An upswing in Singapore's economic growth on the back of a global economic recovery is likely to be less pronounced than in the past, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin on Tuesday.

Even so, he added that Singapore was still a bright spot compared with the rest of Southeast Asia.

Dr Chua told a briefing that Singapore's economy "usually swings up from the exports manufacturing side" in the past but the recent weakness in the manufacturing sector has cast doubt on whether that can continue.

The manufacturing sector has struggled partly due to economic restructuring and a stricter foreign worker policy, which has caused domestic costs to rise, he noted.

The Republic's electronics manufacturing sector in particular appeared to be losing global market share, he added.

Dr Chua said he expects Singapore's economic output to expand 3.7 per cent this year from last year, slightly below the consensus of 3.8 per cent growth estimated in a Monetary Authority of Singapore survey last week, and 3.2 per cent next year from this year.