Singapore firms are doubling down on their Asian connectivity and prioritizing resilience within their supply chains, an HSBC survey revealed.

Businesses in Singapore see a longer path to recovery compared to their global peers, but are increasing their investment in growth, HSBC said in its «Navigator» report, which surveyed 10,000 businesses worldwide, including 200 in Singapore. 

According to the report, 67 percent of Singapore firms expect profitability to recover by the end of 2022, compared to 73 percent across APAC, while 42 percent expect sales to shrink in 2021, compared to 28 percent across APAC. Some 87 percent plan to expand their international business, compared to 76 percent globally, while 51 percent are immediately investing in expansion overseas, compared to 44 percent across APAC.

At the same time, Singapore businesses are more concerned with reshaping their supply chains than their global counterparts – 63 percent are looking to adopt digital/technology into their supply chains, compared to 48 percent globally, and are choosing suppliers located closer to customers (58 percent vs. 43 percent globally) and selecting them based on operational resilience and ability to deliver quickly (54 percent vs. 43 percent globally).

Improving Connectivity

And while two-thirds of Singapore companies expect cross-border trade to become more difficult going forward, they are doubling down on intra-regional trade and trade with mainland China, Singapore's leading trade partner.

Compared to 2019, there has been growth in trade with China (50 percent, up from 43 percent in 2019), Malaysia (50 percent, from 36 percent), Thailand (32 percent, from 28 percent), and Indonesia (29 percent, from 23 percent).

«There’s no doubt that Singapore’s businesses have been hard-hit; it comes with the territory of being one of the world’s most internationally connected trading hubs. Yet it’s encouraging to see that they’re still investing for growth; digging deep to strengthen Asian trade links and seeking open, easier and safer trade,» Iain Morrison, head of global trade and receivables finance, HSBC Singapore, said.