Friday, September 26, 2008

Singapore one of top cities for SMEs looking for financing

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 24 Sep 2008

Singapore is one of the top locations in the world for new small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking for financing. This is according to a new study by MasterCard Worldwide.

The study shows that Tokyo and Singapore are ranked in the top four out of 53 leading global cities in the potential size of its SME financing market.

Tokyo is second while Singapore is ranked fourth.

In the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, the countries hold first and second spot respectively.

Walt Macnee, president, Global Markets, MasterCard Worldwide, said: “Despite today’s challenging economic environment, there are still sizeable and profitable business opportunities available in the global SME financing sector for financial institutions.”

The study shows that cities where there are dense concentrations of SMEs with limited access to financing from local banking systems show the greatest profit potential.

“The SME sector in Singapore presents an opportunity in developing new revenue streams and helping to advance the economy…Singapore also ranks number two and is one of the top centres based on service enterprises, which are generally smaller and less capital intensive,” said Kevin Mellyn, global solutions leader, Payments Strategy, MasterCard Advisors LLC, who headed the study.

It is estimated that financing SMEs is worth US$5 trillion in global revenue opportunities for financial institutions.


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