Singapore (VNA) – Singapore's economy will growby 4 percent next year, likely be driven by improvements in the constructionsector as well as manufacturing and finance, according to a survey ofprofessional forecasters.

Based on estimates by 22 economists and analysts, thequarterly survey conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showedthe island country is likely to register growth between 3 percent and 4.9 percentnext year.

It is similar to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s maidenforecast for next year last month which said Singapore's gross domestic product(GDP) will grow by 3 percent to 5 percent next year, after an estimatedexpansion this year of around 7 percent.

Respondents to the MAS survey, released on December 8,projected current year growth at 6.9 percent, up from 6.6 percent in theprevious survey.

For 2022, construction was seen as the sector that willexpand the most. The median forecasts for construction came at 15.8 percent,followed by accommodation and food services at 9.6 percent.

Forecast for manufacturing growth came at 3.3 percent, whilegrowth in the finance and insurance sector will be around 4.1 percent next year.

The prospect of reopening borders to international travelemerged as the most frequently cited upside surprise to Singapore's growthoutlook.

The respondents also flagged upside from astronger-than-expected expansion in manufacturing output supported by robustglobal electronics demand, as well as from faster-than-expected global growth,driven for instance by trade and expansion in production capacity.

On downside risks to the growth outlook, the respondentsshowed concern over a further deterioration in the COVID-19 situation, and anassociated retightening in public health measures.

Finally, half of the respondents also pointed to risks fromfaster-than-expected tightening in monetary policy by major central banks,arising, for instance, from a larger-than-expected pick-up in inflation./.