Singapore's Exports Grow at Fastest Pace in Decades

   By Amanda Lee 
 

SINGAPORE--Singapore's non-oil domestic exports in August grew at their fastest pace in decades, as robust artificial intelligence demand extended into the second half of the year.

The Southeast Asian trading hub's non-oil domestic exports rose 46.2% in August from a year earlier, Enterprise Singapore said Thursday. That exceeded the revised 24.1% increase in July and beat the 35.0% growth forecast in a Wall Street Journal poll.

Electronics exports, a key driver of Singapore's trade growth, surged 131.8% in August, accelerating from a 112% increase in July. Those shipments climbed due to robust AI-related demand, driven mainly by integrated circuits, disk media products and personal computers, Enterprise Singapore said.

Non-electronics exports rose 12.0% in August on year compared with a revised 2.4% decline in July.

For the first eight months of the year, NODX grew 22.4%.

Exports to the U.S., China and South Korea expanded in August, while shipments to the EU 27 contracted, Enterprise Singapore said.

The government agency has projected Singapore's non-oil domestic exports to grow between 14% and 16% in 2026.

The city-state has benefited from the ongoing AI boom because it is a key part of the global semiconductor and AI supply chain.

Looking ahead, UOB associate economist Jester Koh expects second-half export momentum to remain supported by AI-related demand.

Substantial capital spending by major cloud-computing and technology companies through 2026 and 2027 should continue to support demand for memory chips, AI hardware and related equipment, Koh said in a recent note.

 
              August           July 
U.S.           +91.0          +62.8 
China          +70.3          +37.5 
South Korea    +87.1          +53.3 
Taiwan         +58.5          +32.4 
Hong Kong      +62.9          +36.4 
Malaysia       +39.3          +23.3 
India          +23.7          +12.9 
Indonesia      +24.5          +12.3 
Thailand        +8.9          +18.1 
EU 27           -1.7          -36.0 
 

Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 16, 2026 20:48 ET (00:48 GMT)