Singapore strong enough to withstand ‘collateral impact’ from US-China trade war, tariffs: HSBC

DESPITE the risk of the “collateral impact” from an ongoing US-China trade war that is expected to escalate, Singapore should be able to withstand moderated growth, said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC. 

Singapore’s open economy may be affected by the “tremendous uncertainty” that comes from the imposition of additional tariffs and the pace at which they are implemented. This, he said, may lead companies to hold back on investments. 

“You can’t rule out that there will be some drag on growth,” Neumann said in a media briefing on Friday (Jan 17). “But I would expect at some point that the market digests this.”

He added that Singapore’s “structural drivers” – especially its competitiveness as a wealth management, manufacturing and biotechnology hub – remain in place.

The city-state’s integration with Malaysia through the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone also adds to the factors that ultimately drive growth, he said.