SINGAPORE, April 18 (dpa): Trade-dependent Singapore's exports swelled by over 12 per cent year-on-year in March driven in part by Chinese demand, the government agency Enterprise Singapore has announced.
The 12.1-per-cent expansion comes after the city-state this week reported an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) for the first time since early 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
The GDP expansion was based on manufacturing output surging by over 7 per cent in the first quarter, according to Trade and Industry Ministry data released on Wednesday.
Enterprise Singapore's March exports data showed high overseas demand for Singapore's pharmaceuticals and electronics manufacturing.
Singapore's exports to China, which on Friday reported a record quarterly GDP expansion of over 18 per cent, grew by almost 50 per cent year-on-year in March, Enterprise Singapore said.
However, the export growth reported by Singapore and the record GDP growth in China are partly due to the relatively low numbers reported for the same periods last year.
Measured against February, Singapore's March exports growth was only 1.2 per cent.
Singapore's small domestic market means it depends heavily on investment from and trade with the wider world.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the de facto central bank, said on Wednesday that it expects "external demand will sustain an above-trend pace of growth in the Singapore economy for the rest of 2021."
The MAS expects Singapore's economy to grow by up to 6 per cent this year, after a record contraction of 5.4 per cent in 2020. - dpa
The 12.1-per-cent expansion comes after the city-state this week reported an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) for the first time since early 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
The GDP expansion was based on manufacturing output surging by over 7 per cent in the first quarter, according to Trade and Industry Ministry data released on Wednesday.
Enterprise Singapore's March exports data showed high overseas demand for Singapore's pharmaceuticals and electronics manufacturing.
Singapore's exports to China, which on Friday reported a record quarterly GDP expansion of over 18 per cent, grew by almost 50 per cent year-on-year in March, Enterprise Singapore said.
However, the export growth reported by Singapore and the record GDP growth in China are partly due to the relatively low numbers reported for the same periods last year.
Measured against February, Singapore's March exports growth was only 1.2 per cent.
Singapore's small domestic market means it depends heavily on investment from and trade with the wider world.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the de facto central bank, said on Wednesday that it expects "external demand will sustain an above-trend pace of growth in the Singapore economy for the rest of 2021."
The MAS expects Singapore's economy to grow by up to 6 per cent this year, after a record contraction of 5.4 per cent in 2020. - dpa
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