Singapore sticks to 2023 growth forecast amid China reopening boost
- The city state’s GDP is projected to expand 0.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year
- The trade ministry said while China’s reopening bodes well for the growth outlook for regional economies, it cautioned that global uncertainties remain
The government’s final reading for the quarter through December showed the economy grew 2.1 per cent from the same period in 2021, compared with the advance reading of 2.2 per cent and the Bloomberg survey median of 2.3 per cent. From the previous three months, the expansion was a modest 0.1 per cent and slower than the 0.2 per cent seen earlier.
Separate data from Enterprise Singapore on Monday showed overall trade grew 17.7 per cent last year, following a 19.7 per cent increase in 2021. It maintained the 2023 forecast for both total merchandise trade and non-oil domestic exports to either remain flat or contract as much as 2 per cent.
While the MTI said China’s reopening bodes well for the growth outlook for regional economies, it cautioned that uncertainties in the global economy remain.
That view marks a departure from the International Monetary Fund, which last month raised its growth outlook for the first time in a year to 2.9 per cent in 2023.
04:43
China's slow road to economic recovery after dropping its zero-Covid policies
Singapore, where officials have been focused on curbing core price growth that lingers close to a 14-year high while managing a slowdown this year, sees higher borrowing costs crimping demand even as China’s economic reopening is expected to provide some impetus especially through trade and tourism channels.