From SME to ‘SGE’: Asean holds opportunities for Singapore’s global enterprises
The first of a 2-part commentary looks at why this is an opportune time for Singapore’s global enterprises to deepen their presence in Asean
CHANGES in international economic conditions have led to a new era of rising costs, underscoring the need for Singapore and its local enterprises to become more competitive.
The global growth outlook has softened considerably over the course of 2022. In July, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) characterised the global economic outlook as “gloomy and more uncertain”, with global gross domestic product (GDP) growth projected to decelerate from 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.2 per cent in 2022, and 2.9 per cent in 2023.
The 2022 and 2023 forecasts were revised downward by 1.2 percentage points and 0.9 percentage point respectively from January 2022, amid tighter financial conditions, elevated global inflation, a sharper global economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions. The IMF cautioned that the risks in relation to the outlook are leaning to the downside, with risks of a recession in 2023.
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