Singapore's embattled economy could shrink by as much as 7 percent this year, which would be the worst reading since independence, with the government saying Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic had throttled the key export sector.
The city-state is seen as a bellwether of the global economy and the historic contraction highlights the extreme pain being wrought on countries by the killer disease.
The warning also came hours before Singapore's deputy prime minister is expected to unveil another stimulus package for the troubled city, which has been crippled by months of lockdowns around the world.
The trade ministry's forecast -- which was a downgrade from the four percent contraction predicted in March -- came as official data showed the economy shrank 0.7 percent on-year in the first three months of the year, while it reduced 4.7 percent from the previous quarter.
The financial hub is one of the world's most open economies, and is usually hit hardest and earliest during any global shock.
The ministry said the new estimate was made "in view of the deterioration in the external demand outlook" and the partial lockdown imposed domestically. A contraction of 7 percent would be the worst since the city's independence in 1965.
Shutdowns in major markets such as the United States, Europe and China have crippled demand for exports, and a halt in international air travel has hammered Singapore's key tourism sector.
Singapore has ordered the closure of most businesses, advised people to stay at home, and banned large gatherings. While officials say they may start relaxing the rules from early June, many restrictions will remain in place.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is also the finance minister, is expected to announce fresh support measures in an address to parliament later Tuesday.
That would be in addition to previous packages totaling Sg$60 billion ($42 billion), which are being paid for by using the country's massive reserves.
Song Seng Wun, an economist with CIMB Private Banking, said he expects the second quarter to bear the full brunt of the virus' fallout, with GDP expected to contract 15-20 percent.
"Singapore is a small and open economy whose trade is three times the size of GDP. The sharp contractions are a reflection of its external vulnerability," he told AFP.
The trade ministry also said "significant uncertainties" remain despite the opening up of some economies as they slowly emerge from lockdowns.
"First, there is a risk that subsequent waves of infections in major economies such as the US and eurozone may further disrupt economic activity," it said.
"Second, a growing perception of diminished fiscal and monetary policy space in many major economies could damage confidence in authorities’ ability to respond to shocks."
The trade ministry warned that "notwithstanding the downgrade, there continues to be a significant degree of uncertainty over the length and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the trajectory of the economic recovery".
Singapore's central bank in March eased monetary policy to support the virus-hit economy.
Agence France-Presse
SINGAPORE - Singapore is rapidly building bed space for coronavirus patients in cavernous exhibition halls and other temporary facilities as it faces a surge in cases, mainly among its large community of low-paid migrant workers.
The tiny city-state of 5.7 million people has over 12,000 confirmed infections of the virus that causes COVID-19, one of the most in Asia, due to outbreaks in cramped dormitories housing over 300,000 mainly South Asian workers.
One such facility at Changi Exhibition Center - home to the Singapore Airshow, Asia's biggest aerospace gathering - could eventually house over 4,000 patients recovering from the disease and those with mild symptoms.
"The entire process of setting up the infrastructure took six days," Joseph Tan, a member of the organizing committee for the temporary facility, told Reuters on a visit.
The first patients, mainly from Bangladesh and India, were moved on Saturday into the vast conference hall, partitioned into rooms for eight to 10 people, with metal beds, plastic storage drawers and fans.
Singapore trails only China, India, Japan and Pakistan in Asia for the number of coronavirus infections. More than 10,000 of those infected, some 80% of its total, are foreign workers, many of whom have been placed in "isolation facilities" for people with mild symptoms such as the conference centers.
Despite the high total of cases, Singapore has reported 12 deaths and 24 people are in intensive care.
Singapore's young overseas laborers, earning as little as $15 a day, live in dormitories with bunk-bed accommodation in areas little visited by tourists to the modern city-state. Many are under government-ordered quarantines due to mass outbreaks, with workers left inside battling a constant fear of catching the virus.
At the new Changi isolation center, each room has blood-pressure monitors and other medical equipment for patients to conduct their own health checks three times daily, while remote-controlled robots provide meals and teleconferencing services to reduce contact.
Authorities are also trialing a four-legged robot dog built by Boston Dynamics at the facility, which they said could be used to deliver medicines to patients or take their temperature.
The indoor space can house 2,700 patients, while an ongoing outdoor extension will add another 1,700 beds. A nearby conference center called EXPO is already housing hundreds of COVID-19 patients.
Around 10,000 healthy workers in essential services have been moved from dormitories into alternative housing, including military camps, converted sports halls and accommodation ships for offshore workers, authorities say. Rows of white huts are also being hurriedly assembled at the Tanjong Pagar shipping-container port. The facility could house up to 15,000 foreign workers, local media reported, but authorities have yet to decide how it will be used.
"We are continuing to explore additional space for various reasons, including facilities for suspect cases or infected workers, and also for workers who are recovering or who have fully recovered," a spokeswoman for the Ministry of National Development said in an emailed statement, adding that the Tanjong Pagar site was part of that plan.
-reuters-
Singapore's health ministry confirmed 942 more coronavirus infections on Saturday, a new daily record, the vast majority of which are among migrant workers living in dormitories.
Authorities have managed to mitigate the spread of the virus and the COVID-19 respiratory disease it causes among Singapore's citizens by rigorous contact tracing and surveillance, earning praise from the World Health Organization.
The Ministry of Health reported just 14 cases among Singaporeans and permanent residents on Saturday.
But the disease is spreading rapidly within the large migrant worker community, highlighting what rights groups say is a weak link in containment efforts. Authorities have ramped up testing for the disease in the dormitories.
Saturday's new cases take the total in the city-state, which is under a partial lockdown, to 5,992. It has reported 11 deaths from the disease.
-reuters-
