
Biomedical sector output fell by 8.9% in January 2011
For the first time in 4 months, biomedical sector dipped, but the January industrial production of 10.5% marks an encouraging start for manufacturing.
According to OCBC, January industrial production data showed other sectors like precision engineering (+41% yoy), chemicals (+15.9% yoy), and transport engineering (+9.2% yoy) also improved, but biomedicals fell for the first time in 4 months by 8.9% yoy, dragged down by pharmaceuticals (-9.5% yoy, which is a sharp turnaround from the +104.6% yoy growth seen in Q4 2010). Excluding the volatile biomedical sector, manufacturing output rose 18.9% yoy (+7.7% mom) in January.