JAKARTA - Singapore's exports soared in April despite the Iran war pushing up energy and logistics costs. The main driver came from electronics, especially products related to artificial intelligence or AI.
According to a report by The Straits Times citing data from Enterprise Singapore, Monday, May 18, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports or NODX rose 24.5 percent in April. NODX is the export of domestically produced goods other than oil.
The figure is the highest growth since February 2012. The achievement is also far above the market's estimate of around 11 percent and the March growth of 15.3 percent.
Singapore's electronics exports rose 66.7 percent in April. Shipments of chips, a key component of electronic devices, jumped 82.7 percent. Storage media products rose 148.9 percent, while personal computers grew 35.7 percent.
Non-electronic NODX also rose 10.9 percent after falling 0.6 percent in March. The increase was supported by a surge in pharmaceutical exports of 97.1 percent, special machinery of 23.6 percent, and measuring instruments of 60.5 percent.
However, there is a note for Indonesia. While shipments to Singapore's 10 main markets generally increased, exports to Indonesia actually fell 60.8 percent in April.
In contrast, Singapore's exports to the United States rose 59.6 percent. Shipments to China grew 37.8 percent, while those to South Korea jumped 71.2 percent.
DBS economist Chua Han Teng said Singapore's main exports in the near future are still supported by the electronics sector. Global demand related to AI, especially data center investment and advanced computing, also drives the shipment of memory chips and server-related products.
Singapore also recorded a total export increase of 31.8 percent in April. The figure takes into account a 55.2 percent surge in oil exports and a 29.6 percent increase in non-oil exports. Reekspor is imported goods that are sent back to other countries without much processing.
However, Chua reminded that the increase in non-oil exports in April was lower than March which reached 60.8 percent. According to him, it needs to be seen whether the slowdown is the beginning of a downward trend.
Maybank economist Chua Hak Bin predicts that Singapore's economy will remain resilient by 2026. According to him, the Iran war is likely to have a greater impact on inflation than economic growth.
Capital flows into safe assets, AI-related investments, and construction projects are expected to still support the Singapore economy. As reported by The Straits Times, the Singapore government is also expected to add fiscal support, including subsidies to hold back some of the price increases of diesel and bitumen for affected sectors.
Even so, Singapore's outlook is not entirely rosy. Economists expect export growth to slow in the coming months if geopolitical tensions continue or worsen.
Sheana Yue of Oxford Economics said high energy and shipping costs could dampen trade activity. Rising oil prices can indeed raise the value of exports of processed oil products, but their volume is at risk of falling if demand weakens or fuel shortages occur.
The increase in raw material and shipping costs could also weigh on non-oil exports and Singapore's role as a re-export hub for the region. Yue also warned that prolonged energy disruptions could spill over into the semiconductor supply chain.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
