Singapore economy surges 6% in 3Q11

As the manufacturing sector made a comeback from its 5.6% decline in 2Q11, having grown by 14.2%.

The Singapore economy grew by 6.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of 2011, up from 1.0 per cent in the preceding quarter, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, the economy saw a small gain of 1.9 per cent, following the 6.4 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.

The manufacturing sector expanded by 14.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis, reversing from the 5.6 per cent decline in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, the sector grew by an annualised rate of 11.7 per cent. This was largely due to a rebound in biomedical manufacturing output, as some companies switched to producing a higher value mix of pharmaceutical products. By contrast, the electronics cluster continued to contract, as global demand for semiconductor chips and other electronic components moderated.

The construction sector grew marginally by 0.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, moderating from the 1.5 per cent growth in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, the sector contracted by an annualised rate of 11.8 per cent, largely due to a decline in private sector building activities.

The wholesale & retail trade sector saw a small year-on-year decline of 0.2 per cent, mainly due to weakening export activities. Supported by air travel demand, the transport & storage sector grew by 4.2 per cent, similar to the pace of growth in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, growth momentum in both sectors declined, by annualised rates of 0.6 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.

The financial services sector grew at 10.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis, anchored by gains in domestic and offshore lending activities. However, the business services sector registered a weak growth of 1.7 per cent, largely due to a moderation in the real estate services segment. On a sequential basis, both sectors grew marginally by 0.8 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.

Supported by healthy visitor inflows, the hotels & restaurants sector and the “other services” industries (which include arts, entertainment and recreation activities) grew by 5.6 per cent and 4.0 per cent respectively. However, on a sequential basis, these sectors declined by 2.6 and 0.7 per cent respectively.