Singapore - Singapore's Q4 GDP grows by 3.6% on-year, contracts by 4.9% on-quarter

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy grew by 3.6 percent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2011.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy contracted by 4.9 percent, following the 1.5 per cent gain in the previous quarter.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the pace of growth of the Singapore economy eased in the fourth quarter of 2011.

It said the economy is estimated to have expanded by 4.8 percent, in line with its growth forecast of around 5.0 percent for the year.

In his New Year message on Saturday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore's economy grew 4.8 percent in 2011, significantly slower than the dramatic rebound of 14.7 percent growth in 2010.

Mr Lee had also described the pace of growth for the year as "steady".

Commenting on the sectoral performance on a year-on-year basis, MTI said the moderation of growth in the fourth quarter was largely due to the slowdown in the manufacturing sector. 

The manufacturing sector grew by 6.5 percent, down from 13.4 percent in the preceding quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, the sector contracted by 21.7 percent, reversing the 10.1 percent expansion in the previous quarter.

The construction sector grew by 1.7 percent, up from 0.5 percent in the preceding quarter. The sector, however, contracted by an annualised rate of 6.7 percent, mainly due to a decline in residential building activities. 

Growth in the services producing industries was modest at 3.2 percent, lower than the 3.7 percent growth registered in the preceding quarter. However, there was an improvement in growth momentum, as the industries grew by an annualised rate of 3.4 percent, reversing the 0.5 percent contraction in the preceding quarter.

The pick-up was mainly due to the wholesale and retail trade sector, which benefited from increased wholesale trading activities. 

MTI will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2011 in February 2012.

- CNA/de


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