Singapore’s manufacturing output fell 7.5 percent last month, data released yesterday showed, as exports from the recession-hit economy suffer during a global slowdown.
The 7.5 percent decline, compared with the same month last year, was less than an average 15.0 percent drop forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of economists.
Gains in pharmaceutical production could not outweigh falls in most other categories, the preliminary data from Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) showed. But increased biomedical manufacturing, which includes pharmaceuticals, pushed output up by 6.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis last month from October, EDB said.
The manufacturing sector accounts for nearly a quarter of Singapore’s economic output. Virtually all of the production heads for foreign markets, an indicator of Singapore’s dependence on the health of the global economy, analysts say. With key markets the EU and the US in recession, Singapore’s exports have been hurt and the city-state in October became the first Asian economy to enter recession.
Pharmaceutical output grew 17.5 percent last month, the EDB said. Medical technology, the other component of biomedical manufacturing, dropped by 15.4 percent but overall biomedical output rose 14.9 percent, EDB said.
Information communications and consumer electronics output fell by 58.2 percent while semiconductors dropped 17.6 percent, helping to drag total output in the electronics sector down by 19.4 percent last month, it said.
The chemical sector fell by 20.1 percent last month, while general manufacturing declined by 1.7 percent, EDB said.
The government has cut its growth target for this year to 2.5 percent and says the economy could contract by 1 percent or grow as much as 2 percent next year.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to