Trade Ministry warns Singapore in for rough ride ahead

Singapore's full year economic growth is likely to come in at the lower end of the revised four to five per cent range, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

The Ministry warned on Monday that Singapore is in for a rough ride ahead, although it will stay above water.

The second half of the year is also likely to look like the first half, which saw weaknesses in pharmaceuticals and electronics weighing down on growth.

Electronics will remain soft due to weak semiconductor demand, while biomedical manufacturing will see strong competition from generic drugs and approval delays.

Strengths remain the construction and services sector.

The Ministry also noted that labour productivity has continued to dip, especially in sectors like hotels and restaurants.

MTI said it expects to see job losses in sectors like manufacturing by year end due to a dip in labour productivity, reminiscent of cycles before.

However, the Ministry said that it is unsure of the magnitude of the job losses.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1 per cent on year in the second quarter, down from 6.9 per cent in the first.

Growth for the first half was 4.5 per cent.

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