23.7% less businesses formed in Q4 2015: report

MARKEDLY fewer businesses were formed in the final three months of last year compared to the corresponding period of 2014, according to the latest Singapore Business Formation Statistics Report released on Wednesday.

A total of 16,612 businesses were formed in Q4 2015, down 23.7 per cent from 20,540 in Q4 2014, the report showed.

It said the sharp year-on-year drop was partly due to a high base since Q4 2014 was an "anomaly with a record number of business formations".

All categories of companies except limited private companies saw a year-on-year decline in business creation. Limited private companies are typically medium to large companies which have to do statutory annual audits.

The biggest decline was in the formation of limited liability partnerships, which experienced a 41.3 per cent contraction. This decrease was "largely corrective in nature", the report said.

It added that the three industries with the biggest number of business formations were wholesale trade, financial services, and head-office and management consultancies.

The report was done by local corporate services provider Hawksford Singapore, which did not explain its methodology.