SINGAPORE - Singapore will report detailed fourth quarter gross domestic product data before stock market trading hours on Feb 16, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Thursday.

Most economists expect the final GDP numbers to show an improvement over preliminary figures that showed the economy contracted 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted and annualised basis.

On Feb 17, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will present his budget for the financial year starting April 1. The budget is expected to contain provisions to help smaller companies cope with rising costs.