Singapore manufacturing falls 13 pct in October
Associated Press
Singapore manufacturing plummeted 13 percent in October from a year ago as demand for the city-state’s electronic and pharmaceutical exports dried up amid the global economic slowdown.
Electronics, which account for 30 percent of manufacturing, fell 14 percent while pharmaceuticals, which make up 22 percent of production, dove 31 percent, the Trade and Industry Ministry’s Singapore Economic Development Board said in a statement Wednesday.
The drop in manufacturing is another sign that Singapore likely extended a recession in the fourth quarter.
Non-oil exports fell 15 percent in October, stoking fears that the economy will probably contract for a third straight quarter in the October-December period.
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Singapore’s visitor arrivals decrease in October
RTTNews
Visitor arrivals to Singapore reached 843,000 in October, registering a decline of 8.1% from the previous year, the Tourism Board reported Wednesday. Meanwhile, visitor days increased 1.7% to an estimated at 3.3 million days.
The Tourism Board said Singapore has seen a decline in visitor arrivals since June 2008, reflecting the impact of the current global economic slowdown on consumer sentiments and discretionary spending. Further, the board noted that visitor arrivals and tourism receipts are expected to fall short of the 2008 targets of 10.8 million and SGD15.5 billion respectively.
The average room rate was estimated at SGD241, representing an increase of 8.4% over October 2007. The average occupancy rate for gazetted hotels was estimated to reach 82% in October 2008, posting a 6.8 percentage point decrease over October 2007. Revenue per available room grew by 0.1% to reach SGD199 for October 2008. Singapore’s gazetted hotels were estimated to generate SGD178 million in room revenue, representing a decline of 0.3%.
As many as 157,000 Indonesian tourists were arrived in October and 76,000 from China. Australian tourists accounted for 76,000, while Indians were 67,000. 54,000 Malaysian tourists also arrived in October. These are Singapore’s top five visitor-generating markets and visitors from these countries accounted for 51% of total visitor arrivals for the month.
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