Bangkok, June 30, (dpa/GNA) – Singapore’s economy could beat forecasts and expand this year by over 6 per cent, the head of the central bank said on Wednesday.
According to Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), growth “could exceed the upper end of the 4 to 6 per cent forecast range, barring a setback to the global economy.”
After a record gross domestic contraction of 5.4 per cent in 2020, a strong exports-driven rebound early this year has already set the wealthy city-state back on track, according to Menon.
“The Singapore economy had recouped in the first quarter of 2021 the aggregate output loss incurred during the pandemic,” he said.
Menon believes that expected high growth in China and US should help smaller economies such as Singapore, which depends heavily on trade and foreign investment.
“The strength of the rebound in the advanced economies should in turn provide a powerful tailwind for Asian economies, particularly those that are more actively engaged in global supply chains,” he said.
GNA