Rising business costs have become the biggest concern for Singapore companies as geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty weigh on sentiment, a survey by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has shown, reported Xinhua.
According to the survey released on Wednesday, the most commonly cited concern was rising business costs, selected by 71.8 per cent of respondents. The other top concerns were the availability of suitable manpower and business transformation to capture new growth opportunities.
The ongoing conflict in West Asia has added to business uncertainty, with respondents identifying higher operating costs, market uncertainty, weaker demand and supply chain disruptions as the main risks.
Businesses also turned more cautious about the outlook. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents were neutral on business prospects, while 34 per cent were pessimistic and only 20 per cent were optimistic.
Reflecting the subdued sentiment, only 34 per cent of businesses expect revenue to grow this year, down from 39 per cent in 2025. Although 78 per cent still expect to remain profitable, more than half of them anticipate lower profits than last year.
The survey also showed Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Thailand emerged as the top overseas markets for expansion.
Meanwhile, 45 per cent of respondents said they were experimenting with off-the-shelf artificial intelligence tools, although limited expertise and implementation costs remain key barriers to wider adoption.
Source: NST
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<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
