Singapore Sees Highest Investment Inflow in 12 Years Amid Export Rebound... Economic Recovery Hopes Rise

Non-Petroleum Exports Rebound After 3 Months
Electronics Increase 13.7% Year-on-Year
Fixed Asset Investment Attracts $17.2 Billion

[Asia Economy Singapore Correspondent Su-mi Seo] Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) rebounded in December after three months, signaling a positive outlook for the 2021 economy. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the country attracted $17.2 billion in investments, raising expectations for economic recovery.

According to Enterprise Singapore, the Nodx index in December last year rose 6.8% year-on-year, partially recovering from declines of 3.1% and 5% in October and November, respectively. By sector, electronic products increased by 13.7% compared to the previous year. This rebound is interpreted as a recovery from the 25% drop in Singapore's exports in December of the previous year due to the global electronics industry's downturn cycle. Non-electronic product exports increased by 5%. Strong global semiconductor demand led to a sharp rise in shipments of specialized machinery exported to countries such as Korea.

The countries with increased exports were the United States (52.5%), Korea (46.2%), and Taiwan (14.8%), while exports to China, the European Union (EU), Indonesia, and Japan decreased. Experts predict Singapore's exports will grow by about 3-4% in 2021. They analyzed that the recovery of non-electronic product exports, such as petrochemicals, and solid demand for semiconductors will support growth.

Meanwhile, according to the Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore attracted $17.2 billion in fixed asset investments last year. This exceeded the previous year's fixed asset investment amount of $15.2 billion and is the largest scale since $18 billion in 2008.

Singaporean authorities expect that if the investment projects secured last year are fully implemented, 19,352 new jobs will be created over the next five years, generating an annual value-added of $31.2 billion.

This refers to the direct contribution of companies to Singapore's gross domestic product, including components such as employee wages and corporate income. In particular, the research and development (R&D) industry is expected to add more than 4,200 employment opportunities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.