Singapore PMI predicted to rebound in September

Thanks to stronger orders and output.

According to CIMb, due partly to a holiday-shortened month, PMI was expected to dip slightly in Aug. However, the 1.3-pt mom dip to 50.5 was larger than expected.

Here's more from CIMB:

The better news is that stronger orders point to a rebound in Sep’s PMI, so is a better-than expected tech PMI reading. On the back of stronger orders and output, Aug’s tech PMI added 1 pt to 51.3 (-0.2 pt in Jul), its best reading in three months. While the tech picture is encouraging, overall manufacturing is still mixed.

Fewer working days in Aug
Due to a combination of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the Muslim New Year, and Singapore’s National Day, we had expected Aug’s PMI to dip to 51.5 from Jul’s 51.8 (consensus: 51.9).

The actual reading of 50.5 reflected larger declines for orders (-0.8 pt mom) and production (-1.4 pts). The silver lining was, new export orders added 0.6 pt to 53.4, their strongest reading since Apr 11’s 54.1.

Another positive: backlog orders rose to a 4-month high of 50.6 (+0.4 pt). Aug’s orders-to-finished-goods ratio of 1.07x (1.02x in Jan-Jul 13), the strongest in three years, presages improvements in output in the coming months.

Clear tech recovery
Despite fewer working days, we had expected Aug’s tech PMI to rebound on stronger export orders for the seasonally stronger part of the year.

While the actual reading of 51.3 was ahead of consensus, it was slightly less than our estimate (consensus: 50.5, CIMB: 51.5).

Stronger orders (+1.9 pts mom), new export orders (+2.7 pts), backlog orders (+0.5 pt) and output (+2.3 pts) offset softer employment (-0.4 pt), stocks of finished goods (-0.5 pt), and imports (-0.5 pt).

Together with a firm orders-to-finished-tech-goods ratio of 1.13x (1.08x in Jan-Jul 13), visibility of a tech recovery has improved markedly.

If you've been wondering whether SBR could work for your company — yes, probably.

A lot of the companies we partner with started as readers. They'd been following our coverage for a while, saw their own customers and competitors in it, and eventually asked the obvious question: could we do something with you? The answer is usually yes. The shape of it depends on what you're trying to do.

The options are broader than most people assume — thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. Some partners use one channel; most use a mix. We figure out the right combination by starting with your brief, not with our rate card.

So if the question has been on your mind, here's the easy way to ask it.

We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how. It's a better use of everyone's time.

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