SINGAPORE, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Wednesday that it continues to expect the Singapore economy to grow by 3-5 percent in 2022, with growth likely to come in at the lower half of the forecast range.
The forecast was made taking into account the performance of the Singapore economy in the first quarter, as well as the latest global and domestic economic developments, the ministry said.
The MTI said that the Singapore economy grew by 3.7 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2022, moderating from the 6.1 percent expansion in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 0.7 percent, slower than the 2.3 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2021.
It said that the external economic environment has deteriorated since February, due in part to the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Domestically, the stabilized COVID-19 situation, as well as the high vaccination rate and strong booster takeup, have allowed for a faster-than-expected lifting of domestic and border restrictions since end-March.
"Against this backdrop, the growth outlook for some outward-oriented sectors in the Singapore economy has weakened this year," the MTI said, adding that some other sectors, such as the electronics cluster, the professional services sector, the aviation- and tourism-related sectors, the consumer-facing sectors, and the sectors reliant on migrant workers, have seen a strengthening of their growth outlook. ■