S'pore less dependent on nonoil exports

S'pore less dependent on nonoil exports

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Singapore's domestically produced non- oil exports jumped an unexpected 15.3 percent in October over the previous year, showing that the country is successfully weaning itself away from dependence on lower-end electronics products, analysts said Saturday.

Economists had predicted a more modest 10.5 percent annual gain, according to the average of seven forecasts gathered by Dow Jones Newswires.

Despite the strong data, market reaction is expected to be muted. Liquidity on Singapore's markets has dried up as the end of 1999 approaches and as investors hold back to protect themselves against potential Y2K computer problems.

October's increase was exaggerated by a sharp drop in exports a year ago, when Singapore was rocked by the Asian economic crisis. Compared with September, non-oil domestic exports rose only slightly in October to $9.2 billion from S$9.18 billion, the Trade Development Board said Saturday.

Even so, the figures confirm that Singapore's economic recovery is assured, economists said. "Overall, the trend is intact," said an economist at J.P. Morgan & Co. based in Singapore.

Thursday, Singapore announced that the economy grew at an annual rate of 6.7 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the second quarter. The government also raised its 1999 growth forecast to 5 percent from a previous range of 4 percent to 5 percent.

Singapore is managing to sustain growth despite a downturn in the key disk drive sector, which has seen major manufacturers move operations to lower-cost countries. Exports of disk drives fell by an annual 11.3 percent in October to S$1.5 billion.