By DPA,
Singapore : Confidence over growth prospects is slipping among Asia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), a survey said Wednesday.
SMEs across the region are counting on strong intra-Asian trade to help compensate for an anticipated slowdown in the US economy.
The UPS International Asian Business Monitor survey was carried out in 12 markets with 1,200 respondents.
Fifty-two percent of Asian SMEs said they believed that economic growth would persist, down five percentage points from the previous year, said the findings published in The Straits Times.
SMEs across 11 markets also expressed less confidence in their own competitiveness. The exception was upbeat India.
The SMEs were still confident that a rise in trade with economies in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Canada as well as continued strong growth within Asia would compensate for the expected 12-percent trade slump with the US.