Singapore Q1 2026 economy up 6 percent

[donna]

Our friend and trade agreement partner Singapore is leading the way - showing the world how strong it's economy is with a 6% increase. Where has the growth come from?

• Wholesale trade,
• Manufacturing,
• Finance and insurance
• AI tech demand

Since Feb - like everywhere Singapore's economy has weakened - but it's still strong compared to other nations (like NZ, Aus, UK, USA etc).

Something Singapore does that hopefully our RBNZ Gov is taking notice is - it doesn't use interest rates to control the value of the Singapore Dollar. Refreshingly, it lets the market work - and with their currency, it does fluctuate. Is this the strategy we should adopt, no matter what?

regards,

Donna

[donna]

ChrisW - you say: Singapore had their property price bubble in 1998 during the Asian Financial Crisis. Look how long it took for their economy to recover from those economic conditions.

Umm not everyone agrees with you.....

Your premise is historically inaccurate because Singapore’s property bubble actually peaked in 1996, before correcting sharply during the 1997–1998 Asian Financial Crisis (AFC).

Furthermore, both the property market and the broader economy recovered relatively quickly rather than enduring a drawn-out slump. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

A timeline of what actually occurred reveals the following:

• The Bubble and Crash: Driven by speculation, private residential prices peaked in mid-1996. The AFC hit in July 1997, causing property prices to fall by about \(45\%\) from their 1996 peak before bottoming out in late 1998.
• Rapid Economic Recovery: The broader economy dipped into a brief recession in 1998, with GDP growth falling to \(1.5\%\). However, following aggressive government measures to lower business costs and stimulate demand, the economy rebounded strongly. By 1999, GDP growth surged to \(7.2\%\).
• Swift Property Rebound: Housing transaction volumes returned to near pre-crisis levels within 9 months. By the end of 1999, prices had bounced up roughly \(34\%\) from their lowest point, nearly recovering to their former heights. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7]