Singapore is counting on its position as an Asian financial hub to bolster services exports as overseas demand for its goods falters amid an uneven global recovery, Bloomberg reported. The growing importance of services has prompted the government to release quarterly figures on the sector, Ow Foong Pheng, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told reporters Tuesday. Services trade rose to almost 27% of the total last year from about 20% a decade earlier, she said. That share is set to increase with a rising middle class in the region boosting demand and a planned regional economic community set to lower barriers to trade, the ministry said.
