Singaporean economy recovers in 2004
Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry released the report on 2004 economic figures of the country.
Accordingly,
Singapore's economy pulled itself up in 2004 after a less than stellar 2003, when SARS seriously impacted the economy.
Singapore's year-on-year growth in 2004 was 8.4%. The country's domestic
production gained pace in the final quarter with a 7.9% increase over the quarterly average of the previous three quarters.
Singapore's domestic demand increased 19.6% year-on-year, while foreign rose 11.6%.
Foreign trade grew 22.5% to $580 billion in 2004, compared to growth of only 9.6% in 2003.
The country's balance of payments recorded a $20.4 billion surplus, up 73%. The rise in the surplus is mostly thanks to foreign reserves increasing 13% to $183.8 billion in 2004.
The ministry reminds that the high growth rates reported for 2004 were due to the recovery from a weak 2003 because of the SARS epidemic. Accordingly, the ministry predicts that growth will likely be moderate, in 3-5% range for 2005, as opposed to the 8.4% experienced in 2004.