Singapore firms more pessimistic after poorer Q1 performance: survey

SINGAPORE’S firms grew more pessimistic as business conditions weakened further in the first quarter of 2023, the latest quarterly Business Times-Singapore University of Social Sciences (BT-SUSS) Business Climate Survey has found.

In Q1, all three business performance indicators deteriorated from a quarter ago. The net balance for sales took the biggest hit, tumbling 20 percentage points to -25 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.