The pick-up in the final quarter of 2023 was also attributed to the manufacturing and construction sectors, while services remained resilient. As such, the economist believes that the manufacturing sector will be a key one to watch and will likely experience a turnaround after being in the doldrums for most of 2023.
Singapore’s 4Q2023 GDP grew by 2.8% y-o-y, surpassing the market’s expectations of 1.8%. Economists, including Chua Han Teng of DBS Group Research, are projecting a more favourable 2024 than the preceding year. In 2023, a robust services sector could not fully offset weakness in the equally crucial manufacturing sector.
Based on the advanced estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Jan 2, Singapore’s GDP for the last quarter rose by 1.7% on a q-o-q seasonally adjusted basis compared to the 1.3% q-o-q growth in the 3Q2023 and better than the “stagnation” seen between 4Q2022 and 2Q2023, Chua notes.
