Signs of recovery for British businesses in Singapore in H1: BritCham

Singapore

CONFIDENCE in Singapore remains high with British businesses based here, as four in 10 (43 per cent) saw an uptick in sales in the past six months according to the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore's (BritCham) inaugural business sentiment survey.

The outlook for recruitment is also positive, despite grouses relating to manpower availability.

About 80 per cent of the businesses surveyed said their total workforce increased or remained constant in the first half of this year.

Some 73 per cent of them conducted recruitment exercises over the same period and 31 per cent said they expect their total workforce to increase in the next six months.

And 57 per cent said they expect their total workforce to remain constant.

On the flip side, foreign manpower faced an overall contraction of 18 per cent within the total employee base. One in four businesses said the number of foreign employees who require a work pass has decreased.

"With the restrictions on Employment Pass (EP) holders and Dependent Pass holders entering the country, many talented foreign workers are choosing to leave Singapore to the detriment of our company," said one respondent.

Issues raised include a lack of local applicants applying for advertised roles, Covid 19-related restrictions in the EP application process and inbound travel suspension for work pass holders, and the recently announced Letter of Consent rule changes, noted BritCham.

Separately, more than half (58 per cent) of businesses said operations were affected by more than a moderate amount due to Covid.

Current levels of concern for both the cost of doing business and cash flow sits at 81 per cent.

Businesses also reported similar levels of concern over business travel and work pass entry approval restrictions.

Despite foreign manpower concerns, the outlook for future sales among member businesses is positive, with orders and bookings remaining constant for the majority of respondents (42 per cent) or increasing (35 per cent).

BritCham surveyed 80 companies between June 17 and June 25. The majority of the respondents were in fields including accounting, construction, financial services, IT & Services, and management consulting.

Cashflow improved for 36 per cent of respondents and remained constant for 40 per cent of those polled.

Respondents also indicated that Asean is increasingly critical for businesses here, with 94 per cent reporting that the region remains a priority for their businesses versus 91 per cent in February.

Only 15 per cent stated that Asean is still a priority, but to a lesser extent than before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Confidence in Singapore came in at 83 per cent, a drop from the 94 per cent recorded during BritCham's membership survey in February.