SINGAPORE -- Singapore's move to diversify its export base is paying off dividends at a time when its star electronics sector is losing its luster due to weak global demand, officials and analysts say.

The trade-dependent city-state is betting on non-electronics shipments -- mainly pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals -- to help lift exports this year with global appetite for electronics seen returning only in the second half.

China is also emerging as an important market as uncertainty continues to haunt the U.S. economy, currently the biggest export destination for most Asian countries.

Singapore's key Non-Oil Domestic Exports (NODX) -- comprised of electronics and non-electronics items -- bounced back to mild growth last year from a sharp contraction in 2001 but the recovery was below market expectations.

NODX grew 1.9 percent to 98.6 billion Singapore dollars ($57 billion) in 2002, swinging back from a 14.5 percent contraction the year before, trade body International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said.

For December, NODX grew 4.4 percent to 8.0 billion dollars, much slower than the 19 percent rise registered in November.

Shipments of electronics products such as computer disc drives, integrated circuits, computer parts, consumer electronics and printers fell 3.2 percent in 2002, while exports of non-electronics products grew 9.9 percent.

For 2003, IE Singapore Chief Executive Lee Yi Shyan said NODX -- the key barometer of Singapore's trade performance -- should grow between two to six percent in line with the forecast expansion of total trade.

With global chip demand expected to recover only in the second half of the year, non-electronics exports should continue to be key contributors to overall growth, he said.

Non-electronics exports accounted for 42 percent of NODX in 2002, up from 39 percent in 2001.

Last year pharmaceutical exports rose 28.6 percent and petrochemicals shipments climbed 35.3 percent, with the double-digit growth seen to continue this year.

"The diversification idea is aimed at smoothing out the economic cycle in Singapore from following the electronics cycle too closely," he added.

China is increasing its importance as a market, but exports to the world's most populous nation are still small compared to the U.S. intake.

Exports to the United States in December totaled 1.61 billion Singapore dollars ($930 million), while shipments to China hit $579 million. Exports to the European Union reached $1.36 billion.