Silicon Basket Bulges, Hormuz Dividend Fleeting

Electronics exports are soaring, AI salaries are climbing fast, Changi's Hormuz bump has an expiration date, and the government is pushing out S$500 vouchers early.

Jun 15, 2026

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All the Eggs in a Single Silicon Basket

Electronics exports from Singapore grew 57.8 percent year-on-year in Q1, which is more than double the 23.4 percent result seen in the last quarter of 2025. Chips, by themselves, made up S$1.7 billion ($1.3 billion) of March's S$3.1 billion ($2.3 billion) of electronics shipments. The rest of the export economy didn't keep pace, though. Non-electronics exports were down 3.5 percent over the same period, as US tariff pressure took a bite. Throughout the region the story is broadening, with non-tech exports from China, India, South Korea and Taiwan rising at an annualized 27 percent pace so far in the six months to April. Singapore produces one in 10 chips made globally and one in five pieces of semiconductor equipment. The sector makes up close to 6 percent of Singapore GDP.

The AI Talent Race

AI salaries in Singapore are going up 15 to 25 percent yearly, which is a pace five times that of overall wages. New graduates are walking out of university into starting packages of S$70,000 to S$90,000 ($53,000 to $68,000). The hottest role nobody knew of three years ago, the forward deployed engineer (a hybrid of coder, consultant, and client whisperer), now makes at least S$120,000 ($91,000) at mid-career. US based semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials has opened a US$500 million campus in Tampines that more than doubles its advanced cleanroom capacity and is expected to add 1,000 jobs over the next twelve months. The company has been in Singapore since 1991; Asia already makes up more than 80 percent of its revenue, and it is betting the next AI chip wave is going to run, at least partly, through the Lion City.

Read more: Straits Times (forward deployed engineers), Business Times (talent shortage), Business Times (Applied Materials campus)

Changi's Hormuz Dividend Comes With an Expiry

More than 400 additional flights connecting Singapore to cities including Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris, Perth, and Sydney ran out of Changi between March and May, making up for reduced Gulf carrier services that were hammered by the crisis in the Gulf. Singapore Airlines moved fast, adding capacity and increasing the pace of flights on its European routes for the rest of 2026. The success came with a warning from IATA director-general Willie Walsh who, while being complimentary about SIA's speed, also kept his praise capped. He said that once stability returns, the Gulf hubs will be quick to rebound. He said that Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves has already told him the airline expects July capacity to run higher than a year ago.

S$500 Vouchers Come Early on Inflation Risks

The government pushed S$500 ($390) of CDC vouchers to 1.38 million households on June 11, bringing the payout forward six months from January 2027. DPM Gan Kim Yong was candid about the reasons when he said that cost pressures from outside of Singapore haven't fully been felt, and inflation is likely to climb in coming months as higher energy and input costs work through supply chains. Core inflation did ease to 1.4 percent in April from 1.7 percent in March, but Gan reminded us that the Middle East situation is "fluid."

Allianz Leads Race for HSBC Singapore

Allianz is now considered to be the front runner to take over HSBC Life Singapore, outbidding Sumitomo Life and Daiichi Life in a deal HSBC has valued at $2 billion. HSBC kicked off the review in January under CEO Georges Elhedery, who has been working to streamline the bank’s portfolio of businesses picked up by his predecessor Noel Quinn, including the $529 million AXA Singapore buy (in 2022). Allianz's last attempt at growing its presence in Singapore, a roughly S$2.2 billion ($1.7 billion) bid for a majority stake in Income Insurance, was withdrawn in 2024 after Singapore regulators squawked. Nothing is final, as of yet, and other bidders remain in contention.

Read more: Business Times (UOB asset management), Seekingalpha (tickers)

Resale Condo Market Slows

Resale condo listings are currently sitting on the market for an average of 81 days, which is almost double the 45-day median during the 2022 post-Covid peak. The stalemate appears fairly uniformly across both central and outside central regions. Sellers are holding firm partly because rising land costs mean replacing what they sell will cost more over the next 12 to 18 months, making price reductions less attractive. Buyers also seem to be in no hurry, however. Four in ten PropertyGuru listings have been up for more than 90 days.

The Birth Rate Challenge

Singapore's total fertility rate fell to 0.87 in 2025, the lowest on record, and the government has formed a Marriage & Parenthood Reset workgroup to figure out why. Any reader of Reddit probably already has a pretty good sense to the real reasons. A parent logging 45 to 48 hours a week isn't coming home with much gas left in the tank for family life. One post referenced Mexico's new 40-hour work cap, (no salary cuts attached) and got broad endorsement. Plenty of workers in Singapore are still on 6-day weeks.

Seletar's Hangar Rush

Gulfstream has opened its first dedicated Asia-Pacific customer support facility at Seletar, staffed by eight. The office runs in partnership with Jet Aviation, one of six authorized Gulfstream service centers. It follows Bombardier's June 9 announcement of a $100 million, 250,000 sq ft build-out at Seletar Aerospace Park. WingsOverAsia broke ground on its own MRO and innovation facility there earlier this year, hoping to handle larger jets like the G700 by 2027.

SIA Hitches a Ride on Southwest

Singapore Airlines and Southwest launched an interline partnership on June 8, giving SIA passengers single-ticket access to nearly 120 US domestic destinations via Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. KrisFlyer miles will neither accrue no be able to be redeemed however. Southwest has, until now, remained out of the major global alliances, so this is a way for SIA to extend its US reach without the usual entanglements. SIA is now the eighth interline partner for Southwest, joining the likes of ANA, EVA Air, and Turkish Airlines.

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