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Source:
www.dpgroup.sg |
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ANNUAL SME DEVELOPMENT SURVEY
SHOWS MANPOWER A GROWING CONCERN FOR SMES |
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SME Interest in Government
Procurement Projects at a high of 63% |
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Free Credit Ratings for SMEs
with Nationwide SME Credit Rating Initiative |
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Concern over manpower issues has risen
markedly among local SMEs, highlighting the difficulty many SMEs face in
finding and keeping good staff for their growth. |
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This is one of the major findings of the
fourth annual SME Development Survey (SMEDS) - conducted by DP
Information Group (DP Info), Singapore's leading provider of credit and
business information services. |
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The strategic partners of the SMEDS are
SPRING Singapore (SRPING) and IE Singapore (IES), with iDA as a
supporting organisation. HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, BDO Raffles and
Microsoft are sponsors for the survey. A record 1,068 SMEs responded
this year. |
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CHALLENGES TO GROWTH - MANPOWER |
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When asked to nominate the top three
challenges to growth, 37% of SMEs nominated Manpower issues, up from 28%
in last year's survey. The number of SMEs that nominated Manpower as
their top concern leapt from 7% in 2005 to 14% in 2006. |
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Manpower issues are now the second biggest
challenge faced by SMEs. The top concern remains Competition which was
nominated by 45% of respondents, down from 52% last year. |
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Ms Chen Yew Nah, Managing Director of DP
Info said improving economic conditions and the fall in unemployment had
created strong competition in the job market for suitably qualified
staff. |
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"For many employees, an SME may not be their
first choice of employer, with many favouring a career with an MNC or a
GLC. There is a perception that MNC/GLCs offer superior benefits, career
opportunities and job security. |
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"However, SMEs can be dynamic and exciting
places to work offering good remuneration, flexibility and high levels
of job satisfaction. Working for an SME can often be a fast track to
greater responsibility and experience." |
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"It remains a continuing challenge for SMEs
to make themselves more attractive for potential employees to join them
and to remain with them," Ms Chen concluded. |
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IE Singapore has already recognised the need
to develop talent for overseas Manpower requirements and has in place
programmes such as the Asian Business Fellowship (ABF) and the Overseas
Manpower Programme (OMP) to support SMEs by sending their staff overseas
for in-market training to develop a pool of talent with in-depth
knowledge of their business environment. |
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STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH |
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According to the survey, improving Cost
Efficiency/Productivity is the most popular business strategy among SMEs,
with 22% adopting this approach to grow their business. The next most
popular business strategy, entering New Overseas Markets, is the choice
of 19% of SMEs. |
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Surprisingly, a high 17% of SMEs claim they
have No Strategy at the present time - up from just 4% of SMEs in 2005.
This implies many SMEs are consolidating their gains of the last few
years and are adopting a 'wait and see' approach before embarking on
further expansion. |
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SMEs LOOK TO INDIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST |
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With 59% of SMEs generating a proportion of
their revenue from overseas, Singaporean companies are already active on
the global business stage. Among companies with overseas operations, 64%
have a presence in Malaysia, 51% in Indonesia and 41% in China. |
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This year's survey has revealed a growing
number of SMEs have shifted their focus and are looking at opportunities
in the emerging markets of India and the Middle East. |
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According to the findings, 32% of SMEs with
overseas operations intend to explore the India market during the next
12 months. The next choice is the Middle East, which is the target of
27% of SMEs, followed by Vietnam with 25%. |
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HIGH AWARENESS OF FTAs |
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Heightened public promotion of Free Trade
Agreements (FTAs) and the benefits that may be reaped from them has
resulted in 87% awareness among SMEs. SMEs that have utilised FTAs to
their advantage have risen from 7% to 11%. |
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This may be attributed to the outreach
efforts of IE Singapore to cultivate more multipliers (industry
associations, law or accounting firms) to pass on the FTA skills they
learn to their clients. |
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In addition to seminars and one-to-one
consultations with companies, IE Singapore also operates a
Train-the-trainers programme that is geared to nurture a pool of experts
competent to advise companies on FTAs. |
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The key reason for SMEs not utilising
FTAs today falls in the category of 'difficulty in Understanding
FTAs'. |
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ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT PROJECTS |
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On the domestic front, this year's
survey has revealed that out of 4 SMEs who have tried to tender
for government projects, 3 have been successful. |
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However, there still a significant 63%
of SMEs that are keen to explore opportunities in public projects
but to date they have not taken any action. This group of SMEs
need assistance to improve their access to tenders for public
projects. |
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The relaxation of criteria for the
GeBIZ system late last year has been integral in enabling SMEs to
gain access to government procurement projects. |
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Since the rule change, suppliers,
particularly SMEs, enjoyed lower business cost in the tendering
process. Government Supplier Registration Services (GSRS)
registration is not required for contracts up to $70,000 and a
track record is also not necessary. |
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There is also no financial cap on
start-ups or SMEs and the processing fee for GSRS registration is
capped at $90 per application. The first user account per company
is also free. |
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More..... |
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Source:
www.dpgroup.sg Press Release
21 Aug 2006 |
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FrontPage Edition: Wed 27 September 2006
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