Singapore’s GDP forecast to fall 5.8 percent in 2020
The Singapore economy is predicted to contract by 5.8 percent in 2020, according to a survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released on June 15.
Office workers at Raffles Place after the circuit breaker period (Photo: Channelnewsasia.com)
Singapore (VNA) - The Singapore economy is predictedto contract by 5.8 percent in 2020, according to a survey by the MonetaryAuthority of Singapore (MAS) released on June 15.
This is a sharp reversal from the 0.6 percent growth expected by economists inthe previous survey.
The worst affected areas by the COVID-19 pandemic are wholesale and retailtrade, office leasing, catering services and personal consumption. Accordingly,office leasing and catering services are expected to drop by 26 percent thisyear, much greater than the 1.6 percent contraction previously predicted.
The wholesale and retail trade sector is expected to contract by 12.8 percent,as compared to the 0.7 percent contraction forecast previously.
However economists are slightly more optimistic in other areas. Themanufacturing sector is now expected to grow by 2.2 percent for 2020, ascompared to the 0.3 percent contraction predicted in the previous survey.
The finance and insurance sector is expected to post a growth of 3.1 percent,up from the 2.6-percent growth predicted previously.
Singapore is facing the worst recession in history, with its economic growth expectedto decline by 4-7 percent in 2020. The Southeast Asian country’s GDP growth isexpected to rise to 4.8 percent in 2021 as a whole./.
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Office workers at Raffles Place after the circuit breaker period (Photo: Channelnewsasia.com) 
