Singapore Gets Back on the Growth Trajectory
After a couple of years of suffering from the pandemic weather, Singapore is getting back on its growth trajectory. This has become more evident toward the third quarter of 2023. Singapore is set out to cement its position as a leading startup and venture capital hub, entering the top 10 index for the first time. The city-state joins some of the world's biggest tech ecosystems like Silicon Valley, New York, and London, according to a new industry report. According to the latest global study by Startup Genome, a research company based out of the US, Singapore now ranks 8th after surging ahead 10 places from last year. In Asia, it placed second behind Beijing, which fell two places to 7th in the same period.
During the start of the financial year, Singapore was staring down the barrel of a recession. The official data for the first quarter showed Singapore’s economy declining 0.4 percent from the previous three-month period on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis. But things have changed in an almost magical way for the country. Singapore’s economy dodged a technical recession in the second quarter, growing 0.7 percent year-on-year and 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, according to estimates.
The country largely owes its tourism industry for evading recession. The city-state saw 6.3 million visitors last year, exceeding the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) forecast of 4 to 6 million. Indian Tourists played a decisive role in this. A total number of 612,300 visitors from India arrived in Singapore till November 2022, as per Singapore Tourism Board (STB) data. Following the announcement of the reopening of Chinese borders, Singapore expects 12 to 14 million arrivals and up to S$21 billion in revenue in 2023.