Singapore business optimism wanes for Q1 2019

Singapore

BUSINESS confidence among local companies moderated significantly for the first quarter of 2019, weakening for the second straight quarter.

This is according to the latest quarterly Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau's (SCCB) Business Optimism Index released on Tuesday.

The overall index eased from +9.19 percentage points in Q4 2018, to +7.19 percentage points for Q1 2019. However, compared to a year ago, this was up from +4.29 per centage points in Q1 2018.

The figures, derived from a survey of 200 business owners and senior executives, represent the net percentage of respondents expecting improvements in the coming quarter compare…