Jobless still high despite econ rebound

SINGAPORE industrialists remained confident of strong business conditions for the rest of the year, the latest goverment survey released Monday, Aug 2, showed.

"The manufacturing sector expects business conditions to remain strong in the second-half of 2004," the Economic Development Board (EDB) said in a statement.

"Compared to the second quarter of 2004, manufacturers expect business activities to increase in the third quarter."

An EDB survey of 400 industrial firms between June and July showed a net 24 percent of them were expecting a favorable business climate in the second-half of 2004.

Singapore's electronics manufacturers, the backbone of the manufacturing sector, expect business to improve due to strong global demand for computer chips in the run-up to Christmas where sales are traditionally at its peak.

"The electronics cluster projects a higher level of production in the third quarter of 2004 compared to the preceding quarter. The semiconductor segment expects output to rise on the back of sustained demand of chips globally," the EDB said.

Electronics account for almost half of the manufacturing output.

Prices for semiconductor prices however are expected to come under pressure because of an oversupply, analysts have said.

Other manufacturing sectors were also confident on the city-state's business environment for the remainder of 2004, the EDB said.

Industrialists in the chemical, biomedical, precision engineering and transport engineering sectors are all expecting business to improve.

The manufacturing sector accounts for a quarter of Singapore's annual gross domestic product (GDP) worth S$160 billion (US$93 billion).

Singapore's economy is expected to turn in its best performance this year since the 2001 recession with GDP tipped to exceed the government's forecast of 5.5-7.5 percent.

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