A report card on business environment in Singapore

Earlier in January, Singapore Business Federation (SBF) released a Position Paper detailing the collective views of the business community in Singapore on issues facing Singapore businesses as well as suggestions to overcome these issues in the short and long term.

An interesting parallel is observed in their Position Paper and my personal views. As a layman, I can see many of these challenges faced by companies and SMEs for a long time. I wonder how the authorities can miss so many obvious points on the issues facing companies and SMEs in Singapore. That begs the question whether we have the right leadership team, direction and will in place in the authorities.

The SBF Position Paper (in Page 16 of the full report) also presents a report card for SGX and the authorities for their (mis?)management of the securities market over the past decade as a channel of fund raising for companies. The basis of comparison used is 'Market Capitalisation of Equities/GDP (%)' which I have reproduced below. Notice SGX records a shrinking share as compared to other countries which are growing.

The Position Paper even mooted the idea of setting up another board or separate exchange which may indicate they are encountering serious problems or inefficiency of capital raising via listing on SGX.

The business community collectively have raised a lot of important and thoughtful points in the Position Paper which I hope the authorities can make a serious effort in addressing.

SBF Position Paper Presentation

SBF Position Paper Summary Sheet

SBF Position Paper (Full)