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Global rankings and how they are done

Friday, September 10, 2010 By

A country's ranking in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report depends largely on an executive opinion survey. If the business executives in one country rate its infrastructure, government institutions or education system highly, its score goes up in those categories. These are used to decide overall rankings.

Singapore is the world's third most competitive economy, according to this year's report, for the second year in a row. Switzerland remains No 1 while Sweden has moved up to second place. America, which slipped to second spot last year, is down to fourth place.

What these rankings reflect is business confidence in a country.

In Singapore, the business executives who took part in the survey were chosen with the help of the Economic Development Board. In some countries, they were chosen with the help of non-government bodies. The London School of Economics helped in Britain, the Confederation of Indian Industries in India.

Singapore excelled in those categories where the rankings were based on the executive opinion survey. The executives, chosen with the help of the Economic Development Board, gave it near-perfect scores for quality of education, public trust in politicians and several other categories.

From World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2010

(These charts from the Global Competitiveness Report are based not on the executive opinion survey but on other sources.)

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Filed Under: Singapore, World Today Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Singapore output falls, bucks advance estimates

Monday, October 26, 2009 By

This is unexpected.

Factory output dropped in every sector in Singapore last month contrary to the government's advance third-quarter GDP estimates.

Industrial output in September fell 7.7 percent year on year as declines were posted across every sector, reported AFP quoting the Economic Development Board.

The advance estimates disclosed on October 12, on the other hand, said the economy had grown by 0.8 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period last year — the first such growth in more than a year.

Based on those estimates, the government raised its economic forecast from a sharp 4 to 6 percent fall in GDP this year to a more moderate 2 to 2.5 percent drop.

The question now is whether the September factory slump will drag down third-quarter growth. After all, manufacturing makes up a quarter of the Singapore economy.

What happened was clearly unanticipated.

The government press release issued with those advance estimates said, "Growth was driven by the continued expansion of biomedical and electronics output" — industries which had the stuffing knocked out of them in September.

Apparently, the market plunged after the advance estimates were made.

The advance estimates were "computed largely from data in the first two months of the quarter (ie, July and August 2009)", said the press release.

Read the press release and hope the estimates prove more right than wrong. Here is what it said:

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Filed Under: Singapore Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Singapore recovery slowing: All sectors down except biomedicals

Friday, September 25, 2009 By

The pace of economic recovery is slowing down in Singapore — and the Formula One Grand Prix is not likely to speed things up, according to this Bloomberg report, which quotes government sources and race organizers.

"Since the tourists are not coming to town, the locals have to do something," says the Bloomberg reporter who has bought F1 tickets.

Michael Roche,Singapore Grand Prix executive director, says the grandstand seats costing an average of 1,500 Singapore dollars (over $1,000) were not easy to sell locally.

Blame it on the economy.

Manufacturing output actually fell by 5.6 percent in August compared with July, reported the Economic Development Board, though it was 12.3 percent higher than in August last year.

Worryingly, all the growth was in just one sector: biomedicals, which was up a phenomenal 97.8 percent compared with August last year.

All other sectors were down. EDB said:

"Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output declined 6.1 percent."

And note this. It said:

"Cumulative output in the first eight months of 2009 contracted by 6.7 percent compared to the same period in 2008."

That's in line with the government forecast of a 4 to 6 percent slump this year. "On balance, the outlook for the second half of 2009 remains subdued," the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in its second-quarter report.

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Filed Under: Singapore Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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