
Total business receipts climbed 3.6% in Q1
Strong revenue growth in the information and communications services industry buoyed Q1 gains.
Singapore’s services industries opened the year on strong financial footing as overall business receipts (excluding wholesale & retail trade and accommodation & food services) grew by 3.6% YoY in Q1, led by gains from the information & communications services. However, growth moderated from 4.1% in Q4 2018.
Business receipts of information & communications services industry grew 7.2%, thanks to gains from firms engaged in computer programming & consultancy services and information service activities, such as web hosting and web portal services.
The financial & insurance services and transport & storage services industries also reported increases in revenue of 7% and 3.9%, respectively.
Business receipts of the transport & storage services industry fell 5.6%, attributed to the water transport segment, which received lower demand for their services.
On the other hand, revenue from the recreation & personal services industry climbed 7.3% QoQ whilst turnover from the education services industry grew 3.7%.