AI is driving GDP growth, but could it turn into a headwind some day?
It is important for Singapore to diversify, partly because no technology cycle lasts forever.
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Singapore’s manufacturing and export sectors have been big winners from the AI boom, as the Republic occupies a key position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Selena Ling
While war rages in Iran, Singapore’s growth momentum has been impressive. Its gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.7 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2026, on the back of 6.3 per cent growth in the first quarter.
Clearly, the economy is running hotter than the 2 per cent to 4 per cent growth forecast for 2026. The Straits Times Index hit a record high in July. If an alien landed on our shores, it would not believe how easily Singapore, a net energy importer, seems to have shrugged off the impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict and skyrocketing global energy prices.
