“While growth momentum from 4Q25 could carry into the first few months of 2026, the outlook for 2026 is likely to ease coming from a high base in 2025, due to higher operating costs and stronger market competition in the region,” Heng says, noting that SME business owners will continue to take a cautious approach this year. This is in spite of the relatively strong performance of Singapore’s economy.
The OCBC SME Index rose to 50.8 in 4Q2025, up from 50.5 in the past two quarters. This is the third consecutive quarter the index has remained in expansionary territory.
OCBC’s head of global commercial banking, Elaine Heng, says externally oriented SMEs generally outperformed their domestic-facing counterparts. Similar to 3Q2025, SMEs operating in areas such as manufacturing, ICT and wholesale trade continue to be the main drivers of growth.
