SINGAPORE: Rising business costs have become the biggest concern for Singapore companies as geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty weigh on sentiment, a survey by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has shown.
These are among the issues Singaporeans faced as the country celebrated Singapore National Day on August 9th. It commemorates Singapore's full independence and sovereignty after its separation from Malaysia in 1965. The major annual festivities include the National Day Parade (NDP), aerial flypasts, and fireworks.
On Sunday, Singapore turned 61, and according to the survey released on Wednesday, the most commonly cited concern was rising business costs, selected by 71.8 percent of respondents.
The other top concerns were the availability of suitable manpower and business transformation to capture new growth opportunities.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has added to business uncertainty, with respondents identifying higher operating costs, market uncertainty, weaker demand and supply chain disruptions as the main risks.
Businesses also turned more cautious about the outlook. Thirty-eight percent of respondents were neutral on business prospects, while 34 percent were pessimistic and only 20 percent were optimistic.
Reflecting the subdued sentiment, only 34 percent of businesses expect revenue to grow this year, down from 39 percent in 2025. Although 78 percent still expect to remain profitable, more than half of them anticipate lower profits than last year.
The survey also showed Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Thailand emerged as the top overseas markets for expansion.
Meanwhile, 45 percent of respondents said they were experimenting with off-the-shelf artificial intelligence tools, although limited expertise and implementation costs remain key barriers to wider adoption. -- Xinhua
