Amid a bleak global economic outlook this year, investments into Singapore will remain around the 2011 levels, according to the Economic Development Board (EDB).
EDB expects fixed asset investments (FAI) for 2012 to hit between S$13 billion and S$15 billion, most likely besting last year’s record S$13.7 billion (excluding 2007 and 2008, when Singapore inked two petrochemical cracker projects).
Aside from some 20,300 skilled jobs, the slew of projects secured in 2011 is also expected to contribute S$15.5 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per year once fully completed.
Last year, local companies’ business spending amounted to S$7.3 billion excluding depreciation, a measure of economic activity without taking fixed assets into account.
“The year 2012 will be a challenging year on the economic front, but we continue to see active investor interest in Asia, and Singapore is well-positioned to harness some of these investment flows,” said Mr Leo Yip, Chairman at EDB.
Chemicals and electronics will likely account for majority of the higher FAI in 2012, as they made up 54 percent and 18.3 percent of last year’s FAI respectively.
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