SINGAPORE, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Thursday that the city state's economy grew by 0.5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019, slightly higher than the 0.2-percent growth in the preceding quarter.

That is an upward revision from the 0.1 percent year-on-year growth announced by the MTI last month on a basis of advance estimates.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, Singapore's economy expanded by 2.1 percent in the third quarter, a reversal from the 2.7 percent contraction in the second quarter, the ministry said.

In a breakdown, Singapore's manufacturing sector shrank by 1.7 percent year-on-year, the construction sector grew by 2.9 percent, the wholesale and retail trade sector fell by 3.3 percent, and the finance and insurance sector expanded by 4.3 percent.

The MTI said the performance of the manufacturing sector and trade-related services sectors would remain subdued for the fourth quarter of this year, in view of the ongoing downswing in the global electronics cycle. But sectors such as construction, information and communications, finance and insurance, and education, health and social services would continue to post steady growth.

Taking into account the performance of the Singapore economy in the first three quarters of the year and the outlook for the fourth quarter, the ministry narrowed the 2019 GDP growth forecast for Singapore to 0.5-1 percent from 0-1 percent.

As for 2020, the MTI forecasts that Singaporean economy would pick up modestly in 2020 as compared to 2019, and the growth would be in the range of 0.5-2.5 percent.

Selena Ling, head of Treasury Research and Strategy of the OCBC Bank, said the bank's forecast for Singapore's 2020 GDP growth is 1-2 percent year-on-year, with a midpoint of 1.5 percent year-on-year. Enditem

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