Expectations are up for all services sectors except one

It’s the only sector with a negative business outlook for the next quarter.

About 9% of services sector firms expect more favourable business conditions for October 2017 to March 2018, the Department of Statistics Singapore (SingStat) revealed.

According to its quarterly survey, this is an improvement from the -8% recorded over the same period last year.

About 20% of firms are optimistic about future business conditions, whilst 11% see a slower business. A majority or 69% think their business will remain the same.

All industries within the services sector foresee more favourable business conditions in the next quarter, except the real estate industry. A net weighted balance of -5% of firms have a positive business outlook for the next quarter.

"Within the real estate industry, firms engaged in the leasing of commercial premises expect weaker demand for their services," SingStat said.

Meanwhile, companies in the food & beverage (F&B) services, retail trade, and accommodation industries expect the year-end holidays to boost business in the next six months, with net weighted balances of +34%, +19%, and +11%, respectively.

About 20% of firms in the financial & insurance industry also expect business conditions to be more favourable. Within the industry, banks and insurance companies are among those that expect conditions to improve, SingStat said.

About 11% of firms in the recreation, community & personal services industry also see an improvement in business conditions, led by those in healthcare.

Meanwhile, 11% of services sectors firms expect operating receipts to increase during the period.

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia