Singapore’s PM to deliver economic policy speech amid cloudy outlook
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will discuss the city-state’s economic outlook today during his National Day speech.
Singapore’s economy growth forecast for 2019 has fallen by two points to somewhere below 1% as reduced global demand for electronics hits Singapore’s key manufacturing and trade sectors. Compared to the same period last year, Q2 saw manufacturing decrease by 3.1% and non-oil local exports by 14.6%. To dampen the economic downturn, Mr Lee is expected to announce an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 67 and possibly government stimulus.
South Korean-Japanese trade tensions and the recent American threat of a 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports have rattled the small, international trade-dependent economy.
After business confidence fell by 11% in July, expect Mr Lee to look for positivity amid a pessimistic economic outlook to dissuade the departure of foreign investors. However, Singapore appears likely to enter a recession in the near term. As Singapore is usually the first to feel the effect global trends, expect this to indicate struggles ahead for other economies in the region.
Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.
