Speaking at the release of the IMF’s latest regional economic outlook for the Asia Pacific on April 30, Helbling expects a “marked improvement” out of Singapore this year. “Singapore today is [a] much more services-oriented economy…as Asia continues growing rapidly. Singapore is [a] financial hub, logistics services hub. The service sector will grow in line with growth in the region.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is keeping its 2024 growth forecast for Singapore unchanged at 2.1%, despite the country’s 2023 GDP growth coming in 0.1 percentage points (ppt) higher than its 1.0% forecast in October 2023.
Growth slowed last year with weaker global demand for goods, but Singapore’s export sector is now benefiting from strengthening global demand, “noticeably in semiconductors”, says Thomas Helbling, deputy director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.
