grew by 8.1% in May, following a rise of 4.7% in the previous month. In particular, specialised machinery (+58%), petrochemicals (+55.7%) and primary chemicals (+96.8%) accounted for the growth in the non-electronic segment.

Meanwhile, electronic products also saw an increase of 11% in May, compared to 10.9% in April. This was driven by ICs, diodes and transistors, and telecommunications equipment, which grew 5.8%, 53.9% and 52.3%, respectively.

The UOB Global Economics & Markets Research noted this is the 6th consecutive month that Singapore’s NODX expanded, which reflects the continued recovery in global trade demand.

“NODX enjoyed a low base in May 2020, where it fell 4.7% y/y then,” UOB economist Barnabas Gan said in a report.

“Nonetheless, Singapore’s external-facing industries are expected to benefit from the continued recovery of the global trade wind, especially from the robust demand for semiconductor equipment seen to-date.”

UOB added that it maintains its full-year outlook for NODX growth at 5% in 2021, taking into account that Singapore’s recovery is still hinged at the COVID-19 situation amongst others.

“Singapore’s economic outlook will depend on the COVID-19 situation, and any exacerbation seen from the recent discovery of new clusters this week could inject risks to Singapore’s overall growth prognosis,” UOB said.

In a separate report, the OCBC Treasury Research noted that the May results is below the market consensus forecast and their expectations of 16% YoY and 16.8% YoY, respectively.

OCBC linked this to the resurgence of the COVID-19 outbreak that placed Singapore under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert).

“Given that the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) started in mid-May and coincided with the resurgence of Covid cases globally… this could have dampened near-term external demand conditions, notwithstanding the very low base last year,” said Selena Ling, Head for Treasury, Research & Strategy of Global Treasury for OCBC Bank.

OCBC added that there is a risk that the momentum of NODX’s growth will moderate in the near term, which could affect their growth forecast of 4% in 2021.

Follow the link s for more news on

UOB

OCBC Bank

NODX

trade

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