SINGAPORE (Feb 7): Despite the challenging economic conditions in 2019, Enterprise Singapore notes that there has been no slowdown in business sentiments among companies in Singapore.
In a media release on Friday, the government agency said that some 11,450 enterprises had embarked on 13,560 projects in 2019 to raise productivity, enhance innovation and accelerate internationalisation.
Through this, Enterprise Singapore expects a total of $17.3 billion in value to be added to the Singapore economy, with 21,700 jobs generated for the professionals, managers, executives and technicians, or PMETs - a labour group that has recently been the talk of the town.
Notably, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) undertook the majority of these transformation projects, garnering 43% and 52% of the total number of enterprises and projects respectively.
Enterprise Singapore CEO Peter Ong says that companies are making good progress in their transformation efforts despite the challenging environment.
“In 2019, many more Singapore enterprises stepped up and pushed forward with their efforts,” says Ong. “We believe that enterprises are increasingly cognisant that transformation is no longer an option, but a necessity if they are to remain competitive,” he adds.
Ong also highlighted how more companies ventured overseas in 2019 in a bid to diversify their businesses to mitigate the impacts of a slowing economy. 60% of the 3,000 internationalisation projects undertaken by enterprises constituted those from the wholesale, trade professional services, information and communications technology (ICT) and retail.
Enterprise Singapore had facilitated and provided on-the-ground assistance to 600 projects - which are expected to rake in overseas sales worth $8.8 billion, and overseas investments worth $8.9 billion.
“There is reason for our enterprises to keep up their momentum even as they deal with the business challenges of the moment,” says Ong.
“We know it is not easy, but the only way to remain competitive is to be more nimble and seize opportunities even when the going gets tough,” he adds.
