Chart of the Day: Overseas credit searches by Singapore firms up 2.05% in 2018

ASEAN accounted for the highest proportion of credit checks at 27.7%.

Overseas credit searches by Singapore rose 2.05% in 2018, according to the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB). The headline figure represents a slightly slower pace of growth compared to the 3.04% expansion in 2017. 

The ASEAN region accounted for the highest proportion of overseas credit searches (27.7%) by Singapore firms for the sixth consecutive year with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand registering the most credit checks.

Credit searches on East Asian companies also rose to 26.9% in 2018 from 26.79% in 2017 with China, Hong Kong and Japan ranking as the most searched countries within the area.

Meanwhile, credit searches on Europe rebounded after two consecutive years of decline, up 12.94% from 12.51% in 2017. United Kingdom, Italy and Germany were the top three most searched European countries by local firms.