Despite the overall sluggish growth of Singapore’s economy — hamstrung by a slump in manufacturing activity — the construction sector continued its strong post-Covid-19 recovery in the first half of the year, expanding by 6.6% and 6.9% on a y-o-y basis in 2Q2023 and 1Q2023 respectively, after recording 6.7% y-o-y growth for the full-year 2022.
With Covid-19 restrictions eased, Singapore has boosted public housing to address rising demand. Around 63% of pandemic-delayed Built-to-Order (BTO) projects were completed by March, with the number of these projects expected to reach 150 by 2025, up from around 100 in February. The availability of new government contracts signals positive prospects for construction firms.
The healthy pipeline of construction projects in the city-state saw steel prices record a marginal quarterly increase as seasonal activity strengthened. Global construction consultancy Linesight notes that steel rebar prices increased by 0.6% q-o-q in 2Q2023. While steel rebar prices were still down by 25% y-o-y, steel flat prices have remained relatively high owing to demand from other industries and will be held by improving domestic demand in the coming quarter, adds Linesight.
