Lee
19th Jul 2003, 13:34
In The Straits Times, 18 July 2003, Headlines:
S'pore economy on rebound
Exports surge 18.7% compared to a year ago
Tourists are back, and they're spending
Flights grounded by Sars scare cleared for take-off
By Narendra Aggarwal and Camilla Chiam
SINGAPORE'S economy is taking off again. Exports surged 18.7 per cent last month from a year ago, and the country's struggling tourism industry is set to soar once more.
A third of the flights suspended at Changi Airport during the Sars outbreak have been given the green light to resume operation this week. And tourism spending rose 97.7 per cent last month compared to May, according to the latest figures.
Topping the list is the huge jump in exports of Singapore-made goods, which surpassed market expectations. Electronics shipments saw a revival and the export of chemicals more than doubled.
The robust trade numbers, together with news earlier this week that retail sales in May soared 18.6 per cent from the same period a year ago, clearly show that economic recovery is well underway and will accelerate in the months ahead, economists said.
'We see a pretty decent recovery in the second half of the year,' DBS Bank economist Lee Wee Liat told The Straits Times.
Research house IDEAglobal's deputy head of research Nizam Idris predicted 'a rather smart recovery'.
Amid news of the export lift, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) - which operates Changi Airport - said it is reinstating 30 per cent of the 1,267 flights that were cancelled following the Sars outbreak in March.
Nineteen airlines have reinstated their flights, among them Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, Air India and Japan Airlines.
'We expect more than 40 per cent of the suspended flights to be reinstated by mid-August,' CAAS spokesman Albert Tjoeng told AP.
As for tourist spending, Indonesians led the surge, said tax refund service operator Global Refund Singapore.
The Indonesians went on a $16.5 million shopping spree in June, a 300 per cent increase on their spending in April.
The amount of money that all tourists received in GST refunds - another indicator of spending patterns - rose by 141 per cent in June compared to May as they ceased avoiding Singapore because of Sars.
On Singapore's exports, economists said the latest trade figures show that the backlog of shipments to China, Hong Kong and South Korea is being cleared.
The three economies are among Singapore's top 10 export markets.
Another post-Sars fillip: The strong trade and retail data will help to erase the gloom from the 'flash' second-quarter figures, which recorded the economy's worst quarterly contraction in years.
The official preliminary estimates showed that the economy shrank 11.8 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
This figure is now expected to be much smaller. Also, the flash estimate of 4.3 per cent shrinkage in the economy in the second quarter compared to a year earlier is now forecast to be under 4 per cent.
DBS Bank's Mr Lee said the Trade and Industry Ministry's growth forecast of 0.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent economic expansion this year 'now seems possible'.
There was more positive news yesterday from International Enterprise Singapore, the former Trade Development Board. It projected 4 per cent to 6 per cent expansion in foreign trade this year, a significant improvement on the 1.5 per cent growth registered last year.
Exports of Singapore-made goods are expected to post double-digit growth this year, compared with 1.9 per cent growth last year.
All told, foreign trade expanded nearly 8 per cent in the first half, to hit $225 billion.<<<
My Question to SIA is:
So why all the retrencment in SIA, wage cuts for Captains, First Officers, Cabin Crew, Ground Staff? SATS staff etc
S'pore economy on rebound
Exports surge 18.7% compared to a year ago
Tourists are back, and they're spending
Flights grounded by Sars scare cleared for take-off
By Narendra Aggarwal and Camilla Chiam
SINGAPORE'S economy is taking off again. Exports surged 18.7 per cent last month from a year ago, and the country's struggling tourism industry is set to soar once more.
A third of the flights suspended at Changi Airport during the Sars outbreak have been given the green light to resume operation this week. And tourism spending rose 97.7 per cent last month compared to May, according to the latest figures.
Topping the list is the huge jump in exports of Singapore-made goods, which surpassed market expectations. Electronics shipments saw a revival and the export of chemicals more than doubled.
The robust trade numbers, together with news earlier this week that retail sales in May soared 18.6 per cent from the same period a year ago, clearly show that economic recovery is well underway and will accelerate in the months ahead, economists said.
'We see a pretty decent recovery in the second half of the year,' DBS Bank economist Lee Wee Liat told The Straits Times.
Research house IDEAglobal's deputy head of research Nizam Idris predicted 'a rather smart recovery'.
Amid news of the export lift, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) - which operates Changi Airport - said it is reinstating 30 per cent of the 1,267 flights that were cancelled following the Sars outbreak in March.
Nineteen airlines have reinstated their flights, among them Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, Air India and Japan Airlines.
'We expect more than 40 per cent of the suspended flights to be reinstated by mid-August,' CAAS spokesman Albert Tjoeng told AP.
As for tourist spending, Indonesians led the surge, said tax refund service operator Global Refund Singapore.
The Indonesians went on a $16.5 million shopping spree in June, a 300 per cent increase on their spending in April.
The amount of money that all tourists received in GST refunds - another indicator of spending patterns - rose by 141 per cent in June compared to May as they ceased avoiding Singapore because of Sars.
On Singapore's exports, economists said the latest trade figures show that the backlog of shipments to China, Hong Kong and South Korea is being cleared.
The three economies are among Singapore's top 10 export markets.
Another post-Sars fillip: The strong trade and retail data will help to erase the gloom from the 'flash' second-quarter figures, which recorded the economy's worst quarterly contraction in years.
The official preliminary estimates showed that the economy shrank 11.8 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
This figure is now expected to be much smaller. Also, the flash estimate of 4.3 per cent shrinkage in the economy in the second quarter compared to a year earlier is now forecast to be under 4 per cent.
DBS Bank's Mr Lee said the Trade and Industry Ministry's growth forecast of 0.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent economic expansion this year 'now seems possible'.
There was more positive news yesterday from International Enterprise Singapore, the former Trade Development Board. It projected 4 per cent to 6 per cent expansion in foreign trade this year, a significant improvement on the 1.5 per cent growth registered last year.
Exports of Singapore-made goods are expected to post double-digit growth this year, compared with 1.9 per cent growth last year.
All told, foreign trade expanded nearly 8 per cent in the first half, to hit $225 billion.<<<
My Question to SIA is:
So why all the retrencment in SIA, wage cuts for Captains, First Officers, Cabin Crew, Ground Staff? SATS staff etc