S'pore attracts $6.3b in fixed asset investments in second quarter

Singapore drew $6.3 billion of fixed asset investments in the second quarter of this year, as the country continues to pull in investments amid a challenging global environment.

The Republic also attracted $2.1 billion of total business expenditure (TBE) for the April-to-June period, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in its quarterly economic survey published yesterday.

When the projects are fully implemented, they are expected to create more than 5,100 jobs in the coming years and generate $6.1 billion in value-added to the economy.

Fixed asset investment is defined as a company's incremental capital investment in facilities, equipment and machinery.

Value-added refers to the direct contribution made by businesses to Singapore's gross domestic product, and includes components such as wages and corporate earnings.

The Economic Development Board's (EDB) medium-to long-term yearly target for fixed asset investments is between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Combined with the $2.2 billion of fixed asset investments drawn in the first quarter, the total fixed asset investment amount attracted by Singapore in the first half - $8.5 billion - is within the target range for the full year.

The Republic attracted $11.8 billion in fixed asset investments for the whole of last year, with the projects estimated to create more than 17,000 new jobs in the next five years.

These included roles such as cyber-security specialists and intellectual property managers. About 70 per cent of the jobs were for professionals, managers, executives and technicians.

In its report yesterday, MTI noted that the largest contribution to fixed asset investments in the second quarter came from the manufacturing sector, which attracted $3.6 billion of commitments.

Within the sector, the largest amounts were for electronics ($2.9 billion) and biomedical manufacturing ($430 million).

At the same time, the info-communications and media cluster drew $1.8 billion of fixed asset investments.

Investors from Europe contributed the most - $3.4 billion, or 54.5 per cent - to fixed asset investments.

Meanwhile, the services sector attracted the highest amount of TBE commitments at $1.9 billion, with the info-communications and media as well as headquarters and professional services clusters the biggest contributors.

TBE refers to a company's incremental annual operating expenditure in Singapore, excluding depreciation. Major components include wages and rental.

Singapore drew $5.2 billion in TBE per annum last year. EDB's medium-to long-term target for TBE per year is $5 billion to $7 billion.