26/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | MAY 26, 2026

17

Singapore economy beats expectations in Q1

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy grew a greater than expected 6.0% in the first quarter of 2026 from a year earlier, data showed on yesterday, but officials said the Middle East conflict had weakened the outlook with downside risks ahead. The annual gross domestic product figure beat an official advance estimate of 4.6%. On a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 1.0% in the January-March period, compared with an advance estimate of a 0.3% contraction. The first quarter growth was mainly driven by wholesale trade, manufacturing and the finance and insurance sectors, supported by strong AI-related demand, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said. It maintained its economic growth forecast for this year at 2.0% to 4.0%. “Overall, the outlook for the Singapore economy in 2026 has People sit along the promenade under a cloudy sky during lunchtime in the financial district of Raffles Place in Singapore. – AFPPIC

o Artificial intelligence-related demand drives 6% growth but risks ahead

showed non-oil domestic exports expanded 9.6% in Q1 2026, led by the electronics segment with growth of 57.8%. Enterprise Singapore raised its export growth forecast to 3.0% to 5.0%, up from 2.0% to 4.0%, on what it said was resilient AI-related demand. Risks to Singapore from US trade tariffs also remain, however, with the city-state among countries subject to the Donald Trump administration’s section 301 investigations. Beh said Singaporean officials had returned recently from US talks and do not expect any “positive surprises”. Inflation data for April will be released this week. In March, core inflation rose 1.7% from a year earlier, and economists expect a similar reading for April. The central bank in April raised both its core and headline inflation forecasts for 2026 to a range of 1.5% to 2.5%, from 1.0% to 2.0% previously. – Reuters Singapore’s

Jardine Matheson to buy I-MED in healthcare push SYDNEY: Jardine Matheson said yesterday it has agreed to buy Australian medical imaging provider I-MED Radiology Network for a total enterprise value of A$3.4 billion (RM9.5 billion), adding a major healthcare diagnostics business to the Hong Kong-based group. The storied investment group, whose businesses span property, retail, and automotive sectors, said it will buy a 100% stake in I-MED from funds advised by private equity firm Permira and other shareholders. It said the deal would be funded through cash reserves and debt financing, without giving a split. Jardines said in a statement that the purchase includes I-MED’s minority interest in Harrison.ai, which develops radiology AI solutions, and fits with its strategy of investing for control in market leading businesses and expanding into growth areas. The deal values I-MED at about 11.5 times forecast adjusted EBITDA for the year ending June 2026, excluding the Harrison.ai stake, Jardines said in its statement. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. The firm said the deal is expected to be neutral to underlying earnings per share in its first full year after closing and accretive thereafter. “I-MED is already a market leader in radiology today, and we expect the business will expand further in I-MED’s core markets as well as new markets,“ Jardines’ chief executive Lincoln Pan, who started in his role in December, said in the statement. I-MED operates 215 diagnostic imaging clinics in Australia and New Zealand and performs more than seven million procedures each year, Jardines said. It also provides teleradiology, or the remote reading of medical scans, in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. The transaction requires regulatory approvals and is expected to close later in 2026, Jardines said. In January, Jardines completed its buyout of Mandarin Oriental. – Reuters A pedestrian stands next to a medical diagnostic imaging centre for I-MED Radiology Network in Sydney. – REUTERSPIC

steady at its previous three quarterly meetings having eased policy last April. Speaking at the same event yesterday, central bank chief economist Edward Robinson said its current monetary policy stance remains appropriate. “For the Singapore economy, interest rates have been fairly stable, having been down through 2025 and we expect that to continue with the proviso of some stability or some surety to U.S. interest rates going into the second half of this year,” Robinson said. Instead of using interest rates, Singapore manages monetary policy by letting the local dollar rise or fall against currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed trading band. Official data released yesterday

weakened since February,” ministry permanent secretary Beh Swan Gin told a press conference. “Downside risks to Singapore’s economic outlook have risen significantly and MTI will continue to monitor developments closely and adjust the GDP growth forecast over the course of the year, if necessary.” The Middle East conflict has upended global growth and inflation trajectories, throwing interest rate expectations into disarray. As a small trade-dependent hub, Singapore is especially vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and volatile energy prices. Last month, the central bank tightened monetary policy due to the risk of the Iran war fuelling inflation. The central bank had held policy

Indonesia palm oil prices plunge at farmers’ level JAKARTA: Indonesian palm oil fresh fruit bunch (FFB) prices have collapsed at the farmers’ level following the announcement of a new plan to channel commodity exports through a central potentially disrupt supply chains and reduce smallholders’ income, the industry has warned. another palm oil farmer organisation, POPSI, told Reuters on Sunday. Policy uncertainty has

were even considering reducing or even stopping the use of fertiliser due to concerns that palm oil prices will continue to fall and production costs can no longer be covered. A unit of Indonesian sovereign wealth fund, called Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia will become the sole exporter of palm oil as the government seeks tighter control over tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings from commodity sales. – Reuters

has now plummeted to around 1,000 rupiah, according to a Saturday statement from another farmers union, SPKS. “The situation worsened after a number of companies began to withold purchases and temporarily halt sales,“ said Sabarudin, the head of SPKS, adding that the rapid price drop was a negative market response to the planned single-buyer export trading system. SPKS said that many farmers

“Prices at the farmers’ level have collapsed,” Gulat Manurung, head of the palm oil farmer association known as Apkasindo, told Reuters in a statement. Since the announcement, many collection points have shut down, transportation has been halted, and fruits have begun piling up, hitting smallholder farmers the hardest,

threatened the industry, causing traders and mills to hold back due to unclear export mechanisms, creating potential income losses for the smallholders, POPSI said. Supriyadi, a farmer from Mamuju, West Sulawesi, said the price of FFB, which was previously at around 2,800 rupiah (RM0.63) per kilogram,

government-run firm, a palm oil farmer association told Reuters yesterday. President Prabowo Subianto’s scheme, designed to assert more control over Indonesia’s lucrative commodity export business, could