Singapore returns to boosting high value manufacturing

EETAsia.com, 25 Jul 2013
The engineering department of the National University of Singapore has partnered with A*STAR's Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) to establish two joint research labs in precision motion systems and industrial robotics.
The 'Joint Labs' collaboration, which aims to boost productivity for high value manufacturing in the medtech, aerospace, marine & offshore and precision engineering sectors, are launched in conjunction with the Industrial Robotics Research programme of A*STAR. Full story

Singapore PMI weakens in April as orders slow

Reuters, 2 May 2013
SINGAPORE, May 2 (Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Singapore slackened last month as the export-dependent factories reported slower growth in new orders, an industry survey showed on Thursday, in yet another sign the global economic recovery is losing steam.
The Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) dipped to 50.3 points in April from 50.6 points in March, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM). The index, however, stayed above the key 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction for a second straight month. Full story

Related:
Singapore PMI weakens in April as orders slow - Dailytimes.com.pk

Singapore’s manufacturing fails to bounce, mulling GDP revision

Marketrealist.com, 1 May 2013

Analysts were expecting a 3% drop in production, but the actual figures in industrial production data showed a 4.1% drop. While this is a significant improvement from the 16% drop the previous month, it fell below expectations and disappointed the market.
Analysts’ forecasts were driven by the improvements shown in exports earlier in the month. Non-oil exports were up 8%, which sent a signal to the market that a bounce was imminent. Additionally, the biomedical segment, which accounts for 18% part of the overall production, had a slow start of the year due to the holidays and unforeseen shutdowns. Full story

Singapore's manufacturing sector is likely losing competitiveness: analyst

Yahoo! Finance Singapore, 15 Apr 2013
According to Maybank Kim Eng, it continues to expect global economic growth to stabilise in 2013 at +3.4% after two consecutive years of slowdown (2012: +3.3%; 2011: +3.8%; 2010: +5.1%).
It added that however, the risk to this view is that Singapore’s export-based manufacturing maybe losing competitiveness amid steady currency appreciation and rising costs. Full story

Singapore manufacturing PMI turns positive in March

Reuters, 3 Apr 2013
(Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Singapore recovered in March as orders expanded, reversing from a slowdown in February, as the city-state's factories continued to post a choppy performance.
The Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.6 points last month from 49.4 points in February, rising above the key 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM) said on Wednesday. Full story

Singapore manufacturing PMI contracts in Feb even as US and S. Korea shows recovery

Reuters, 4 Mar 2013
(Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Singapore fell in February as orders weakened, resuming a downturn that started in July last year even as factories in the United States and South Korea reported improving conditions.
The Southeast Asian city-state's Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) fell to 49.4 points last month from 50.2 points in January, dropping below the key 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction for the seventh time in eight months, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM) said on Monday.
The drop in Singapore's manufacturing PMI contrasts sharply with South Korea, where manufacturing activity expanded in February at the strongest rate in nine months, according to a PMI compiled by HSBC and Markit.
U.S. manufacturing activity expanded last month at its fastest clip in 20 months but some Asian factories slowed and European output fell, suggesting the road back to robust global growth remains uneven. Full story

Related:
Fears escalate for shrinking Singapore manufacturing sector - Yahoo! Finance Singapore

Singapore’s Manufacturing Unexpectedly Falls on Pharmaceuticals

Bloomberg, 26 Feb 2013
Singapore’s industrial production unexpectedly declined in January as demand for electronics and pharmaceuticals faltered.
Manufacturing fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier after a revised 1.3 percent gain in December, the Economic Development Board said in a report today. The median of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 5.2 percent increase. Full story

Singapore manufacturing PMI rises in Jan after string of contractions

Reuters, 4 Feb 2013
Helped by increased orders for electronics, manufacturing activity in Singapore rose in January after contracting for six consecutive months, according to an industry survey that showed the city state joining in a recovery in manufacturing globally.
The positive Singapore reading followed surveys published over the weekend that showed U.S. manufacturing growth quickened in January, while Chinese factories extended a modest rebound.
Singapore's Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.2 points last month from 48.6 points in December, crossing the key 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction on a month-to-month basis, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing Materials Management (SIPMM) said on Monday.  Full story

Singapore manufacturing investments to slow in coming years

The Malaysian Insider, 28 Jan 2013
SINGAPORE, Jan 28 — Singapore attracted S$16 billion (RM40 billion) in fixed asset investments last year, a 17 per cent increase from 2011, but the city-state will likely attract fewer capital-intensive projects in coming years due to land and manpower constraints, its Economic Development Board (EDB) said today.
EDB, Singapore’s main economic planning agency, said it expects to attract S$11 billion-13 billion worth of investments in new facilities, equipment and machinery this year as companies remain keen to expand in Southeast Asia at a time growth prospects in developed economies remain weak. Full story

Singapore's PMI contracts for 6th straight month, orders fall

China.org.cn, 3 Jan 2012
Singapore's purchasing managers' index (PMI) continued to contract for the sixth straight month at 48.6 in December, a dip from that of 48.8 in November, Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) said on Thursday.
"The contraction was due to declines in new orders, new export orders and production output," the SIPMM said in a statement.
In particular, the electronics sector shrank considerably by 0. 8 point over the previous month to reach 46.6 in December. Full story

Related:
Singapore PMI shrinks for 6th month, orders fall - Thedgemalaysia.com

Pharmaceuticals Lift S'pore November Industrial Output

BusinessWeek, 26 Dec 2012
Singapore’s industrial production rose for the first time in four months in November as manufacturers produced more pharmaceuticals, countering a slump in electronics.
Manufacturing gained 3.1 percent from a year earlier after a revised 5.1 percent drop in October, the Economic Development Board said in a report today. The median of 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 4.8 percent increase. Full story

Related:
Singapore Manufacturing Output Recovers In November - RTTNews

EDB's Dy Director insists Singapore not lagging behind smartphone market despite downturn

EE Times Asia, 20 Dec 2012
Responding to earlier news about the dismal status of Singapore's electronics industry, Terence Gan of the Economic Development Board insisted that the country's efforts in addressing the high demand for smartphones and tablets are more than sufficient, a follow-up piece on Today reports.
Deputy Director Gan clarified that though Singapore does not assemble the mobile devices, many of the key components are manufactured locally. Gan cited AU Optronics-owned AFPD which produces displays for smartphones as well as Philips Lumileds and Sony, which have facilities in Singapore that manufactures camera flash and batteries, as key players. Full story

Singapore Manufacturing Output Falls 2.1% on Year in October

Nasdaq, 26 Nov 2012
Singapore's manufacturing output fell in October due to lower contributions from the electronics and biomedical sectors, as external demand for electronics remained weak, the Singapore Economic Development Board said Monday.
Industrial production fell 2.1% compared with the same month a year earlier, the data showed, larger than the 1.0% median drop forecast by 10 economists in a Dow Jones Newswires poll. The October slide comes after a revised 2.8% on- year fall in September, also on the electronics slump. Production in the sector is down 11.6% year-to-date. Full story

HP unveils made-in-Singapore Itanium servers

ZDNet.com, 9 Nov 2012
SINGAPORE--Hewlett-Packard (HP) has unveiled five new servers based on Intel's Itanium processor on Friday, with four of these researched and designed in Singapore.
In a press briefing here Friday, Naninder Kapoor, vice president and general manager for enterprise group in Southeast Asia, said all five servers introduced today are manufactured in Singapore for the wider Asia-Pacific and worldwide market. Four of the five Itanium servers were also researched and designed by the staff here, he added. Full story

Singapore Manufacturing Contracts for a Fourth Straight Month

Nasdaq
SINGAPORE--Singapore's manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth straight month in October, as new orders and new export orders declined, underscoring the economic doldrums that continue to afflict the region's manufacturers.

The city-state's purchasing managers' index was 48.3 in October, indicating a further contraction in activity, compared with September's figure of 48.7, according to data released Monday by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management. Full story

Related:

1. Singapore manufacturing PMI falls unexpectedly - Forexpros.com
2. Singapore PMI shrinks for 4th month as orders fall further - The Economic Times

Singapore's manufacturing fell in August raising fears of recession

RTTNews.com, 26 Sep 2012
(RTTNews) - Singapore's manufacturing production unexpectedly declined in August, raising fears of a recession as a gain in the biomedical sector was offset by a marked contraction in electronics output amid further deterioration in export demand, latest data showed Wednesday.
The electronics cluster recorded a faster decline of 7.3 percent than 5.3 percent in July as external demand for electronic products dropped further in the backdrop of a slowing global economy and the ongoing crisis in Europe. Full story

Related:
Singapore's Aug. manufacturing output down 2.2 pct - Xinhua

Singapore PMI contracts in July as orders fall

Reuters India, 1 Aug 2012
SINGAPORE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Singapore contracted in July after two months of gains as new orders fell, the latest Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) showed on Wednesday.
The PMI stood at 49.8 points in July, falling below the 50-point threshold that signals manufacturing is declining, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM) said. The index had stood at 50.4 points in June and May. Full story

Singapore Manufacturing Output Growth Unexpectedly Improves

RTTNews, 26 Jul 2012
(RTTNews) - Singapore's manufacturing output growth unexpectedly accelerated in June led by a surge in the pharmaceutical production, data from the Economic Development Board showed Thursday.
Manufacturing output climbed 7.6 percent from a year ago, faster than the revised 6.8 percent increase in May. The growth rate was forecast to slow to 2.8 percent in June. Production increased for the second straight month in June after easing for two consecutive months. Full story

Singapore June Non-Oil Export Growth Exceeds Estimates

4-traders.com, 16 Jul 2012
SINGAPORE--Singapore's June non-oil export growth exceeded analysts' expectations on stronger non-electronics shipments, suggesting that external demand may be stabilizing.
Exports of goods made in Singapore rose 6.8% in June compared with a year earlier, trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore said Tuesday. The rise, which comes after a 3.2% increase in May, exceeded the median 2.1% growth estimate of 11 economists polled earlier in a Dow Jones Newswires survey as well as all individual estimates. Full story

Related:
Singapore's June export growth higher, supported by non-electronics - Xinhua

Singapore PMI stays positive in June, but employment falls for 12th straight month

Reuters, 3 Jul 2012
SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) - Manufacturing activity in Singapore expanded for a second consecutive month in June as orders and production increased but employment in the sector fell for the 12th straight month, the latest Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) showed.
The PMI stood at 50.4 points in June, unchanged from May and stayed above the 50-point threshold that signals manufacturing is growing rather than contracting, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM) said on Tuesday.
The sub-index for employment, however, slipped to 49.5 from May's reading of 49.8. Full story