Singapore International Political Economy

Changi Airport announced it plans a Singapore investment of Gemina an operator of two Italian airports according to Reuters.

The Singapore investment by Changi Airport is expected to account for a 5 percent stake in Leonardo da Vinci Airport and Giovan Battista Pastine Airport which combined accounted for 38.6 million in passenger volume in 2009.

US based technology company, HP, has opened its recent Singapore investment, HP Labs Singapore, according to the San Francisco Times.

The amount of the Singapore investment was not disclose, but the advanced research facility will focus it attention on data centers and cloud computing.

Key drivers of the HP investment in Singapore include the country’s business friendly environment, a solid network infrastructure and a skilled workforce.

Consumer prices in the Singapore economy rose 0.7 percent in January from December according to Bloomberg.

While not an alarming figure, the Singapore economic news is in line with other Asian economies that are starting to see increased signs of inflation as the global economy starts to recover. Singapore inflation forecast for 2010 place the Singapore inflation rate at 2 to 3 percent.

Note that the Monetary Authority of Singapore manages inflation in the Singapore economy through its currency as opposed to adjusting interest rates. [Read more →]

Singapore exports rose in January but at a rate less than the Singapore government expected according to Dow Jones.

Nonetheless, the Singapore trade news did show that Singapore exports to China rose 75.9%, exports to the US rose 15.6%, and non-oil Singapore exports rose 20.8% from a year earlier as stated by the International Enterprise Singapore agency.

The only disappointment in the Singapore trade data for January was a soft pharmaceutical number and a decline in Singapore trade with the EU as Singapore export to the union declined 31.4% from a year earlier. [Read more →]

December industrial production in the Singapore economy rose 18.1 percent and at its fasted pace in five months according to Bloomberg.

Key drivers of the industrial production rise are an increase in demand for chemicals and electronics with electronics rising 53.7 percent which make up about 26 percent of total manufacturing output in the Singapore economy.

Despite the positive Singapore economic news, pharmaceuticals output slipped by 16.3 percent. [Read more →]

Infoline, an Indian domestic brokerage house, has announced it will invest in Singapore’s Orient Global’s India Infoline Investment Services (IIISL) and India Infoline Marketing Services (IIMSL) according to The Business Standard.

The Singapore investment is worth $80 million and will give Infoline a 99.02 percent stake in IIISL and a 99.16 percent stake in IIMSL which are both unlisted subsidiaries of Singapore’s Orient Global. [Read more →]

Singapore exports of non-oil rose 26.1 percent in December according to Bloomberg.

The positive Singapore trade news marks the ending of a three year decline in electronics exports which is a key measure of the health of the Singapore economy.

Singapore exports of non-electronics accounted for a rise petrochemicals or 26.8 percent and pharmaceuticals 75.7 percent offering a strong sign that the Singapore economy is recovering. [Read more →]

The Singapore economy saw the Singapore PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) up in November according to Xinhua.

The positive Singapore economic news announced an increase of 1.8 point to 52 which is welcome considering the Singapore PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) fell 6.7 percent in October.

A key driver of the rise is an increase in demand for electronics which contributes substantially to the Singapore economy. [Read more →]

German based Linde Gas is expected to further invest in Singapore by expanding its Singapore facilities according to Channel NewsAsia.

The Singapore investment is estimated at $17.7 million and will double its Singapore capacity to 100 tons per day of carbon dioxide.

Linde Gas invested in Singapore expansion as much as $21.2 million just last year. [Read more →]

Consumer prices in the Singapore economy fell 0.8 percent in October year over year according to RTTNews.

The drop is in-line with the Monetary Authority of Singapore expectation of further declines in inflation for the Singapore economy through the end of 2009 and into 2010.

While overall there was a drop in prices, food, health care and clothing did rise in prices. [Read more →]

Singapore exports declined 6.1 percent in October according to AFP.

The negative Singapore trade news shows Singapore exports declined for the 18th consecutive month offering concern over the health of the Singapore economy which relies heavily on Singapore trade.

The key driver of the continued decline in Singapore exports is a continued lack of demand by the US and EU as the great recession continues to challenge developed economies. [Read more →]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its growth forecast for the Singapore economy in 2010 according to Thomson Reuters.

The projection for the Singapore economy now sits at 4.3 percent GDP growth.

2009 GDP growth in the Singapore economy declined by 1.7 percent thus far. [Read more →]

August retails sales in the Singapore economy dropped its smallest amount in eight months according to Bloomberg.

While the Singapore economic news shows the Singapore economy is not yet completely out of the global recession, it does signal that the Singapore economy may be stabilising despite continued job cuts.

The Singapore government expects the Singapore economy to contract as much as 2 percent in 2009. [Read more →]

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the Singapore economy fell in August by 1.8 points to 50.6 according to The Straits Times.

While the 50.6 reading does signal expansion in the Singapore economy manufacturing sector, the dip from last months 52.4 reading is concerning.

Key drivers of the decline are continued week demand fro exports particularly in the electronics sector in the wake of the global recession in addition to a lessening impact of the Singapore government stimulus package. [Read more →]

Consumer prices in the Singapore economy fell for a fifth month in a row according to RTTNews.

While the decline in Singapore consumer prices continues, the decline in August of 0.3 percent is slower that that of two months ago suggesting that deflation in the Singapore economy is stabilizing.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore expects consumer prices in the Singapore economy to remain flat for the rest of the year. [Read more →]

Singapore exports in August declined at its slowest rate in 11 months according to Bloomberg.

While the non-oil domestic Singapore exports still fell 7.1 percent, it is better than the 8.7 percent decline in July

An increase in demand for pharmaceuticals and electronics is considered the key drivers of the stabilisation Singapore trade as the negative impact of the global recession begins to subside. [Read more →]

Advanced Technology Investment Co., an Abu Dhabi government owned entity, will invest in Singapore by purchasing Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. according to AP.

Charted Semiconductor is 62 percent owned by Temasek Holdings and the Singapore investment places AAdvanced Technology Investment Co. in the business of producing chips the Microsoft game console Xbox 360.

The Singapore investment news estimates the all cash deal at $1.8 billion. [Read more →]

The World Economic Forum has announce that the Singapore economy is the third most competitive globally for 2009-2010 according to the RGB Monitor.

The positive Singapore economic news comes from the recent Global Competitiveness Report which ranks 133 countries and attributes Singapore high ranking to its ability to adopt the latest technologies and through its highly skilled workforce as a result of strong education.

This latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report places Switzerland as number 1 pushing the US to number two and the Singapore economy at number three pushing Denmark down to number four. [Read more →]

The Singapore government has announced it will increase its International Monetary Fund (IMF) credit contribution by $1.5 billion according to AFP.

The Singapore investment into the IMF New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) significantly increase its initial amount of $500 million and is part of a greater agreement by the Group of 20 emerging and developed nations to add to the fund in order to meet future financial needs of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries. [Read more →]

US based subsidiary of drug maker Roche, Genentech, has announced as Singapore investment in a facility owned by supplier Lonza according to the San Jose Business Journal.

The Singapore investment is part of an option to buy deal and will allow to control production of its cancer drug Avastin.

The manufacturing facility based Singapore investment is worth $290 million and up to $70 million in milestone payments. [Read more →]

Manufacturing output in the Singapore economy rose 12.4 percent in July according to AFP.

A key driver of the positive Singapore economic news is a rise in pharmaceuticals production which in in-line with the recent rise in biotech stock prices.

Nonetheless, while the surge in pharmaceuticals production pushed the manufacturing number higher, it only acted as a mask to a drag on the Singapore economy from a slump in electronics, precision engineering and chemicals output. [Read more →]

The Singapore economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter according to Dow Jones.

Gross domestic product (GDP) on the Singapore economy grew 20.7 percent in Q2 from Q1 as compared to initial estimates by the Singapore government of 20.4 percent growth.

While the Singapore economic news does seem overly positive, the first quarter decline in gross domestic product (GDP) of 12.2 percent helps put the hopeful trajectory into perspective. [Read more →]

US based hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology has announced it will cut 2,000 job from the Singapore economy according to AP.

The firm will continue to maintain Singapore as its Asian international headquarters, but through the re-structuring the firm will pay $60 million in severance charges and $80 million in restructuring charges despite the yearly savings expected of $40 million a year. [Read more →]

Britain’s engine maker Rolls Royce plans to invest in Singapore as much as 300 million pounds according to Reuters.

The Singapore investment will go towards a new plant to make wide chord fan blades for use in commercial aircraft engines and will create as many as 500 new jobs.

The positive Singapore investment news is a boost to Singapore as an increasingly strong value added destination for multinationals to invest. [Read more →]

Consumer prices in the Singapore economy fell for a third month in July according to Bloomberg.

While not the most welcome Singapore economic news, the decline is in-line with an overall drop in Asian consumer prices as countries such as China, Malaysia and Hong Kong are also showing similar deflationary pressure.

Despite the decline, food prices in the Singapore economy rose 2 percent in July, which makes up 23 percent of the index. [Read more →]

Singapore exports declined in June but at a slower pace according to Dow Jones.

The Singapore trade news marks the 14th consecutive decline in Singapore exports, but yet at a slower pace, which may signal a shift into recovery for the Singapore economy in the wake of the global economic crisis.

The US accounts for the most in Singapore trade in which Singapore exports have declined by 5 percent a year earlier. [Read more →]

Retail sales in the Singapore economy fell 10.3 percent in May as the global recession continues according to Businessweek.

The drop follows previous month declines in the Singapore economy with 11.7 percent and 7.3 percent in April and March respectively.

Key drivers of the drop in Singapore retail sales include a 24 percent decline on auto sales, a 17 percent drop in watches and jewelry, and 6.8 percent decline in apparel. [Read more →]

The Singapore economy grew 20 percent in Q2 according to AP.

The positive Singapore economic news is the first sign of growth in over a year considering the impact of the global recession.

A key driver of Q2 growth in the Singapore economy was pharmaceutical production and new construction while manufacturing and services still continue to slide. [Read more →]

Real estate prices in the Singapore economy dropped by 5.9 percent in Q2 according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority and AP.

The decline marks the fourth consecutive quarter of declines as the Singapore economy struggles to ward off the negative impact of the global recession.

Despite the negative Singapore economic news, the decline is an improvement as real estate prices dropped as much as 14 percent in Q1. [Read more →]

Industrial production in the Singapore economy grew 2 percent in May according to the Singapore Trade and Industry Ministry and AP.

The rise marks a second month increase in industrial production in the Singapore economy, but the Singapore government is still concerned as Singapore exports continue to but a drag on the Singapore economy.

The key driver of the industrial production rise was pharmaceutical production with an increase of 140 percent while electronics continued to decline 22 percent. [Read more →]