Singapore's largest firms are drastically cutting their budgets as incomes slide

Blue chips are slashing capex.

Shrinking profit margins and crumbling global demand are pushing Singapore's largest corporates to pull the brakes on investment spending.

Data from Bloomberg and Natixis show that blue chips are hastily paring down their capital expenditure plans. Sembcorp Marine leads the pack with a 55% decline in capex in Q1, which comes on back of a 650% decline in operating income.

Drastic expenditure cuts were also seen at Golden Agri-Resources, Sembcorp Industries, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Genting Singapore, Thai Beverage, and StarHub, among others.

The table shows the worst performing operating income growth in Q1 2016 in Straits Times Index.

"Most are in the trade-related sectors such as shipbuilding and transportation. And their capital expenditure is contracting, reflecting the decline of investment in Q1 2016," Natixis said.