Key exports in Singapore, which is already in recession, fell by a worse-than-forecast 15.3 percent last month, government data showed on yesterday.
Singapore is Southeast Asia’s wealthiest economy in terms of per capita GDP but is heavily dependent on trade.
This makes it sensitive to hiccups in developed economies, particularly key export markets such as the US and Europe.
The 15.3 percent year-on-year drop in non-oil domestic exports (NODX) compared with an annual decline of 8.75 percent that had been forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts.
Exports fell for the sixth straight month, hurt by a fall in shipments to the US, the EU and Malaysia, the trade promotion body International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said.
The drop for last month was greater than the 5.7 percent fall in September, and stemmed from lower exports of electronic and non-electronic goods, the trade agency said.
Electronics shipments fell 15 percent, led by consumer electronic goods, which fell 53.3 percent, it said.
Aside from electronics, NODX fell 15.5 percent, with pharmaceuticals down 38.9 percent.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX fell by 7.4 percent last month after a 0.9 percent fall in September.
Non-oil domestic exports to all of the top 10 markets except Indonesia contracted last month. Shipments to the EU were off 13.7 percent while those to the US fell 31.2 percent, IE Singapore said.
Total trade declined by 0.2 percent year-on-year to US$51 billion.
NODX reached its highest level last year in October, meaning last month’s numbers were compared against a very high base, DBS Group Research said in a report.
It said electronics was declining at a worsening rate while technology companies were relocating to lower-cost countries.
DBS said: “And given the current global economic conditions, the outlook for this sector in Singapore is exceptionally bleak going forward.”
Singapore last month became the first Asian economy to fall into recession when the Ministry of Trade and Industry released data showing real GDP declined by 6.3 percent in the third quarter after contracting 5.7 percent in the 2nd quarter.
The ministry lowered the full-year growth forecast to around 3 percent, citing a slowdown in the global economy and key domestic sectors. More detailed third-quarter data is to be released on Friday.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) warned on Sunday that the country could experience negative growth next year. He said the recession would probably last a year but beyond that there could be several years of slow growth.
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans. Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump, who is set to touch
SKEPTICAL: An economist said it is possible US and Chinese officials would walk away from the meeting saying talks were productive, without reducing tariffs at all US President Donald Trump hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks yesterday between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post early yesterday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.” The second day of closed-door meetings between US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) were due to restart yesterday morning, said a person familiar
RSS