Singapore GDP contracts sharply, in warning for virus-hit global economy

Singapore's economy suffered its biggest contraction since the financial crisis during the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, data showed Thursday, an ominous sign of the devastation being inflicted on the global economy.
The finance minister meanwhile announced Sg$48 billion (US$33 billion) in fresh stimulus, taking to about Sg$55 billion the amount so far pledged by the government to help the export-reliant financial hub weather the downturn.
One of the world's most open economies which is viewed as a barometer for the health of global trade, Singapore is now heading for a deep recession this year after shrinking 2.2 percent on-year in January-March.
"COVID-19 is like an economic tsunami hitting Singapore's shores," said Selena Ling, head of research and strategy at the city-state's OCBC Bank. Singapore is one of the first economies to report growth data since the virus outbreak began, and the dismal figures add to signs the world is heading for a deep, painful recession with more than three billion people now under lockdown.
The Singapore economy's 2.2 percent contraction was the worst quarterly, on-year figure since 2009 during the financial crisis, the last time the city-state was plunged into recession. Compared with the previous quarter, GDP fell 10.6 percent, as all sectors of the economy were battered, according to advance estimates released by the trade ministry.
Announcing the new stimulus package shortly after the growth data's release, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat warned Singapore was heading for its worst recession since independence in 1965.