CASHFLOW and costs remain the top priority for Singapore small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2023, with less than half being optimistic about growth, DBS’ annual SME Pulse Check survey indicated on Monday (Mar 20).
That priority was cited by 62 per cent of respondents. It was followed by exploring new markets (33 per cent) and first-time overseas expansion (31 per cent).
Some 29 per cent of respondents prioritised hiring, retaining and upskilling manpower, while 25 per cent cited sustainability and greening their businesses, and 21 per cent cited digital transformation and innovating new business models.
The survey was conducted with 116 SMEs across various industries.
Rising global interest rates were the biggest worry, cited by half of respondents. This was followed by labour costs and availability (43 per cent), inflation (36 per cent), the goods and services tax hike (26 per cent) and supply-chain disruptions (25 per cent).
As for banking partners, only 1 per cent preferred a “purely digital banking partner”. For nearly three in five SMEs, it was most important to have a “trusted and reliable banking partner with a long track record of supporting businesses”.
Koh Kar Siong, group head of SME banking at DBS, warned that continued headwinds from rising global inflation and high interest rates will add to SMEs’ operating expenses – so managing cashflow and liquidity needs is critical, along with effective credit-risk management.
Most SMEs intend to build a sustainable business, with only 4 per cent not planning to do so. But 35 per cent of respondents said the return on sustainability was the main challenge in building such a business.
Other challenges include the cost of deployment, absence of government incentives and funding, and the lack of technical know-how in the market on how to establish a sustainable business.
Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/singapore/smes-top-priority-2023-ensuring-cashflow-and-maintaining-costs-survey