Singapore economy grows 4.4% in Q3 as construction, tourism continue to rebound: MTI

SINGAPORE — The Singapore economy grew by 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of the year from the same period a year ago, supported by continued strong growth in the construction and services sectors, advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) show. 

The 4.4 per cent growth is a slight easing from the 4.5 per cent year-on-year growth recorded in the previous quarter.

But on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy still expanded by 1.5 per cent in the third quarter, which is a turnaround from the 0.2 per cent contraction in the second quarter.

Growth in the third quarter was partly driven by the construction sector, which expanded by 7.8 per cent year-on-year, accelerating from the 4.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter. 

Both public and private construction output picked up from July to September, supported in part by the easing of border restrictions on the inflow of migrant workers. 

In absolute terms, the value-added of the construction sector remained 18 per cent below its pre-pandemic level — that is, as compared with the third quarter of 2019. 

All services sectors expanded in the third quarter, with the wholesale and retail trade as well as transportation and storage sectors collectively growing by 6.2 per cent in the quarter from the same period a year ago. 

This was faster than the 2.9 per cent year-on-year growth that these sectors recorded in April to June.

Growth in the wholesale trade sector was mainly driven by the machinery, equipment and supplies segment on account of the resilient performance of Singapore’s non-oil export volumes. 

As for growth in the retail trade and transportation and storage sectors, it was partly because they rebounded from a low base, since domestic and travel restrictions had weighed on activities in these sectors in the third quarter of last year. 

The remaining group of services sectors — accommodation and food services, real estate, administrative and support services, and other services sectors — grew by 9.2 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, faster than the 7.6 per cent growth in the quarter before that. 

Most sectors within the group expanded in the July-to-September period, as activities in these sectors continued to be supported by the lifting of domestic and border restrictions. 

For example, growth in the food services sector was bolstered by low base effects since heightened alert Covid-19 restrictions had dampened activity in the sector in the third quarter of 2021. Notwithstanding its robust growth, the value-added of the sectors in the group remained 2.2 per cent below its pre-pandemic level. 

As for the manufacturing sector, it grew by 1.5 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter this year, slower than the 5.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

Growth during the quarter was supported by output expansions in the transport engineering, general manufacturing and precision engineering clusters, which outweighed output declines in the electronics and chemicals clusters. 

The group of sectors comprising the information and communications, finance and insurance and professional services sectors expanded by 4 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, extending the 4.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter. 

All sectors within the group posted growth during the third quarter. 

In particular, growth in the professional services sector was supported by the architectural and engineering, technical testing and analysis segments, while growth in the information and communications sector continued to be driven by strong demand for IT and digital solutions.