7% of Singapore manufacturers predict economy will worsen in 1H14

But subsectors see better days ahead.

According to a release, the manufacturing sector expects a positive business situation in the first half of 2014 on the back of improved global macroeconomic conditions. Overall a weighted 11 per cent of manufacturers expect business conditions to improve while a weighted 7 per cent foresees deterioration.

This results in a net weighted balance of 4 per cent of manufacturers expecting a more favourable business situation in the next six months ending June 2014 as compared with the fourth quarter of 2013.

Within the manufacturing sector, all except the electronics cluster project better business conditions for the period January – June 2014. The biomedical manufacturing cluster is the most optimistic with a net weighted balance of 19 per cent of firms expecting an improved business situation. The pharmaceutical segment anticipates higher orders from the US and Europe while the medical technology segment plans to launch new medical devices in the months ahead.

The precision engineering cluster is the next most optimistic with a net weighted balance of 8 per cent of firms anticipating better business prospects in the first half of 2014. The machinery and systems segment which includes industries such as semiconductor related equipment and metal forming machinery & tools, foresees business to pick-up with improved economic conditions in the US and Europe.

On the other hand, the electronics cluster is the least upbeat about business conditions in the first half of 2014 compared to a quarter ago. Overall, a net weighted balance of 5 per cent of electronics firms project a less favourable business situation. This weak sentiment is led by the infocomms & consumer electronics and data storage segments, as demand for personal computers and disk drives remain lackluster.