Economist at UOB Group Barnabas Gan reviews the latest industrial production figures in Singapore.

Key Takeaways

“Industrial production surged 17.6% y/y (+16.6% m/m sa) in Feb 2022, surprising market expectations for a 6.3% y/y (+5.7% m/m sa) growth. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, industrial production rose 16.8% y/y.”

“The strong performance in Singapore’s manufacturing sector is underpinned by the global trade recovery, especially on the back of healthy semiconductor- and biomedical-related demand. Other factors that have supported Singapore’s manufacturing momentum also include the gradual reopening of international borders, which resulted in higher levels of maintenance, repair and overhaul activity from commercial airlines.”

“In all, our outlook is for full-year manufacturing to grow by an average of 4.0% in 2022. This suggests that despite the high-base growth rate seen in 2021, global trade activity is expected to stay buoyant in the new year.”