Singapore's GDP growth to moderate next year after 2021 Rebound

The Singapore government said on Wednesday that the country’s economy is expected to grow about 7% in 2021, at the top of the official forecast range, and will expand at a slower pace next year as an uneven recovery continues across sectors. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) forecast the economy to grow 3% to 5% next year.

Gabriel Lim, permanent secretary for trade and industry said that the recovery of the various sectors of the economy is expected to remain uneven in 2022.

He expects outward-oriented sectors such as manufacturing and wholesale trade to remain strong, while activity in aviation- and tourism-related sectors would remain below pre-COVID levels throughout 2022.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, the MTI said, higher than the 6.5% expansion seen in the government's advance estimate and analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll.

According to the Reuters report, the small and open economy, which has fully vaccinated about 85% of its 5.45 million population, eased some COVID-19 safety measures this week and has opened quarantine-free travel lanes with several countries.

Maybank Kim Eng economist Lee Ju Ye said that the recovery has definitely started, the reopening borders and easing of mobility restrictions could help consumer facing sectors, but it's still going to be a slow pace of normalization.