SINGAPORE, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Singapore businesses were approaching 2025 with cautious optimism, according to the latest Business Optimism Index released by the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) on Monday.
The index for the first quarter of 2025 rose to +5.45 percentage points, up from +5.06 in the fourth quarter of 2024. This marked the sixth consecutive quarter of improvement, said the SCCB, a subsidiary of the commercial information provider Credit Bureau Asia Limited.
The quarterly report highlighted gains in four of six indicators tracked: volume of sales, net profits, selling prices and new orders. Inventory levels remained at 0 percentage points, while employment levels remained expansionary at +5.93 percentage points.
Sector-wise, the construction, transportation and financial industries emerged as the most optimistic for the first quarter of 2025. However, sentiment in the wholesale trade sector moderated slightly amid global trade uncertainties.
"While local sentiments have hit a new peak in three years, geopolitical tensions have surged in recent months," said Audrey Chia, CEO of the SCCB.
The survey, conducted quarterly, gathered responses from 200 business owners and senior executives across Singapore. Respondents were asked to assess whether they expect increases, decreases, or no changes in their sales, profits, employment, new orders, inventories and selling prices for the upcoming quarter. ■