S’pore Economy Predicted to Experience 4-6% Growth This Year, Better Than Last Year

Ever since COVID-19, Singapore’s economy plunged.

It is understandable since the tourism industry contributes 4 per cent to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

After all, imagine having 4 per cent of your salary disappear. *poof*

Although 4 per cent does not seem like much, this 4 per cent is needed to maintain our standard of living.

Luckily, we are in the stage of recovery.

Singapore Economy will Maintain at 4 – 6% in 2021

As stated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Singapore economy will maintain Singapore’s GDP at 4.0 to 6.0 per cent this year.  

Singapore’s economy contracted by 5.4 per cent in 2020, as compared to the 1.3 per cent growth in 2019.

Trade-related services sectors like wholesale trade and water transport will benefit from the pick-up in external demand.

The manufacturing sector will expand faster than its projected rate due to the demand from 5G and automotive markets.

Information and Communications will have a steady growth due to sustained enterprise demand for IT and Digital solutions. That is also due to the need for credit and payment processing services.

Finance & Insurance sectors are expected to post steady growth as well.

Other Industries’ Growth will be Slower and Weaker

Due to travel restrictions, tourism, aviation and consumer-facing retail food and beverage services will find this period an uphill battle.

The construction sector will also be restrained by safe-management measures.

No one’s surprised, of course.

Uncertain Global Economy 

So, how do we do compared to other countries?

While there’s no crystal ball to predict the future, it’s a fact that the labour market in America is still struggling with recovery. Another 793,000 American workers filed for first-time unemployment benefits two weeks ago.

The Biden administration is expected to supply another $2 trillion of deficit-financed support on top of the $4 trillion of relief they supplied in 2020.

Up north, due to the recent resurgence in infections, Malaysia’s GDP shrunk 5.6%.

Now, despite the gloomy news, not everything’s bad.

Singapore’s COVID-19 situation is Under Control

With the vaccination programme rolling out to all seniors from 22 Feb, Singapore’s COVID-19 situation is currently under control.

As of 15 Feb, all COVID-19 cases in Singapore are imported cases. That means we are doing a good job with sanitizing our hands and distancing ourselves from one another responsibly.

The global COVID-19 cases declined 17% last week, the lowest number of cases since the week of 26 October 2020.

TL;DR The economy is still not good but it is getting better.

That’s not something you’d have read in the last 12 months.

Featured Image: joyfull / Shutterstock.com