ASEAN accounts for more than 27% of overseas credit searches

But it fell from 36.54% from a year ago.

Foreign credit searches by Singapore firms have declined for the third consecutive year in light of weakening global trade in the past year.

According to Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB), overseas credit searches by local businesses have fallen by 1.16% in 2016, which however marked a decelerated decline from 2015 when overseas credit searches dropped by 19.13%.

For the fourth consecutive year, the ASEAN region accounted for the highest proportion of overseas credit searches by Singapore firms, followed by East Asia and Europe. However, there was a notable decline in the proportion of ASEAN credit searches by local firms.

The proportion of credit searches made on ASEAN companies fell from 36.54% in 2015 to 27.17% in 2016. As with 2015, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand were the most searched on countries by Singapore firms. According to IE Singapore’s recent trade statistics, the three countries remained as Singapore’s top ASEAN trading partners for 2016.

Credit searches on East Asian companies have improved visibly, rising from 20.62% in 2015 to 26.7% in 2016. China, Hong Kong and Japan were the most searched East Asian countries by Singapore companies. Recent statistics from IE Singapore showed that merchandise trade with Hong Kong and Japan has increased YoY by 4.3 percentage points and 4.5 percentage points respectively.

Meanwhile, credit searches on Europe have followed a similar downward path as the ASEAN region, where the proportion of overseas searches fell from 15.68% in 2015 to 13.13% in 2016. United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland emerged as the most searched on European countries by local firms.