Low credit ratings most pervasive among hospitality, retail SMEs

THE hospitality, retail, construction, communications and services sectors had the biggest proportions of Singapore small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with low credit standings going into 2020, which could limit their ability to weather the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is according to credit and business information provider Experian, which studied more than 50,000 Singapore SMEs across 12 sectors in April.

The hospitality sector (which includes F&B) had the largest proportion of businesses with a high risk of defaulting on their loans at 81 per cent, followed by the information and communications sector at 72 per cent. Retail, construction and services tied at 70 per cent each.