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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (38521)	10/19/2000 10:27:03 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Surge in chip sales fails to offset export slump BLOOMBERG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Singapore's export growth eased last month to its slowest pace in three months as falling shipments of disk drives and chemicals offset surging sales of chips and telecommunications equipment. Non-oil domestic exports rose 11.7 per cent from a year earlier to S$10.3 billion (about HK$45.82 billion), the second-highest level on record, after climbing a record 27.3 per cent in August, the Trade Development Board said. Economists had expected a 16 per cent increase. Singapore is counting on exports of chips and other electronics which make up two-thirds of exports to continue fuelling its economy, which expanded an estimated 10.2 per cent in the third quarter. Still, growth may be set to cool further in coming months as global electronics demand slows. "Singapore's non-oil domestic exports will peak in the third quarter and slow down from here. Manufacturers may be trying to export ahead of the slowdown" in electronics demand," said Christopher Ng, an economist at OCBC Research. So far, better than expected export growth has prompted the government to lift this year's gross domestic product growth target three times. Last week, it raised the target to 9 per cent, compared with an original forecast of 4.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent. Trade, worth three times Singapore's GDP, is the biggest contributor to the island's growth. Recent profit and sales warnings from companies in the United States such as personal computer maker Apple Computer, and chip-maker Intel may crimp sales at the Asian chip-makers that supply them. Geoffrey Barker, chief economist at HSBC Holdings, said in a recent report he expected Singapore's export growth to slow to 5 per cent next year from 8 per cent this year. Overall electronics exports rose 11.4 per cent from a year earlier to S$6.6 billion, less than half the previous month's 27.8 per cent growth, as disk-drive shipments fell. Still, chip-makers such as Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's No 3 maker of chips to other companies' designs, saw shipments surge 43.4 per cent to S$1.8 billion as overseas customers stepped up orders before the holiday season. Exports of telecoms equipment rose 39.4 per cent to S$326 million. "Finished goods have to be on the shelves by the end of November for Christmas sales. This is the time to be merry," said Pao Ning Yu, chief executive of SingaTrust, a producer of semiconductor testing equipment. Exports of disk drives dropped 12.5 per cent, reversing a 10 per cent increase in August. Disk-drive makers have been shifting production to Malaysia and other countries since last year to cut costs as price cuts crimped their revenue. Semiconductors recently bypassed disk drives as Singapore's No 1 export item. While electronics export growth may be set to slow further, Singapore's manufacturers may be better positioned than rivals in other Asian countries to weather a slowdown in US demand because they make a broader range of chips specifically to customers' orders, some analysts said. Chartered Semiconductor is building a US$2.1 billion plant, its sixth factory in Singapore, that is set to double the company's manufacturing capacity next year. "We still continue to see very strong demand," said Warren Lau, an analyst at HSBC Securities. Shipments of chemicals, which make up about 12 per cent of exports, fell 3.6 per cent to S$1.1 billion after rising 28.8 per cent gain in August. Non-oil domestic exports to the US, Singapore's biggest market, expanded 10.1 per cent to S$2.7 billion, slowing from August's 15.6 per cent gain. Shipments to the European Union, the second-biggest market, shrank 18.6 per cent to S$1.7 billion. That compares with an 11 per cent increase in August. From a month earlier, exports fell 3.7 per cent, without adjusting for seasonal factors. Economists had expected a 0.6 per cent decline from August. Chip shipments dropped 16.7 per cent from August.