SMEs' optimism about growth slightly up in H2

Singapore’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are slightly more positive about their growth in the next six months, an index by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and DP Information Group showed. But on the whole, business sentiment is still not strong due to manpower curbs, business leaders said.

The SBF-DP SME Index for the third to fourth quarter rose 0.5 point to 54.9 points out of 100, from 54.4 a quarter ago and almost back to the 55-point level two quarters ago. A reading above 50 indicates improvement.