Jakarta’s Belarus Opening 
Iraq’s Balancing Arithmetic in the US-Iran War 
International Pollution by Chinese Miners Worsens Singapore’s economy expanded faster than expected in the first quarter as the global artificial-intelligence boom lifted the nation’s manufacturing and services, offsetting the drag from higher crude prices.
Gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 1 per cent in the three months through March from the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday.
That is well above the government’s advance estimate of a 0.3 per cent contraction and the median forecast of a 0.2 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg survey.
Advertisement
Singapore’s exposure to AI through electronics exports has helped insulate the city state from the threat of US tariff hikes last year and now the energy crunch from the Middle East conflict.
Those in Asia that are part of the AI supply chain, especially Taiwan and South Korea, are among the fortunate few that have seen their economies surge on the seemingly insatiable demand for their tech exports and services.
Amid stronger-than-expected data, MTI maintained its 2026 GDP growth forecast at 2-4 per cent, in line with the outlook it set in February. That compares with 5 per cent last year.
Advertisement
Don't Miss:
-
University to roll out screenings at pharmacies to uncover osteoporosis cases
-
Alibaba unit says 5-in-1 AI gives robots unified brain, body and limbs
-
Japan’s deadliest fault line shifts, frustrating megaquake forecasts
-
China’s durian imports from Thailand and Malaysia soar as glut pressures growers
-
Hong Kong police officers lose appeal over framing homeless man, evidence cover-up