7 in 10 SMEs confident of repaying loans in 2021: DBS

Published Sun, Nov 8, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

SEVEN in 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore's most embattled sectors are confident of meeting their repayment obligations for government-backed loans in 2021, said a DBS survey.

But a minority - about 3 per cent - said that they will have to wind up their business, with about a fifth of SMEs indicating that they are "exhausted" from dealing with the Covid-19 economic fallout.

The DBS SME Pulse Check Survey was conducted in early October, after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced extended credit relief support measures for SMEs to partially defer the principal repayment of certain loans, and responses came from close to 250 SMEs in three industry sectors hi…