Singapore's Q3 GDP grows by 10.6% on-year

Singapore's GDP expanded by 10.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of 2010. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy contracted by 18.7 per cent, a reversal from the growth of 27.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

The advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on 18 November 2010 said it expected the Singapore economy to grow by around 15 per cent for the whole of 2010, powered by higher production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and restocking activities of several companies as well as recovery in the financial services sector supported by resilience in the core banking and insurance industries.

MTI's GDP outlook for 2011 appeared optimistic as external macroeconomic conditions were expected to remain supportive of growth. Domestic demand in Asia is likely to remain strong, boosted by wage growth, supportive government policies and healthy fundamentals that would drive intra-regional trade in goods and services such as travel and finance.

Growth in 2011 is expected to be at around 4 to 6 per cent.