January 4, 2021 Singapore Economics Manufacturing Drives 4Q20 GDP Recovery, But Services Sluggish Analysts 2020 GDP Contraction Largest in Singapore’s History GDP growth improved in the fourth quarter as manufacturing surged, but services Chua Hak Bin saw a sluggish and uneven recovery due to safety measures and border controls. (65) 6231 5830 GDP fell by -3.8% in 4Q from a year ago (vs. upward revised -5.6% in 3Q). On a
[email protected] quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, GDP rose by +2.1%, significantly Lee Ju Ye slower than the +9.5% rebound in 3Q. Full year 2020 GDP growth came in at -5.8% (65) 6231 5844 (vs. +0.7% in 2019), the largest annual decline since independence. This is in line
[email protected] with our -5.7% forecast but above the -6.5% to -6% range predicted by MTI in November. Manufacturing Outperforms, Construction Improving ECONOMICS Manufacturing (+9.5% vs. +10.8% in 3Q) charged ahead, driven by the electronics, biomedical manufacturing and precision engineering clusters which offset the declines in transport engineering and general manufacturing. The 4Q advance estimate implies that industrial production surged by +13.1% in Dec (vs. +17.9% in Nov). Manufacturing defied recession in 2020, staging a +7.1% jump (vs. -1.4% in 2019) on high demand for semiconductors & related equipment and pharmaceuticals. We expect the sector to continue growing in 2021 but at a slower pace of around +3.2%. Singapore Construction (-28.5% vs. -46.2% in 3Q) improved as more activities resumed, but remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels.