Singapore's main exports in March rose 16.8% from a year earlier led by pharmaceuticals and electronics, underpinning the city-state's robust economic growth projections this year, analysts said on April 17. While the non-domestic exports (NODX) figure was below market expectations, economists said it was strong enough to support the official 9.1% preliminary estimate for first-quarter growth as well as forecasts for the entire year.
NODX in March totaled 15.01 billion Singapore dollars (US$9.38 billion), compared with 12.85 billion dollars in February, the government trade promotion body International Enterprise Singapore (IES) said.
Exports to Singapore's top 10 markets saw positive growth, with shipments to the U.S., Thailand and Hong Kong leading the way.
Shipments of electronics, the country's main exports, climbed 16.4%, slower than 30.5% in February. Exports of pharmaceuticals soared 51% in March from just 4.8% in February.
Total trade was up 16.1% year-on-year to 69.07 billion dollars, slower than the 34% rise in February.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
