Singapore’s Offshore Industry Recovering, But No Return To Glory Days

A big drag on Singapore’s growth in recent years, the embattled offshore and marine industry, has broken a three-year losing streak. Yet industry executives aren’t betting on a return to the glory days anytime soon.

The industry, along with a top-class finance sector, has been a key pillar of Singapore’s economic transformation into a first world economy since independence from British colonial rule in 1965 and a source of national pride. But a 2014 collapse in oil prices has resulted in thousands jobs lost, several defaults and billions of dollars in debt restructurings.

Now, as oil prices pick up, the industry is coming back to life. A 28.3% year-on-year jump in output from the marine and offshore engineering sector in June was the biggest since March 2014.