Singapore

Singapore’s economy looks on track for a strong year, with hopes underpinned by better-than-expected growth, steadying inflation and improving trade, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city-state’s economy, one of the richest in Southeast Asia, picked up in the first quarter of the year as growth in the services sector helped offset weakness in manufacturing. Gross domestic product expanded 2.7% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to revised data released by the Ministry of Trade & Industry on Thursday. That improved on the fourth quarter’s 2.2% expansion.

Artificial intelligence lacks the human judgement skills needed to set interest rates, the head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Monday, Reuters reported. But AI could make it easier for criminals to launch cyber attacks, said Chia Der Jiun, managing director of Singapore's central bank. He said AI was being used in some economic models and in areas such as fraud detection, but stressed it was not at a stage where it could "supplant human judgement". "There is a great deal of judgement involved in understanding and having a view as to the forward path of inflation...

Singapore’s central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged as it cautioned that inflation is set to stay high for at least a few quarters, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision came as advance estimates for the city-state’s economic growth in the first quarter missed expectations, but not enough to cause much concern among analysts. After standing pat for a fourth straight time, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said Friday that the current settings are needed “to keep a restraining effect” on imported inflation and domestic price pressures.

Electric van leasing company EVCo has been put under insolvent liquidation, with debts of almost $50 million, the Straits Times reported. EVCo, also known as Strides DST, is 60 per cent owned by transport operator SMRT’s business arm Strides Holdings and 40 per cent by Dishangtie Green Technology (Hong Kong). The two-year-old firm was incorporated in March 2022 with a paid-up capital of $10 million.

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports fell unexpectedly in February, but economists still see encouraging signs of a better trade outlook ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported. The 0.1% on-year drop in exports last month was driven mainly by a decline in shipments of non-electronic goods, data from Enterprise Singapore showed Monday. That compared with a revised 16.7% expansion in January. Non-electronics exports declined 1.5% on year in February, compared with January’s revised 21.1% expansion.

Singapore’s overall debt situation remains manageable thus far, with both individual bankruptcy and corporate winding-up orders below pre-pandemic levels, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan in Parliament on Wednesday, the Business Times reported. He was responding to Member of Parliament Yip Hon Weng, who asked if the government was concerned about individual bankruptcy applications reaching an 18-year high, and increased corporate insolvencies in 2023.

Singapore’s central bank kept its monetary policy settings unchanged for a third straight time amid expectations for inflation to ease only later this year — a decision that suggests any easing could be farther down the road, Bloomberg News reported. The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, maintained the slope, width, and center of the currency band, it said in a statement Monday. The move will keep the local dollar on an appreciating path to blunt imported price gains.

Terraform Labs, the company behind the stablecoin TerraUSD, which collapsed and roiled cryptocurrency markets in 2022, filed for chapter 11 protection, according to court papers filed on Sunday, Reuters reported. Singapore-based Terraform Labs, in a filing with the bankruptcy court in Delaware, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100-$500 million. Terraform Labs said it would meet all financial obligations to employees and vendors during the Chapter 11 case without requiring additional financing. It also plans to continue Web3 offerings expansion.

Singapore's economy grew 2.8% in the fourth quarter year-on-year, preliminary government data showed on Tuesday, faster than some economists expected and helped by improvements in construction and manufacturing, Reuters reported. The fourth quarter growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was faster than the 1% expansion in the third quarter of 2023. For the full year of 2023, Singapore's economy grew 1.2%, moderating from the 3.6% growth in 2022.