SINGAPORE, May 25 — Singapore’s economy grew by 0.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2023, moderating from the 2.1 per cent expansion in the previous quarter, said the republic’s Ministry of Trade and Industry today.In a statement on the country’s economic performance for the quarter, the ministry said it maintained Singapore’s 2023 Gross Domestic Product growth forecast at 0.5 to 2.5 per cent, with growth likely to come in at around the mid-point of the range.
“The weak performance of the sector came on the back of output declines across all clusters except for the transport engineering cluster,” it said. “Growth during the quarter was supported by a strong recovery in international visitor arrivals from a low base in the same period of last year when inbound travel restrictions were still in place,” it said.
MTI also said that despite weaker external demand for their merchandise goods and commodities, the growth prospects of key Southeast Asian economies, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, remained positive, supported by resilient domestic demand as well as the continued recovery.