In Singapore (Photo: Straits Times) Singapore (VNA) – An article published on the Singapore’s Straits Times on February 16 commented that even as Singapore's economy stays on the recovery track, enthusiasm over a significant growth acceleration is wearing off.
The uncertainty over the trajectory of the pandemic is casting a long shadow on the sustainability of global demand and a robust revival of domestic consumption. Those doubts are likely to make employers even more hesitant to hire, keeping unemployment at elevated levels and private consumption subdued, it said.
Exercising caution, the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) kept its economic growth forecast at 4 percent to 6 percent this year.
Irvin Seah, senior economist at DBS Bank, expected a gradual improvement in services growth in 2021, although the pace of recovery will be uneven across various services segments.
Head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank Selena Ling said factors that will keep the economy on track for MTI's forecast range include the demand for semiconductors, especially with the current global chip shortage and the roll-out of 5G products and solutions.
The China plus-one strategy where US and European companies avoid investing only in China and diversify their businesses into other countries in the region, and the global supply chain diversification push may also help drive growth across ASEAN countries, including Singapore, she added./.
