Singapore's export recovery eases amid global slowdown

Sept Nodx growth far below forecast; shipments to some key markets fall

- Sue-Ann Tan

Singapore's key exports expanded year on year for a third straight month in September but at a slower pace and well below forecast, figures released by Enterprise Singapore on Oct 17 show.

Analysts said Singapore's export outlook remains uncertain, with geopolitical tensions, the upcoming elections in the US, and volatility in the electronics industry.

Non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) rose 2.7 per cent from a year ago, after increasing by 10.7 per cent in August and 15.7 per cent in July.

But September's expansion came in far below the expectations of analysts polled by Bloomberg, who tipped growth to hit 9.1 per cent.

While shipments of both electronics and non-electronics grew, electronics exports saw a sharp deceleration - from expanding 35.1 per cent year on year in August, to just 4 per cent in September.

Exports of disk media products grew by 64.6 per cent, while personal computers expanded by 55 per cent. But integrated circuits - also known as chips or semiconductors - which made up nearly 11 per cent of total Nodx, rose just 4.8 per cent.

OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said: "It's a challenging period for the global chip industry, (with) ASML's cut in earnings guidance and the big sell-off in chip stocks."

On Oct 15, Dutch chip equipment maker ASML cut its annual sales forecast over weak non-artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand, sending semiconductor stocks in the US and Asia tumbling.