Selena Ling, OCBC Bank

12 July 2024
Bigger Pic: Singapore Q2 growth beats expectations at 2.9%
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank discusses why she is raising her full year GDP growth forecast on the back of the better than expected second quarter advance estimates. The manufacturing sector appeared to be a bright spot swinging back to growth from a contraction the same period last year.
Produced/Presented: Ryan Huang

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23 May 2024
Bigger Pic: S'pore on track for faster growth in 2024
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank discusses where her forecast for Singapore's growth lies within the range of “1.0 to 3.0 per cent” announced by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. She explains what will continue to be bright spots after the economy in the first quarter of 2024 grew by 2.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis, extending the 2.2 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.
Produced/Presented: Ryan Huang

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29 August 2023
Money in the Market: What makes Singapore government bonds so attractive in the current climate?
The US bond market was hit by a fresh round of selling pressure Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank remains prepared to push interest rates higher and keep them elevated if needed to keep reining in inflation. What’s the correlation between the two?
Asian bonds recorded net foreign inflows for a fifth straight month in July.
Singapore government bonds are being viewed attractively as a haven from the rising economic issues in China and a hawkish Federal Reserve which is prepared to keep raising interest rates. What is making Singapore governments this attractive?
On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Selena Ling, Chief Economist at OCBC Bankto find out more.

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22 June 2023
Money in the Market: How did markets react to US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress?
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's congressional testimony this week was billed as a potential market mover.
Investors looked ahead to Powell's two-day testimony before Congress, starting with the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, which occurred overnight, which will be scrutinized for clues regarding how long the central bank will keep its restrictive policy in place.
So did the first of the two-day testimony pan out as expected for investors?
On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank, to find out more.

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14 April 2023
Morning Shot: How is the world reacting to black swan events & a downgraded IMF growth forecast?
The International Monetary Fund is painting a pessimistic outlook, as it downgrades its real GDP growth forecast for both 2023 and 2024.
Selena Ling, Chief Economist at OCBC Bank weighs in how Singapore’s economy positions against larger economies amid that gloomy outlook and whether central banks will further tighten their monetary policies.

[Contact Us]
Presenter: Lynlee Foo
Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

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23 February 2023
Money in the Market: When will inflation ease in Singapore?
Singapore’s inflation rose across the board in January, but came in slightly under economist estimates. Consumer prices in Singapore rose at a faster pace in the first month of 2023, pushed up by Chinese New Year buying and the higher goods and services tax that had just kicked in. Headline consumer price index (CPI), or overall inflation, also edged up, on the back of higher accommodation inflation. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Selena Ling, Head of Treasury Research & Strategy at OCBC Bank to find out what these figures mean for consumers and markets.

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23 November 2022

Bigger Picture: Singapore projects GDP growth to ease in 2023

Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank gives us an overview of Singapore's recent GDP numbers and the bright spots in our country's economy.

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03 November 2022
Market View: Fed hikes rates by 75bps, Uncertainties in the Black Sea and Impact on Asian economies, Singapore’s manufacturing outlook
US and Asian economies are at the front and centre of our discussion. Over in the US, the Federal Reserve had raised interest rates by yet another 75 basis points overnight.
While the Fed’s decision was largely in line with market expectations, we want to deep dive into the Fed’s statement for clues on whether a slowdown in rate hikes is in sight.
Elsewhere, more tensions between Russia and Ukraine and uncertainties over the Black Sea grain export deal. To what extent will this push up prices of commodities in major Asian economies such as Indonesia?
On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked these developments with Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank.

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14 October 2022
Bigger Picture: Singapore avoids technical recession
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank discusses the bright spots from Singapore's Q3 GDP advanced estimates which rose 1.5% qoq, reversing a drop of 0.2% in Q2, as well as MAS's 5th tightening move this year which was more measured than widely expected.

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19 July 2022
Money in the Market: Will inflation in Singapore ease next year?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has posted a $7.4 billion annual loss, weighed down by stronger Singdollar amid soaring inflation. At the same time, the MAS says inflation may ease next year, but that outlook is still uncertain. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Selena Ling, Head of Treasury Research & Strategy at OCBC Bank to discuss the impact this has on Singapore's economy, as well as the type of risks that can trigger inflation to continue into next year.

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14 July 2022
Bigger Picture: MAS makes surprise off cycle move to tighten policy
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank, discusses why the Monetary Authority of Singapore sees enough urgency to act now ahead of its scheduled October meeting, and what the latest Q2 GDP advanced reading at 4.8% missing consensus forecast tells us about the economic trajectory.

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25 May 2022
Bigger Picture: Singapore outlook for external demand worsens
Selena Ling, Chief economist, OCBC Bank breaks down the significance of Singapore's Q1 GDP at 3.7% yoy and the latest 2022 forecast kept at 3% to 5%, but now expected to come in at the lower half of the range.

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14 April 2022
Market View: Recapping Advanced 1Q GDP Figures and the MAS' One-Two Punch
Advanced figures for Singapore's 1Q GDP showed that the economy grew by 3.4% in the 1st 3 months of the year, missing consensus estimates. On top of that, the Monetary Authority of Singapore enacted not one, but two, tightening measures while raising their inflation outlook for the year. On Prime Time, JP Ong spoke to Selena Ling, Chief Economist and Head of Treasury Research & Strategy at OCBC, to get her reaction to the numbers.

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25 January 2022
Analysis on The MAS' decision to tighten its Singdollar policy
The Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened its Singdollar policy in a surprise move. Typically such adjustments are reserved for its bi-annual monetary policy statements in April and October. To help better understand the move Prime Time's Rachel Kelly speaks to Selena Ling, Head of Treasury Research & Strategy, OCBC Bank who shares more about the timing of this, and what it might mean for inflation.

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3 January 2022
Singapore economy beats expectations to grow 7.2% in 2021
Singapore’s economy grew 7.2 per cent last year, the most since 2010 and higher than earlier estimates. Finance Presenter, JP Ong, digests the details with Selena Ling, Head of Treasury Research & Strategy at OCBC Bank.

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14 October 2021
Bigger Picture: MAS makes surprise move to tighten monetary policy
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC bank discusses why the Singapore central bank decided to tighten policy for the first time in three years, and how 3Q's 6.5% growth sets up the outlook for rest of the year.

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14 July 2021
Across the ASEAN: Singapore's Advanced 2Q GDP Numbers
While the Singapore economy grew by 14.6% year on year in the second quarter -- it still contracted by 2% as compared to the first 3 months of the year. How big a part did the restrictions of May and June play in the slight 2Q headwinds? Selena Ling, OCBC's Chief Economist and Head of Treasury Research, helped us break down the numbers on Across the ASEAN, and tell us why the economy still has a chance to beat the government's outlook.

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25 May 2021
Bigger Picture: Singapore Q1 GDP up 1.3%, beats expectations
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank discusses what drove the outperformance, and whether current tightened restrictions will weigh on the economic recovery.

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4 January 2021
Market View: Recapping Singapore's FY 2020 GDP Figures
Singapore's Economy contracted by 5.8% in 2020, and while it wasn't as bad as economic officials were expecting, it still pointed at the country's deepest recession in history. Selena Ling, OCBC's Head of Treasury Research and Strategy, joined us for the first Prime Time of 2021, to discuss the numbers, and what the outlook for the economy is in the year ahead.

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20 November 2020
Bigger Picture: S'pore 3Q GDP Preview
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank shares why she's revising upwards her expectations for the final print for Singapore's third quarter growth, and why the labour market could still see more pain.

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14 July 2020
Bigger Picture: Singapore enters technical recession
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank breaks down the Q2 GDP drop of 12.6%, with the construction sector the worst hit. She explains why the worst damage may be over, and discusses if a fifth round of stimulus is needed.

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16 June 2020
Bigger Picture: Phase 2 reopening earlier than expected
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank gives her outlook for the Singapore economy, and if the worst is over after Q1's unemployment rate reached its highest in over 10 years at 2.4%.

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28 April 2020
The MAS' Bleak Assessment of the Economy and Unemployment
The Monetary Authority of Singapore addressed the bleak outlook for the economy against the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic and extended circuit breaker measures, warning that the contraction could be worse than previously estimated. Authorities also cautioned of deflationary pressures and significant job losses. OCBC Chief Economist Selena Ling joined us after the MAS' statement to talk about how bad things could get.

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18 March 2020
Bigger Picture: Economic impact of Malaysia's lockdown
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank shares her outlook for Singapore's economy in view of Malaysia's restrictions affecting movement of workers, and whether there is enough urgency for the Monetary Authority of Singapore to make an off-cycle policy move.

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17 February 2020
Singapore trims 2020 growth forecast, amid COVID-19 impact
Selena Ling, Head of Treasury Research & Strategy, OCBC Bank shares her takeaway from Singapore cutting of its outlook for 2020 growth, now expected to come in at a range of -0.5% to 1.5% (instead of 0.5% to 2.5%), as well as what's at the top of the to-do list for Budget 2020.

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14 October 2019
Breaking Down Those Advanced 3Q GDP Figures with OCBC's Selena Ling
Advance 3Q GDP figures point to Singapore narrowly avoiding a technical recession. But the numbers weren't very encouraging. OCBC's Head of Treasury and Research Selena Ling told us what the numbers are telling her, as well as what the MAS' decision to ease means for the Singapore dollar.

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4 July 2019
The Bigger Picture: Singapore's Manufacturing PMI and SGD Outlook
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, OCBC Bank shares more about the Singapore economy after PMI data from our manufacturing sector was released last night, as well as the latest outlook on the Singapore dollar.

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21 May 2019
The Bigger Picture: Singapore's GDP Numbers, Trade and Dollar
Selena Ling, Chief Economist, at OCBC Bank discusses the ups and downs of trade numbers regarding Singapore's economy as well as the current view of the Singapore Dollar.

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4 Apr 2019
OCBC's Selena Ling Previews 1Q GDP Figures & Looks At Recent PMI Data
OCBC's Selena Ling isn't ready to call a bottom on the challenged electronics sector, but sees green shoots of recovery in the manufacturing space. She also tells us how the flash 1Q GDP figures might turn out, and why markets might still be choppy in the near term.

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