Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Jul 14)
Singapore GDP up 4.3% in Q2, well above market expectations amid US tariff pause
[SINGAPORE] The economy expanded 4.3 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2025, extending the pace of growth in the previous quarter, advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed on Monday (Jul 14).
Acting Transport Minister Siow announces global maritime and aviation training initiatives, new support scheme for small island nations
[SINGAPORE] Singapore will develop specialised training programmes with the United Nations' transport agencies and launch a separate initiative for fellow small island states, as part of its broader push to strengthen global cooperation in aviation and maritime resilience.
Malaysia tightens export controls on US-origin AI chips amid tariff talks with Washington
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[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia has announced immediate restrictions on the export, transhipment, and transit of high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) chips originating from the US – a move aimed at closing regulatory gaps and safeguarding against potential misuse of sensitive technologies.
Centurion confirms accommodation Reit listing with S$1.8 billion portfolio value
[SINGAPORE] Centurion Corp announced on Monday (Jul 14) that it has entered into agreements for the proposed listing of its new real estate investment trust (Reit) – named Centurion Accommodation Reit – which is slated for the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange.
NTT DC Reit rises 3% above IPO price on debut as SGX's largest Reit listing in 10 years
[SINGAPORE] Units of NTT DC Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) rose marginally at its debut on Monday (Jul 14).
Singapore is most expensive city for HNWIs to live well for third year in a row: report
[SINGAPORE] For the third year in a row, Singapore is ranked as the most expensive city for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) to live well, indicated a report by Swiss private bank Julius Baer.
Singapore shares hit new high; STI up 0.5%
[SINGAPORE] The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) notched a new high on the first day of the trading week on Monday (Jul 14), after Singapore's economy beat market expectations to expand 4.3 per cent year on year in the second quarter of this year.
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Business Times
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Zuckerberg says Meta will invest hundreds of billions in superintelligence
[SAN FRANCISCO] Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday (Jul 14) that Meta Platforms would spend hundreds of billions of US dollars on computing power to build superintelligence, intensifying his pursuit of a technology he has chased with a talent war for top AI engineers. The announcement comes as tech giants such as Meta aggressively chase high-profile acquisitions and offer multi-million-US dollar pay packages to attract top talent in the race to lead the next wave of artificial intelligence. 'We have the capital from our business to do this,' Zuckerberg said in a post on Threads. The Facebook and Instagram parent has recently unveiled its new division, Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), to unify the company's AI efforts, following setbacks with its Llama four model and key staff departures. The MSL will be led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and ex-GitHub chief Nat Friedman, after Meta invested US$14.3 billion in Scale and ramped up efforts to recruit top AI talent. REUTERS
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business Times
Economists upgrade 2025 outlook after Q2 GDP turns out better than expected
[SINGAPORE] Several economists have raised their full-year economic outlook after advance estimates of second-quarter gross domestic product beat market expectations amid the 90-day pause in US retaliatory tariffs. This is even as they expect GDP to slow in the second half of 2025, as the boost from the front-loading of economic activities fades. Most economists' forecasts are now at or higher than the upper bound of the official forecast range of '0 to 2 per cent', which the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) set in April, shortly after US President Donald Trump unleashed his 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Among them, Maybank is most bullish with a forecast of 3.2 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent previously. Both Citi and UOB have raised their outlook to 2.1 per cent, from 1.7 per cent; OCBC is also pencilling in 2.1 per cent, but from 1.6 per cent earlier. Barclays has upgraded its forecast to 2 per cent, from 1 per cent. DBS, Oxford Economics and RHB have maintained their outlook at 2 per cent, whereas Standard Chartered has kept it at 1 per cent. The upgrades come after MTI's advance estimates on Monday (Jul 14) showed that Singapore's economy grew 4.3 per cent year on year in Q2, well above the 3.6 per cent that private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg were predicting. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Q1 growth was also revised upwards to 4.1 per cent year on year, from an earlier estimate of 3.9 per cent. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy expanded 1.4 per cent, a turnaround from the 0.5 per cent contraction in Q1. This means Singapore averted a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinkage in economic growth. This brings year-on-year GDP growth for the first half of 2025 to 4.2 per cent. 'Singapore's resilient GDP growth in H1 was supported by front-loading of exports and, to a smaller extent, production in anticipation of further US tariffs,' said UOB associate economist Jester Koh. However, Barclays regional economist Brian Tan noted that the boost may have stemmed from export front-loading around US trade policy 'from other economies going through Singapore' – rather than shipments from Singapore. 'MTI notably did not link front-loading to manufacturing performance in its press release, which suggests policymakers also see limited evidence that front-loading has significantly supported domestic exports from Singapore,' he said. Tan added that MTI's statement 'suggests caution over whether the front-loading boost can sustain'. Specifically, MTI said: 'Looking forward, there remain significant uncertainty and downside risks in the global economy in the second half of 2025, given the lack of clarity over the tariff policies of the US.' The ministry did not change its forecast range but could potentially review it when the next quarterly economic survey is released in August. Citi economist Kit Wei Zheng expects official growth forecast to be raised to 1.5 to 2.5 per cent or higher, noting that Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said last week that the forecast would be revised 'as needed'. Slower growth in H2 Most economists do not expect Singapore's GDP performance to sustain into H2. 'The biggest challenge will come from US trade policy,' said Sheana Yue, an economist at Oxford Economics. Even if the tariff levied on Singapore does not exceed 10 per cent, she said, the city-state's trade-dependent economy 'isn't insulated from the indirect effects of higher global tariffs'. 'A particular challenge may arise from the focus on transhipment – Singapore's re-exporting sector accounts for roughly two-thirds of all trade,' she added. UOB's Koh said the eventual 'payback' from front-loading may be more pronounced in trade-related services – wholesale trade, as well as transport and storage – rather than manufacturing. 'Any further growth drag in these sectors is likely to stem from weaker demand due to the tariffs themselves,' he said. RHB group chief economist Barnabas Gan and associate research analyst Laalitha Raveenthar estimated that the current round of US tariffs could shave approximately 0.25 to 0.3 percentage points off Singapore's GDP, primarily through a 0.9 per cent reduction in exports. However, Maybank economists Chua Hak Bin and Brian Lee believe the slowdown in Singapore and the region's exports could be 'milder than previously feared'. Tariffs on Singapore-made goods would remain 'relatively competitive' compared with higher rates imposed on other US trading partners, said the duo. Exports of electronics and pharmaceuticals should also continue to grow as long as exemptions remain in place, they said, adding that the broadening artificial intelligence (AI) demand is a tailwind for semiconductors. Next monetary policy review Most economists expect the central bank to adopt a 'wait-and-see' stance when it issues its next monetary policy statement scheduled for month-end. UOB's Koh said he still expects the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to ease policy further, with a higher likelihood that this may occur in October or January than later this month, 'once the payback effects from front-loading and the impact of tariffs more clearly translate into slowing growth momentum'. For now, the stronger-than-expected H1 growth, benign global financial conditions, stable job market conditions and likely unchanged core inflation forecasts are buying MAS more time, said Citi's Kit. 'Policymakers (are) likely to await greater clarity on tariff negotiations before easing monetary policy,' he added.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Singapore stock market sees biggest IPO in years with NTT DC REIT's debut
The Singapore Exchange has seen its biggest real estate investment trust (REIT) listing in more than 10 years, raising more than US$770 million. But Japan's NTT DC REIT's debut was met with a lukewarm response. Its unit price rose just three cents, or 3% higher above its unit offer price of U$1, before ending the day flat. NTT's portfolio includes high-spec facilities in Singapore, Austria and the US — all benefiting from the explosion of demand driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Roland Lim reports.
