SME optimism dips amid economic headwinds

AMID economic headwinds, sentiment among SMEs has dipped to "neutral" after six straight years of optimism, according to the latest SBF-DP SME Index. The overall index score fell 1.1 points to 50.0, a score which indicates that SMEs do not expect to achieve any growth during the next six months.

The score of 50.0 is the lowest score since the index was first published in the first quarter of 2010.

The index measures the business sentiment of SMEs for the next six months (Q2 and Q3 of 2016) and is a joint initiative of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and DP Information Group. Some 3,600 SMEs were surveyed over January and February on their outlook and sentiment.