Singapore's growth trajectory remains intact in 2024: MAS

Economy boosted by improving global demand for exports, QI surge in tourism

- Ovais Subhani

The Singapore economy is on track for faster growth in 2024, aided by resilient global demand for its exports and above-trend growth in tourism-related industries, the central bank said on April 26.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintained its estimate of 1 per cent to 3 per cent GDP growth in 2024, made in November, after the 1.1 per cent expansion in 2023. The main clusters of the economy are converging towards their pre-pandemic growth rates, it said.

"Growth in the trade-related and modern services clusters are expected to improve from last year, while that in the travel-related and domestic-oriented clusters will continue to moderate but stay above trend," it said in its latest twice-yearly macroeconomic review.

The trade-related sector includes manufacturing and wholesale trade, while the modern services cluster is made up of financial, professional, information technology and media services companies.

The economy will be propelled by the ongoing recovery in the global electronics industry and the expected peaking of interest rates worldwide, said MAS.

Its optimism over Singapore's outlook follows the International Monetary Fund's April 16 upgrade of its 2024 global growth forecast to 3.2 per cent, from the 3.1 per cent projection in January 2024 and 2.9 per cent in October 2023.