Singapore's 2020 progress forecast lowered to 0.6%: MAS survey
11 March, 2020
The Singapore economy is likely to grow 0.6 % this year, relating to economists and analysts polled in a survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released on Wednesday (Mar 11).
That is a sharp drop from the 1.5 per cent growth expected by economists in the last survey.
The forecast came after Singapore last month downgraded its GDP forecast for the entire year amid concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
Survey respondents were more pessimistic across all major macroeconomic indicators for 2020.
The manufacturing sector is currently likely to contract by 0.3 % for 2020, in comparison with the 0.7 % growth predicted in the last survey.
The outlook was also pessimistic for the wholesale and retail trade sector, which is expected to contract by 0.7 %, in comparison with the 0.4 % growth forecast previously.
Study respondents predicted the lodging and food services sector would visit a 1.6 % contraction, a sharp reversal from the two 2.1 % growth previously predicted.
The finance and insurance sector is likely to post growth of 2.6 per cent, a drop from the 3.5 per cent growth predicted previously.
Economists also expect the engineering sector to expand by 2.4 %, marginally lower when compared to 2.5 per cent growth predicted within the last survey.
Non-oil domestic exports are anticipated to grow by just 0.2 %,
An escalation found in the existing COVID-19 outbreak topped respondents' set of downside risks to Singapore's development outlook.
Escalating trade tensions and geopolitical risks, incorporating uncertainty over the results of the upcoming USA election, were also discovered as concerns.
Singapore's GDP development is likely to rise to 2 % for 2021 as a whole. Respondents typically estimated that growth would probably be in the range of between 1.5 per cent and 2.4 % next year.
Singapore has reported 166 cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday. Of these, 93 have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospital.
Financing Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his Spending budget speech last month that Singapore was first putting away S$800 million to aid frontline agencies within their efforts to support the coronavirus, with the majority allocated to the Ministry of Wellbeing.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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