In Focus

The market expected exports to grow by 11.0% in April, while OCBC expected 9.6% growth. Both were wrong.

Health minister Ong Ye Kung gives three factors that could lead to a new set of enhanced "circuit breaker" social distancing restrictions.

Unlinked community cases of COVID-19 have pushed the government into introducing increased restrictions, to apply from Sunday.

Rental volumes fall, rents  are on the rise, and more people are choosing to buy permanent homes.

The demand for condo resales will likely remain high in the coming months, analysts say.

UOB weighs in on the reimposition of stricter measures as COVID-19 cases increase.

The maximum sizes of business events have also been reduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Jefferies Equity research says the bank will continue to grow past its $2b net income from the first quarter.

With joblessness rates falling in the first quarter, UOB Global Economics say things are likely to continue improving.

At least three in five are tracking expenses on a regular basis.

The 7.6% surge of industrial production in March broke past analyst estimates.

Headline inflation hit a 4-year high of 1.3% in March, the highest since May 2017.

Private residential property prices rose for the fourth quarter in a row, leaving investors hungry for more.

This comes despite JTC’s projection on increased demand for ndustrial spaces in 2021.

The declaration of a travel corridor between the two cities has been delayed for the second time. The travel bubble announcement between the Singapore and Hong Kong will not push through this week, as previously scheduled. According to a Bloomberg report, the announcement was cancelled last minute by the Singapore side. This will be the second delay in the anticipated quarantine-free travel measure, previously scheduled for November last year. While Singapore has eased its travel restrictions for travellers from Hong Kong, the Chinese authonomous region has done the opposite, suspending flights from Singapore Airlines budget carrier Scoot. Singapore lowered the requirements for Stay Home Notices (SHNs) for Hong Kong travellers to seven days, that can be served at their residence, from the previous 14-days at a dedicated SHN facility. On the other hand, Hong Kong suspended flights from Scoot from April 16 to 29, after two passengers from Singapore tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing. On April 21, the Singapore Ministry of Health confirmed that there had been two new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19. There were also 14 imported cases from people who had recently travelled from India and Indonesia. There are 274 active COVID-19 cases in Singapore, as of April 21. Hong Kong recorded 172 new COVID-19 cases between April 7 to 20, including 39 confirmed local cases, 1 possible local case, and 15 from unknown sources. Both cities have started implementing their respective vaccination programmes.  

Overall exports surged by 21%, leading experts to upgrade their Singapore economic forecasts.