Industry 4.0 smarts vital to maintain Singapore's edge in manufacturing

SINGAPORE'S faster-than-expected expansion of manufacturing output in March, by 10.2 per cent, has cheered economists who now say that first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) may have expanded at a faster rate than previously thought.

On a three-month moving average basis, manufacturing output rose 8 per cent in March compared to the year-ago period.

The importance of the manufacturing sector to Singapore cannot be overstated. The sector accounted for about 20 per cent of GDP in 2016. In its report, the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) recommended that Singapore maintain a globally competitive, high-value manufacturing industry with its share remaining at around 20 per cent of GDP.