SINGAPORE: Singapore’s industrial production surged the most in five years in December, led by a boost in electronics exports, according to data from the Economic Development Board.
Manufacturing output in December jumped 21.3 percent from a year earlier, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed, far exceeding the median forecast in a survey of 9.5 percent.
Singapore has seen lackluster economic growth the past two years as sluggish global demand weighed on exports. Growth picked up late last year, however, helped by an increase in exports to China and strength in manufacturing. On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production rose 6.4 percent in December exceeding the median forecast for a contraction of 5.8 percent. “The low base of last year has definitely helped … but nonetheless just looking at the sequential growth, the strong end to the year reflects the underlying improvement in the global picture,” said Song Seng Wun, economist for CIMB Private Banking.
Manufacturing output in the electronics sector in December jumped 49.4 percent, supported by the semiconductors segment, which recorded an increase in output of 94.0 percent, the data showed. Experts say that a surge in electronics manufacturing is partly related to seasonal holiday demand, as well as an underlying global shift toward new technologies.
“The whole mega trend of the internet of things is probably going to fuel semiconductor growth in the next couple of years” said Kai Fai Ng, president of the Southeast Asian branch of SEMI, an international association of micro- and nano-electronics industries.
