Singapore’s economy grew much faster than initially estimated in the third quarter, and blew past analysts’ expectations, buoyed by strength in manufacturing activity.

The economy grew 8.8 percent in July-September from the previous quarter on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a statement on
Thursday.

The government’s initial estimate, released on Oct. 13, had shown that the economy grew 6.3 percent.

Gross domestic product expanded by 5.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, compared with the initial estimate of 4.6 percent growth.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected third-quarter GDP growth to be revised up to 7.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, and 5.0 percent year-on-year.

The ministry said it has upgraded its growth forecast for this year to 3.0 to 3.5 percent, from the previous projection 2.0 to 3.0 percent gains. Growth in 2018 is expected to be 1.5 to 3.5 percent, the ministry added.