Remaining chip smart

SINGAPORE'S latest trade figures are fairly lacklustre. The key measure (non-oil domestic exports, or NODX) rose barely one per cent in September, pulled down by flagging electronics exports, which shrank 4 per cent year-on-year on the back of lower shipments of PC parts, integrated circuits and disk drives. The electronics sector, which accounts for one-third of Singapore's manufacturing exports, has seen decline for 26 straight months. Shipments of electronic products have fallen 11 per cent so far this year, dragging down overall NODX which has shrunk 1.1 per cent to date.

The rather dismal data begs the question: Is Singapore's electronics and semiconductor clus…