About 19 percent of companies in the service sector expect favourable business prospects for the first half of 2011, compared with the July to December 2010 period, according to the Business Expectations Survey for the service sector, conducted by the Department of Statistics Singapore.
This net weighted balance is smaller than the 24 percent seen in H1 2010 and the 27 percent registered for October 2010 to March 2011.
In the retail industry, a net weighted balance of seven percent of companies in the retail industry anticipates a less favourable business climate for H1 2011 over July to December 2010.
In the financial services sector, a net weighted balance of 47 percent of companies is bullish on business conditions for the first half of this year. These include banks and finance companies, stock, share and bond brokers, insurance companies and fund managers.
Meanwhile, real estate companies are generally cautious about the business situation in the following months. Most firms, particularly property developers, expect the business climate to remain unchanged for H1 2011, compared with H1 2010. A weighted net balance of eight percent of companies express positive outlook, while one percent foresee deteriorating business conditions. Among those with positive sentiments are operators of property management companies and service apartments.