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More firms paid bills on time in 2017

SINGAPORE — In a sign of improving business conditions, more firms paid their bills on time last year, after the payment performance of companies here hit an all-time low in 2016.

The situation got worse in the construction sector where the building construction and special trade contractors segments registered the sharpest spikes in slow payments. REUTERS file photo

The situation got worse in the construction sector where the building construction and special trade contractors segments registered the sharpest spikes in slow payments. REUTERS file photo

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SINGAPORE — In a sign of improving business conditions, more firms paid their bills on time last year, after the payment performance of companies here hit an all-time low in 2016.

A press release on Tuesday (Jan 16) by the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) showed that the annual average proportion of prompt payments rose to 48.4 per cent last year, compared to 43.8 per cent in 2016.

Correspondingly, the proportion of slow payments — where more than 50 per cent of bills are paid later than the agreed credit terms — fell to 39.7 per cent from 44.7 per cent over the same period. Partial payments went up to a seven-year high to about 11.9 per cent last year, compared to 11.5 per cent in 2016.

The statistics were compiled by D&B Singapore which monitored more than 1.6 million payment transactions of firms here. The payment data were provided by the companies to the SCCB.

D&B Singapore chief executive officer Audrey Chia said: “Despite the cashflow woes experienced by local firms, we are seeing more firms fulfilling their debt obligations partially if not fully… This reflects a healthy sign that firms are exercising better credit vigilance and putting stringent controls in place to ensure they remain creditworthy in the eyes of their credits and not to default completely on their debts.”

On a quarterly basis, the fourth quarter of last year saw the proportion of prompt payments rising to 50.4 per cent, compared to 47.4 per cent in the preceding quarter. Over the same period, the proportion of slow payments fell from about 40.8 per cent to 36.9 per cent.

Across the different sectors, the proportion of slow payments fell quarter-on-quarter in the manufacturing, retail, services and wholesale industries. However, the situation got worse in the construction sector where the building construction and special trade contractors segments registered the sharpest spikes in slow payments.

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