Survey: 62% of Companies in S’pore Looking for New Sources of Revenue As 3 in 4 Saw Revenues Dropping

The ongoing epidemic is a calamitous affair…

In more ways than one.

See, on one hand, it endangers millions of lives worldwide. And then on the other hand…

It has proven a real recession maker, having crippled some of the most indomitable businesses prior to the outbreak.

But the question begets;

Just how formidable is this epidemic, in terms of its recession-inducing abilities?

Without further ado, let’s find out.

Survey: 62% of Companies in S’pore Looking for New Sources of Revenue As 3 in 4 Saw Revenues Dropping

According to TODAYonline, around 80 per cent of businesses have seen their revenue decline this year, with 8% forced to retrench workers.

This is in accordance with a survey conducted by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI).

By the way, it’s not 80% of 100 companies.

The poll collated responses from 1,020 companies in June and July, with 95% of them being small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Apart from topics such as business challenges, the firms also provided feedback on key shifts observed and transformation strategies amid the ongoing epidemic.

Amongst the respondents, half of the companies said that the Covid-19 has had a large impact on their business models.

60% also expressed how it will likely take them one to two years to get back to pre-pandemic standards.

62% revealed that they are pursuing new sources of revenue, while 56% stated that they will hasten the adoption of technology.

A whopping 80.3 per cent said revenues were affected, with 75.7 per cent witnessing profit margins decline.

However, it should be noted that 50.9 per cent also professed that there was no change to business costs, with 28.8 per cent actually seeing an increase in revenue.

So I guess in the end, it’s just most businesses getting the short end of the stick.

As for the business challenge side of things, 57.5 per cent admitted to financing and cash flow problems, while 41 per cent cited rising business costs.

Acknowledgement

In recognition of the results, SCCCI president Roland Ng has given his opinion on what has been an “extremely challenging year for businesses”.

“For businesses, beyond survival and overcoming their immediate challenges, our companies must continue with the momentum to transform, innovate and upgrade their capabilities,” he said in a speech in Mandarin at the opening ceremony of the 22nd Annual SME Conference.

And to that end, we absolutely concur. The epidemic may have rendered particular businesses near obsolete, but innovation and upgrades could yet get them through this latest setback.

With that said, we hope that affected businesses will be able to find new ways to cope with the current crisis because at the rate we’re going…

I doubt things are gonna fix themselves anytime soon.

Government Pledges Additional Help To Businesses & Locals

On 17 Aug 2020, DPM Heng Swee Keat, true to his role as the Cai Shen Ye (god of prosperity) took to the TV screen to tell Singaporeans about the additional help that the Singapore government is giving out.

On the business side of things, the government will extend the JSS, although in a different manner, and pump in funds to create jobs.

On the local side of things, support for people who lost their jobs has been extended, local tourism credits will be created to let people go out while spending lesser and more jobs will be created.