million. the financial services and fintech sectors created 2, 500 net jobs last year. we expect the financial sector to continue to create good jobs this year. financial institutions expect to create about 6, 500 new hiring opportunities 12 this year, with strong demand in areas such as technology, wealth management, corporate banking, and insurance. 13 the financial services sector has exceeded both the value - added and employment targets set by the industry transformation map ( itm ) for 2016 – 2020. growth in value - added during this 5 - year period averaged 5. 4 % per annum, above the itm target of 4. 3 %. the sector, together with fintech, added an average of 4, 700 net jobs per annum, above 7 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches the target of 4, 000. mas has started reviewing the itm strategies and targets for the next 5 years. mas has been studying in depth how the financial services landscape will transform and what singapore must do to remain competitive in the coming decade. technology will reshape financial services in the next 10 years, much more profoundly than it has in the last 5 years. sustainability will become an increasingly central focus for financial services as the world strives towards a low - carbon future. jobs in financial services will transform, with growing skills requirements across multiple domains. technology, sustainability, and jobs are three areas that mas has focused on intensely in recent years, working closely with the financial industry. over the last two years, mas has put out about 70 reports, speeches, and media statements on just these three subjects. together with our industry partners, mas facilitates discussions and provides updates, on technology through the green shoots series, and on jobs through the growing timber series. and just three weeks ago, we issued our inaugural sustainability report which covered not only the green finance action plan for the financial industry but also mas ’ efforts to reduce its own carbon footprint and to make the official foreign reserves more climate - resilient. so, important as these three areas are, i will not touch on them today. there will continue to be ample opportunities to talk about them in future. mas ’ financial position before i wrap up, let me provide an update on mas ’ financial performance. the investment return from the official foreign reserves was s $ 8. 2 billion in fy2020 / 21. this comprised : investment gains of s $ 22. 8 billion, mainly from interest income and realised capital gains. this was largely offset by a negative

year, uncertainty remains as elevated. what has changed is the nature of the uncertainty. last year, we were uncertain how far down the economy will go, in the face of an unprecedented pandemic. this year, the uncertainty is in both directions : a much stronger recovery or a much 2 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches dampened one. singapore economy the singapore economy had recouped in the first quarter of 2021 the aggregate output loss incurred during the pandemic. the recent tightening of domestic restrictions and border controls will cause a near - term setback to segments that make up about 8 % of the economy. the consumer - facing industries ( retail trade, food & beverage, and land transport services ) will be most affected by the tightening measures. the travel - related industries ( air transport, accommodation, arts, entertainment & recreation ) are likely to see further delay in their recovery. construction and marine & offshore engineering activity may be hindered by labour shortages from the border restrictions on the entry of foreign workers. but the economic impact of the current restrictions will be significantly less severe than during the circuit - breaker last year. the majority of businesses remain in operation. the broader economy should see a recovery in the second half of this year alongside strengthening global demand and further progress in our vaccination programme. trade - related activities such as manufacturing and wholesale trade will be supported by resilient global trade flows and robust upswing in the global tech cycle. modern services, particularly the financial and ict sectors, are set to expand at a firm pace this year, amid a pickup in credit intermediation activities and the ongoing digitalisation of business processes which has been accelerated by the pandemic. moreover, compared to a year ago, singapore is much better equipped to handle the pandemic, with more effective testing and tracing, swift isolation of infected cases, and vaccination. singapore ’ s gdp growth could exceed the upper end of the 4 to 6 % forecast range, barring a setback to the global economy. last month, the official forecast range was maintained at 4 to 6 % in light of the deterioration of the domestic covid - 19 situation and consequent phase two ( heightened alert ). mti, together with mas, will review the forecast range in august when preliminary estimates for q2 gdp are available. the resident unemployment rate should continue to gradually decline. total employment expanded by 14, 000 in q1 this year, the first expansion after four consecutive quarters of