Singapore’s construction sector has emerged as the only resilient sector with a positive outlook.

The construction sector in Singapore has emerged as the only resilient sector with a positive outlook, registering positive growth and hiring expectation, according to the quarterly SBF-Experian Index by Singapore Business Federation.

The global economy has slowed due to the prolonged uncertainties caused by the ongoing US and China economic conflict that has significantly impacted trade-oriented economies such as Singapore.

“Prolonged trade tensions on the global stage and a slowing Chinese economy present some downside risks to the city-state’s trade-oriented economy… However, it is heartening to see the construction sector remaining resilient, indicating that the government’s strategy to bring forward a slew of public sector projects is indeed paying dividends,” said James Gothard, General Manager, Credit Services & Strategy, Southeast Asia, Experian.

In comparison to the other sectors, construction’s profitability expectations has the most significant increase (1.80 per cent to 5.09 per cent), turning positive for the first time since 4^th quarter of 2018 to 1^st quarter of 2019. The sector’s improved outlook led to a positive hiring expectation (1.4 per cent to 5.07 per cent), making it the only sector to see an improvement in hiring. Strong construction activities in the public sector are most likely the cause of this positive result, with 60 per cent of construction demand in 2019 expected to come from the public sector.

Despite a strong positive outlook for construction, SMEs in the sector have taken a slight bump, with capital investments expectations decreasing  from 5.21 per cent to 5.14 per cent. –Construction+ Online