Singapore, an island city-state, is a global financial hub that attracts thousands of working professionals, as well as business owners from all over the world.
In 2017, the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom ranked Singapore as the second most open economy in the world. Furthermore, the Doing Business report by the World Bank showed the Asia Pacific country came in as the world’s second most pro-business.
What are the Major Industries in Singapore?
The manufacturing sector is the biggest contributor to Singapore’s economy with an annual contribution of 20-25% to its GDP.
Singapore’s electronics, chemicals, biomedical sciences, logistics, and transport engineering industries boosted the country’s manufacturing sector by 35% in 2017.
Because of Singapore’s pro-business nature, its booming financial sector has also enjoyed sustainable growth. The country is home to over 200 banks, as well as other financial firms.
Besides the above-mentioned sectors, other emerging industries that also substantially contribute to Singapore’s economy include medical technology, aerospace engineering, clean energy and healthcare.
Singapore’s Performance in 2018
In 2018, the economy of Singapore grew by 3.2 percent, a little below the 3.9 percent growth recorded in 2017.
From 10.4 percent growth in 2017, the country’s manufacturing sector growth slowed to 7.2 percent in 2018. The electronics, transport engineering and biomedical manufacturing groups were the primary contributors.
After a contraction of 10.2 percent in 2017, the construction sector experienced a modest decline of 3.4 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, the services-producing industries rose 3.0 percent, lower than the 3.2 percent growth in 2017.
Singapore’s Economic Outlook for 2019
The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore in its economic report on February 15, 2019, said it “has maintained the GDP growth forecast at “1.5 percent to 3.5 percent”, with growth expected to come in slightly below the mid-point of the forecast range”.
