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

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (42731)	2/26/2001 4:33:11 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Slowing Singapore output signals market weakness SINGAPORE--Singapore's manufacturing output fell 9.9% in January vs. a year ago, sharply lower than expected, signaling weakness for key electronics products in the months ahead, analysts said today (Feb. 26). Electronics account for about 60% of the island state's total exports and about half of its manufacturing output. The expected fall in Singapore's key electronics exports this year has led the government to issue a more sedate 5%-to-7% growth forecast for 2001 vs. the robust 9.9% in 2000. The Economic Development Board (EDB) said manufacturing output rose 8.9% on a three-month moving average, while the electronics sector's output rose 2.9% in January year-on-year, compared with a 10.8% rise in December. "The fall in electronics is substantial, that is the most significant thing," said Vasan Shridaran, economist with Standard Chartered. "We're seeing an adjustment toward lower demand from the U.S." Agreeing was Eddie Lee, economist with Vickers Ballas, who said that the fall was larger than expected. "If you put both exports and the production numbers together, the trend is unmistakable. There is a very sharp drop in the numbers in two months or so," he said. The EDB said the fall in electronics output was affected by the decline in the computer and telecommunications equipment industries. "In line with the falling prices of chips, excess inventories and the slow demand for personal computers in the U.S., the output of semiconductors grew at a slower rate," the EDB said.