S'pore economy picks up sharply in Q2

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SINGAPORE, July 10 (AFP): Singapore's economy picked up sharply in the second quarter, beating forecasts with a blistering 8.2 per cent gain after an already strong 6.4 per cent expansion in the three months to March, official figures showed today.
Gross domestic product (GDP) growth grew 6.6 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year.
Economists had estimated 6.2-7.7 per cent growth for the second quarter.
On a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted annualised basis, GDP, the value of all goods and services produced in the country, grew 12.8 per cent following 8.5 per cent in the first quarter, the ministry of trade and industry said.
"The Singapore economy registered strong growth in the second quarter of 2007," it said.
Growth in the manufacturing sector jumped sharply to 10.2 per cent, led by biomedicals and transport engineering, which includes oil rigs and ships, from 4.4 per cent in the first quarter.