Arya News - Strong global demand for AI-related products led to an unprecedented growth in Singapore`s electronics exports in July 2026, extending the 105.1 percent growth observed in June.
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 24.2 per cent in July, extending June’s 20.8 per cent increase, as electronics shipments continued to surge due to AI-related demand. This fell short of economists’ forecast of 26.5 per cent in a Bloomberg poll, however.
Electronics NODX grew 112 per cent while non-electronics NODX dipped 2.3 per cent, according to figures released by Enterprise Singapore on Aug 17.
July’s report also comes after the government agency upgraded its NODX forecast for 2026 to 14 per cent to 16 per cent, up from an earlier forecast of 3 per cent to 5 per cent, reflecting the exceptionally strong first-half performance led by electronics.
Analysts were positive about the NODX outlook for the second half of 2026, but cautioned that overall performance is likely to be uneven, with electronics exports outperforming non-electronics.
Strong global demand for AI-related products led to an unprecedented growth in electronics exports in July, extending the 105.1 per cent growth observed in June.
Disk media products saw the largest increase at 339.1 per cent, while integrated circuits grew 84.5 per cent on the back of robust demand for AI-related hardware such as memory chips and server-related products. PCs also expanded, by 120.8 per cent.
DBS senior economist Chua Han Teng said the electronics sector will continue to support NODX growth as substantial AI infrastructure investment, particularly those signalled by major US hyperscalers, will continue to underpin external demand for Singapore’s electronics and precision engineering exports.
Electronics NODX was also largely driven by markets deeply embedded in the semiconductor value chain, including the United States, which led the top 10 markets at 378.8 per cent. South Korea and Taiwan, two other major semiconductor manufacturing markets, also saw robust momentum at 112.1 per cent and 122.1 per cent respectively, though their growth rates moderated from June.
Electronics NODX momentum also increased in markets such as Thailand, India and Indonesia, suggesting rising adoption of artificial intelligence solutions among businesses alongside growing end-consumer demand, said UOB’s global economics and markets research team.
Maybank economists Chua Hak Bin and Brian Lee noted that exports to the US, which grew 62.8 per cent in July compared with 36.7 per cent in June, continued to be driven by disk media products, PCs and telecommunications equipment.
Meanwhile, shipments to China largely comprised specialised machinery, non-monetary gold and integrated chips.
While Taiwan saw the third-largest NODX expansion, exports had eased by a huge margin, from over 120 per cent in June to just above 30 per cent in July.
Zavier Wong, market analyst at trading platform eToro, noted that shipments from Singapore get booked unevenly from month to month, so the huge swing difference between the US and Taiwan – two of the Republic’s largest electronics markets – “is still one to flag heading into August”.
Given that Singapore is a major supplier of chips, storage and hardware feeding hyperscaler build-outs, “as long as capex (capital expenditure) guidance keeps climbing, there’s little reason to expect electronics NODX to roll over on its own”, he added.
Non-electronics NODX declined for the second straight month, with pharmaceuticals leading the contraction at 56.7 per cent. Petrochemicals and food preparations fell by 22.5 per cent and 17.9 per cent respectively.
Supply chain disruptions are likely to dampen non-electronics exports, DBS’ Chua said. Petrochemical exports, for instance, are likely to remain weak in the coming months due to feedstock constraints stemming from ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Feedstocks are raw biomaterials used to make goods such as biofuels and plastics.
Chua added that non-electronics NODX to the US will likely underperform and be subdued due to the continuing drag from the newly imposed 12.5 per cent levy, arising from the probe by the Office of the US Trade Representative into forced labour concerns. This is expected to affect about one-third of Singapore’s domestic exports.