Singapore firms less pessimistic about H2 prospects: BT-SUSS poll

SINGAPORE firms are feeling less pessimistic about business prospects for the next six months compared to the previous quarter’s outlook, even though orders continued to decline in the second quarter, the latest Business Times-Singapore University of Social Sciences (BT-SUSS) Business Climate Survey has found.

Business performance stabilised in the second quarter. Of the three performance indicators monitored, the net balances for profits and sales were unchanged compared to a quarter ago. Only the net balance for orders or new business took a hit, sinking 17 percentage points to -38 per cent.

The net balance is the difference between the share of firms with an increase and those with a decrease in an indicator, compared to the year-ago period. A positive net balance suggests expansion, and a negative one, contraction.