Singapore’s business confidence has moderated for the third straight quarter in the 4Q2022.
According to the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB), the business optimism index (BOI) fell to 4.98 percentage points in the 4Q2022, down from the 4Q2021’s 5.78 percentage points and down from the 5.10 percentage points in the 3Q2022.
The figures represent the difference between the percentage of respondents expecting increases and declines across six indicators: sales volume, net profits, new orders, employment levels, inventory levels and selling price.
The data is aggregated from a poll of 200 business owners and senior executives representing major industries across Singapore.
On a y-o-y basis, four out of the six indicators worsened in the 4Q2022, with only selling price rising from zero percentage points to 9.70 percentage points and inventory levels rebounding from -5.35 percentage points to 2.24 percentage points the same period.
On a q-o-q basis, three indicators – volume of sales, selling price and inventory levels – saw expansions.
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Within the various sectors, the transportation, financial, manufacturing and construction sectors were “relatively upbeat” with all six indicators in positive territory. The outlook for the services and wholesale sectors, on the other hand, deteriorated slightly with five out of the six indicators in positive territory for the services sector and all six indicators in negative territory for the wholesale sector.
“The overall lukewarm outlook for local businesses is due primarily to a weakening external demand, escalation of geo-political tensions as well as an overall slower pace of growth globally,” says Audrey Chia, SCCB’s CEO.
“This is evident from the deterioration in sentiment across the wholesale trade and services sectors. However, visible improvements were seen in both transportation and construction sectors owing to strong recovery in international air travel and a pickup in consumer-facing services,” she adds.
SCCB is a subsidiary of SGX-listed Credit Bureau Asia (CBA), a credit and risk information solutions provider in Southeast Asia.
