Market insights: The view from Singapore

Of all the countries surveyed, interpreneurs in Singapore are the least confident about the current climate for international expansion — but even so they gave it a positivity score of 7.2 out of 10.

More respondents think it is difficult for businesses to expand overseas today (40%) than think it is easy (29%). Two-thirds (66%) believe the overall environment for international business expansion will become more favourable over the next two to three years.

Economic volatility has posed the biggest challenge to international expansion (for 46%), followed by localising operations, including establishing a compliant back-end structure (42%, compared to just 25% globally).

AI has had a much more modest effect on international expansion strategy than the global average: just over half (52%) categorised its impact as significant, while a third (34%) said it was moderate. Just 37% said that adopting advanced technology presented a significant opportunity for overseas operations looking ahead, compared with a global average of 52%.

Instead, the biggest future opportunities are believed to lie in accessing new customer markets (52%), forming strategic partnerships or joint ventures (51%) and achieving lower production or operating costs (43%).

In terms of future threats, interpreneurs in Singapore are most concerned about geopolitical instability (52%), supply chain disruption (43%) — and tariffrelated cost increases (42%) — all higher than the global average. Interestingly, they rated the risk of data breaches or cyber incidents to their overseas operations lower than elsewhere (21% versus 28% globally).

Singapore is one of the world’s most open economies, with a GDP-to-trade ratio consistently exceeding 300%, based on the recent reports generated by the World Bank.

As a city that heavily relies on trade, headwinds in the global system, be it geopolitical tensions or supply chain disruptions, have a direct and profound impact on the economy and business confidence. Hence, it is no surprise that sentiments are less optimistic for global expansion from Singapore intrepreneurs, compared to other economies.

In the interim, businesses should prioritise internal readiness. This is a timely approach to strengthen governance, refine processes, and establish robust operating frameworks. Too often, businesses underestimate the importance of internal alignment, which is the key strength that places one in a better position to take advantage of the opportunities when conditions stabilise, and global expansion opportunities regain momentum.

Ajibade Fashina
Managing Partner, Kreston Pedabo