ࡱ> 241'` |bjbj{P{P 8::| 4` ` ` ` l 8 ( $hT?- - - ? T -    -     1` " j0 H H H ,   X ?? - - - - 888< $888< $0  INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.todayonline.com/App_Themes/Default/images/icons/TodayOnlineLogo.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET  SMEs optimistic, gearing up 05:55 AM Apr 30, 2010 SINGAPORE - Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) here are turning more bullish about their prospects for the next six months, with more firms ramping up capacity and hiring activity on the rise. This was the conclusion of the inaugural quarterly index for SMEs compiled by DP Information Group and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which monitors the business outlook and level of economic activity of local SMEs. The index provides a forward-looking and measurable gauge of business sentiment among Singapore SMEs for the coming six months. The index stood at 51 for the first quarter of 2010, up moderately from 48 in the last quarter of last year. Ms Chen Yew Nah, managing director of DP Information Network, said: "Overall, we can say that there is optimism. There is certain stability in how our SMEs are likely to look in the coming six months. However, there is a certain degree of caution too, that this is not like a 'great boom time' kind of reaction". The index surveyed owners and management of 3,000 SMEs, covering the commerce, manufacturing, services, and transport and storage sectors, which account for 60 per cent of Singapore's GDP. DP Information said the improvement in sentiment reflected expectations that the economy was on the mend, with manufacturing companies registering a strong 8-point jump from the previous quarter to 55 points. Said Teng Theng Dar, SBF's chief executive: "Going forward, it looks pretty promising, but we need to be very careful because this is not the overall picture. There will be some sector differences: Manufacturing looks pretty good, commerce looks pretty good. We want to see how these two things will then start to have a pull-up effect on the services as well as the transport and logistics side". Manufacturers are optimistic about the turnover and profitability of the sector in coming months, given the improving demand for electronic goods and stocking. And while SMEs predict weaker turnover in commerce in the second half, they expect profits in the transport and storage industry to improve. SMEs have reason to be more positive. According to Ms Chen, "operational capacity" - driven by the level of business demand - is approaching 70 per cent, which means companies will be able to fill their order books. The rosier outlook looks set to trigger more hiring, but SMEs are still careful when recruiting. Manufacturing and service firms see employment growing while transport and storage expect to see hiring remaining stable. Travis Teo URL  HYPERLINK "http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC100430-0000120/SMEs-optimistic,-gearing-up" http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC100430-0000120/SMEs-optimistic,-gearing-up Copyright 2010 MediaCorp Pte Ltd | All Rights Reserved uxzq R BC{|hbhohM0Jj hMU *hMhMhMjhMUyzp q S T B C } ~ ; < gdM|DE|gdM6&P1h:p5/ =!"#$%  Dd'   S bA $TodayOnlineLogoToday Online Logob し`Nvb;%^ Dn し`Nvb;%^PNG  IHDRUԼ0PLTEZ_-3>>>w{=BKPѡhl```qqq,,,OOO$rHEbKGDH cmPPJCmp0712HsIDATx^Z: E\OyZEc"PJNҏL m$G#m217g!#/R GNc{eH1$BL`WEq$B`8R!A#YP?P' I[m"õI$D`L5 ʜÌͻH0wI$Q@]bĵbԛ;Yp]3kxmuJtO3jŨSe 0/WHXCjq(#,#ѐV`jo$^m0@>/$&T7"DwNSe T"l0S&n$E ԻFk=GGЭLxi ֢b٠/-C_JH0ExIwX,`zq!YHsL0 GBؖD'sxcz" W8pCԞH@G]Mb!G@3VaQ{T;#A``}Zd QP: }Q`M!AeHR€`1bKA'?Bn#k1k1uhDl DŜyLRHk(]ߴBB5'^Ek9 -Ns'$J\|ty+QѮ̊V.Z²mb1gIArFDBՏlϷ ZO$ zo>!tV2l%CeFOBEU_$tJ/(zUfDy}dO:t<¼`!+o^PQ@biyF(.3ۗ]$>ˉ^I^ x6#%"E Kl@$}+HA9 klOS=ryI+HPg[X斁c>PHx 3=9CVBlq?t>9nlfBgVMIJ)4ZJJ&3z`(QݷϏ%Is 6/\})G/MRfشA+l<`i-B`c3lB57 ODY#eoM'}%^֡ǩzhA cip'?$Z~lpȷfcUa>uORgZh*$ϢH$ QHw69^.E~0qQϑ;"%"U'T8]"@d٩9EFnM]7 kflB*ʚ"IL˭SU!fW"˱#/Eߓz氾^ihIENDB`DyK Rhttp://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC100430-0000120/SMEs-optimistic,-gearing-upyK http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC100430-0000120/SMEs-optimistic,-gearing-upyX;H,]ą'cD@D NormalCJ_HaJmH nHsH tHDA@D Default Paragraph FontRi@R  Table Normal4 l4a (k@(No List6U@6 M Hyperlink >*B*ph| !z z| yzpqSTBC}~;<  D E ~ !Y !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!yzpqSTBC}~;<  D E ~ 00000000000000000000000000000000~ 0! | | | uw B | CX8@0(  B S  ?Y3f~ !~ >*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PersonName y z~MQ#(GK ^ a ~ ~ ::~ ~  Cq6Q>[`{.G>[`{K=>[`{ ,,hvYt`0y>[`{ ,,3(>[`{KZ)Yt`LA>[`{K[4GNYt`@Yt`Cq>[`{Cq0"5PM5b@z | @@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial;SimSun[SO"qh䦯  !x>4w w 3HP)?M2 genettekoh genettekohOh+'0t  0 < HT\dl  genettekoh Normal.dot genettekoh1Microsoft Office Word@F#@DG0@ 0 ՜.+,D՜.+,, hp|  SBFw '  Title$ 8@ _PID_HLINKSAAHRhttp://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC100430-0000120/SMEs-optimistic,-gearing-up  "#$%&'(*+,-./03Root Entry F# 15Data 1TableHWordDocument8SummaryInformation(!DocumentSummaryInformation8)CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q