Singapore economy grows 1.6pct in first quarter

18-Apr-2012 Intellasia | China Post | 7:05 AM

Singapore’s economy posted a slower growth rate of 1.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, dragged down by a contraction in manufacturing, officials said Friday.

The rate was slowed than the year-on-year growth of 3.6 percent registered for the quarter to the end of December, according to preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

In the first three months of the year, construction grew by 6.2 percent on the year as the housing sector picked up.

The service industries showed annual growth of 2.9 percent, supported by a growth in the volume of share trading on the stock markets, and increased tourist arrivals.

But the manufacturing sector contracted by 2 percent during the first quarter from a year earlier, the ministry said, attributing the drop to a high baseline in the corresponding period in 2011.

Quarter-on-quarter, manufacturing expanded 14.7 percent, the ministry said, led by higher levels of output in the electronics and precision engineering sectors, it added.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/singapore/2012/04/16/338040/Singapore-economy.htm