Singapore has upgraded its economic growth forecast for 2024 to around 3.5 per cent, exceeding its previous predictions. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), this decision was made after considering the strong performance of the Singapore economy in the first three quarters of the year. MTI’s permanent secretary for development, Beh Swan Gin, stated, “We are not ruling out that the number could be higher than 3.5 per cent.” The ministry expects Singapore’s GDP growth for 2025 to range between 1 per cent and 3 per cent.
The ministry highlighted that Singapore’s economy grew by 5.4 per cent in the third quarter of this year, surpassing earlier estimates. Beh noted that sectors such as manufacturing, wholesale trade, finance, and insurance were key drivers of this growth. He mentioned, “There’s also spillover to the precision engineering industry, for instance the industrial machinery, semiconductor equipment and so on.”
In terms of the outlook for 2024, the ministry expects Singapore’s external demand to remain resilient, particularly in the manufacturing sector and outward-oriented services sectors like wholesale trade. However, tourism-related and consumer-facing sectors have weakened due to slower-than-expected recovery in international visitor arrivals and tourist spending.
Looking ahead to 2025, Singapore’s key trading partners are expected to experience some changes in GDP growth. Beh noted, “GDP growth in the US is likely to moderate as labour market conditions continue to ease.” On the other hand, the Eurozone is expected to see a pickup in growth due to accommodative monetary policies.
Despite global economic uncertainties and potential risks, MTI remains positive about the growth outlook for Singapore’s manufacturing and trade-related services sectors. They expect the electronics cluster to continue expanding, driven by strong demand for semiconductor chips in end markets such as PCs and smartphones.
MTI emphasized that while there are challenges ahead, Singapore remains poised for growth in various sectors, stating, “The growth outlook of the manufacturing and trade-related services sectors in Singapore remains positive.”
