The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
With no let-up apparent in global and regional trade tensions, Singapore’s business community has slashed its expectations for the near-term economic outlook.
“Because we are hugely export-dependent, because of the slowing down in the economy, because of tension, because of loss of business confidence — we need to adjust†growth expectations, Ho Meng Kit, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation, said at an event hosted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation secretariat.
The city state’s economic data have taken a turn for the worse recently after showing relative resilience earlier this year. Exports slumped in June to their second-worst rate since the global financial crisis, purchasing managers indexes have slipped into contraction territory, and the economy shrank the most in almost seven years in the second quarter.
“Most economists in Singapore are focussing between zero and 1 percent growth this year,†Ho said. Singapore’s economy is set to grow 1.6 percent this year, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of economists conducted.
Given the country’s reputation as a “canary in the mine shaft†for regional and global growth, the latest data showing Singapore’s economy “rapidly slowing†are a warning sign for other economies, Ho said.
“I send a warning to all other APEC economies that are usually export-dependent: The situation going forward does not look good for APEC,†he said.
Ho said one critical message for leaders in the 21-member APEC forum is the need to “keep open the multilateral rules,†even as outfits like WTO are ripe for reform.