Firms turn less optimistic in Q2 as business activity weakens: survey

SINGAPORE firms have turned much less optimistic about business prospects for the next 6 months, as overall activity weakened in the second quarter, the latest quarterly Business Times-Singapore University of Social Sciences (BT-SUSS) Business Climate Survey has found.

Of 4 indicators monitored, business prospects took the largest hit for the second straight quarter. Though firms were still optimistic overall, the net balance tumbled 15 percentage points to 7 per cent, indicating that fewer firms were upbeat about the outlook for the next 6 months compared to last quarter’s survey.

The net balance is the difference between the share of firms reporting an increase and those reporting a decrease in an indicator.