Local firms’ payment performance worsens further in Q2: Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau
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Payment delays in the retail sector increased after four straight quarters of decline.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Yuxin Pei
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SINGAPORE – Local firms’ payment performance continued to deteriorate for a second straight quarter, the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) said on Monday.
Prompt payments for April to June declined by 0.11 percentage point quarter on quarter to 40.92 per cent.
Year on year, prompt payments were down by 0.23 percentage point from 41.15 per cent.
Slow payments advanced 0.10 percentage point quarter on quarter and 0.22 percentage point year on year to 44.32 per cent. Partial payments edged up 0.01 percentage point both quarter on quarter and year on year to 14.76 per cent.
Prompt payment refers to when 90 per cent or more of total bills are paid within the agreed payment terms. Slow payment refers to less than 50 per cent of total bills being paid within the agreed terms.
From a sectoral perspective, four of five industries – manufacturing, wholesale, construction and retail – saw a quarter-on-quarter increase in slow payments in the second quarter. Service was the only industry that registered a drop in slow payments.
Year on year, the wholesale and manufacturing sectors recorded higher payment delays.
In the construction sector, slow payments rose for the second consecutive quarter by 0.05 percentage point. On the year, slow payments fell by 0.05 percentage point to 55.70 per cent.
Within the construction industry, the building construction sector accounted for the largest increase in slow payments, rising 0.08 percentage point quarter on quarter to 56.23 per cent.
Slow payments among manufacturers rose further by 0.26 percentage point to 38.98 per cent, due to increased payment delays by manufacturers of electronics, chemicals and instruments. Payment delays by manufacturers of instruments saw the largest increase, advancing 0.55 percentage point to 44.15 per cent.
Meanwhile, payment delays in the retail sector increased after four straight quarters of decline. Slow payments were up 0.05 percentage point quarter on quarter to 43.35 per cent.
SCCB attributed the increase in payment delays to retailers of general merchandise, apparel and accessories and furniture and home furnishing.
Within the service sector, slow payments edged down by 0.02 percentage point both quarter on quarter and year on year to 43.13 per cent, as payment delays by health services, business and consumer services fell.
In the wholesale trade sector, slow payments increased 0.12 percentage point quarter on quarter to 40.42 per cent, as slow payments by wholesalers of both durable and non-durable goods rose.
SCCB chief executive Audrey Chia noted that the manufacturing and wholesale sectors in particular have experienced higher payment delays due to weaker conditions in those sectors. THE BUSINESS TIMES
