APAC Country Report Singapore 2018

Landrapport

  • Singapore
  • Jordbruk,
  • Automotive/Transport,
  • Kjemikalier/Farmasøytisk,
  • Konstruksjon,
  • Varige Forbruksgoder,
  • Elektronikk/IKT,
  • Finansielle Tjenester,
  • Mat,
  • Maskiner/Ingeniør,
  • Metaller,
  • Papir,
  • Tjenester,
  • Stål,
  • Tekstiler

13 mars 2018

In 2018 the economic performance will be impacted by weaker demand from China and lower domestic demand due to weaker residential construction activity.

APAC Singapore 2018 Key indicators

 

APAC Singapore 2018 Industries performances forecast

Political situation

Head of state: President Halimah Jacob (since September 2017)

Head of government: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (since August 2004)

Population: 5.7 million

Stable political situation

The People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in power since Singapore’s independence in 1965. The PAP is business-friendly but, compared to Western standards, personal freedoms are limited. The opposition is weak and fragmented and has very few opportunities to present itself in public. In the last general elections held in September 2015 the PAP won nearly 70% of the votes, securing 83 of the 89 seats in parliament.

Singapore’s population consists of ethnic Chinese (77%), Malays (14%), Hindu Tamil Indians (8%) and 1% of other nationalities. Income distribution is relatively equal and, in contrast to neighbouring Malaysia, racial tensions are negligible. The biggest potential threat to security is the possibility of terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists, either indigenous or from abroad.

Economic situation

Lower growth in 2018, but strong fundamentals remain

APAC Singapore 2018 Real GDP growth

Singapore’s income per capita and level of development meet OECD standards. This city state is the main transport and financial service hub for Southeast Asia, but its economy is somewhat vulnerable because of its high reliance on demand from its trading partners and the focus on certain specific sectors such as electronics and pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, for a small state the economy is relatively well diversified. Singapore’s banking sector is healthy and adequately supervised.

The city state´s long-term growth strategy is to move away from being just a trade, transport and financial hub and to become a centre of high-tech industry. This strategy has started to bear fruit in the bio-medical sector, and the government has recently begun to extensively promote business digitalisation.

APAC Singapore 2018 Real exports of goods and services

In 2017 Singapore’s economy benefitted from the recovery in global trade and higher-than-expected import demand from China. Exports and industrial production increased 5% and 10% respectively, while private consumption also picked up.

However, economic expansion is likely to moderate in 2018 as Chinese import demand cools down and domestic demand is expected to be held back by weak residential construction activity. In order to support the industry, the government announced it will spend SGD 1.4 billion over the next two years to upgrade walkways and renovate community centres, sports halls, police stations, etc.

The city state continues to be one of the strongest countries in the world in terms of sovereign risk and macroeconomic fundamentals.

APAC Singapore 2018 Industrial production

Therefore, and due to the ample foreign exchange reserves and adequate monetary management of the Singapore Monetary Authority, the exchange rate is unlikely to be affected by changing patterns of international investment.

However, due to its high dependency on international trade, Singapore is very susceptible to risks stemming from a hard landing of the Chinese economy and any protectionist measures taken by the US government in its trade policy towards Asia.

Relaterte dokumenter

Ansvarsfraskrivelse

Fremstillingene som er gitt her er kun generell informasjon, og skal ikke stoles på eller brukes som grunnlag for noe formål. Vennligst referer til selve polisen eller den aktuelle produkt- eller serviceavtalen for de styrende vilkårene. Ingenting i dette dokumentet skal tolkes til å skape noen rett, plikt eller ansvar fra Atradius' side, inkludert noen forpliktelse til å gjennomføre tilbørlig aktsomhet (due diligence) for kjøpere eller på dine vegne. Hvis Atradius gjennomfører tilbørlig aktsomhet for en kjøper, er det for egne underwriting-formål, og ikke til fordel for den forsikrede eller noen annen. I tillegg skal Atradius og tilhørende og tilknyttede selskaper og datterselskaper ikke i noe fall være ansvarlig for noen direkte, indirekte, spesielle eller tilfeldige skader eller følgeskader som følge av bruk av de fremstillinger som det er gitt informasjon om her.