SINGAPORE - The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry has slashed the country’s 2020 growth forecast from a range of -0.5% to 1.5% to -4.0% to -1.0%—its worst ever economic contraction and first full-year recession in nearly 20 years.
“In economic terms alone, this will likely be the worst economic contraction since independence,” Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat told the Parliament as quoted by The Straits Times, Thursday (26/3).
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, advance estimates showed that Singapore’s economy contracted by 2.2% year on year (yoy) in the first quarter of 2020, worse than expected, as the country battles the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The first quarter contraction, said DBS senior economist Irvin Seah, is Singapore’s worst year on year contraction since the 2008 global financial crisis.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry also said that the grim outlook surfaced after the coronavirus rapidly spread beyond China to other regions, with Europe and the United States being the current epicentres of the pandemic. As a response, Singapore has since tightened its border controls to prevent further spread.
In addition, the Singapore government yesterday announced a S$48.4 billion supplementary budget to support businesses and people affected by the pandemic. (MS)