SMEs AND CONSTRUCTION FIRMS BOUNCES BACK!
Booming Economy Sees Blistering Growth By FG50 Winners

Small and Medium Enterprises and construction-related firms have made a strong comeback in this year’s Fastest Growing 50 Awards and Rankings (FG50).

The FG50 is compiled by DP Information Group (DP Info) - Singapore’s leading provider of business and credit information.

To win an FG50 Award, a company must achieve a minimum of 10% turnover growth every year for the last 3 years while remaining profitable each year. The qualifying companies are then ranked by their 3-year compounded annual turnover growth (CAGR), with the top 50 fastest growing companies receiving an FG50 Award.

DP Info analysed the audited financial returns of more than 8,000 companies to arrive at the final 50 winners.

The group that made the biggest improvement is the SMEs. In 2006, SMEs were notably absent with just four SMEs receiving FG50 Awards, but the SMEs have bounced back with an impressive 13 receiving awards this year.

Similarly, the property and construction boom has resulted in a jump in the number of construction and construction-related firms making this year’s FG50 winners list. An impressive 9 out of 50 companies are from the construction and property sector or are involved in the manufacture and wholesale of construction materials, metals and hardware. In last year’s FG50, there were no construction companies and only five related companies.

Ms Chen Yew Nah, Managing Director of DP Information Group said a record 240 firms met the stringent qualification criteria, compared to just 144 five years ago.

"As a result of the buoyant economy there are an increasing number of firms growing at a blistering pace. With more companies qualifying this year, the competition for one of the 50 Awards has intensified, with the cut off CAGR reaching an all-time high of 61.8%."

"SMEs have made a strong comeback this year and command a fair share of the winner’s list. DP Info believes that there are many outstanding SMEs in Singapore that deserve to be recognized for their achievements. Over the next 12 months DP Info will announce new ways to uncover these undiscovered SME gems."

"It is also pleasing to see a better representation of construction, property and related firms. The property and construction sector have historically been poorly represented in the FG50 winners list. This year a healthy 9 companies are in construction, property or manufacture and wholesale of construction materials," Ms Chen said.

Ms Tan Siew Meng, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Singapore, was pleased to note the increased representation of SMEs in the FG50 list. "As a global bank with a network of over 10,000 offices in 82 countries and territories worldwide, HSBC is committed to helping enterprises from around the world grow and expand their business successfully. Our support for the FG50 awards underscores this commitment"

"The SME sector will continue to be our key focus. HSBC will continue to invest in this area to ensure that our service propositions are well benchmarked against market demands, and that we can continue to provide our SME customers with the support they need at various stages of growth and scale of business operation," added Ms Tan.

THE WINNERS

This year’s top ranked company is Global Energy Trading Pte Ltd with a 3-Year CAGR of 718.2%. They are a Singapore company that operates 14 harbour tankers and 3 coastal tankers, mainly in Singapore, Malaysia and South East Asia. Global Energy Trading’s principal business is the trading and supply of bunker fuels, the provision of services for debunkering and "ship to ship" cargo transfer operations.

The second highest ranked company - with a CAGR of 609.0% - is Tat Hin Builders Pte Ltd. Another Singapore company, Tat Hin Builders is engaged in the construction of interior and exterior woodworking projects. The company undertakes a range of different projects including timber strip flooring, construction of timber trellises and work in condominium and commercial building construction.

Two companies have made the winner’s list for a fourth consecutive year. This means they have recorded remarkable sales growth for each of the last seven years. The four-time winners are:

BIG COMPANIES & MANUFACTURING FIRMS OUTPERFORM

While SMEs have made a strong return to the winner’s list, companies with revenues in excess of $100 million dominate the top 50. Thirty companies on this year’s list generated revenues in excess of $100 million, compared to seventeen last year.

Commenting on the results, Ms Chen said: "Larger firms have more resources and manpower allowing them to respond quickly to the opportunities presented by a growing economy. Without the economies of scale of the larger firms, SMEs are more dependent on their creativity, flexibility and ingenuity."

5-YEAR TURNAROUND SEES LOCAL FIRMS DOMINATE

In the first FG50 in 2002, foreign firms dominated the FG50 list with 26 out of 50 companies. The economic superpowers of the US and Japan each contributed 5 companies to the winners list then.

Five years later and the FG50 list has changed dramatically. This year 34 of the winners are Singaporean firms, confirming that local firms have the skills and expertise to compete successfully. This year there is only one firm from Japan and two from the US. After Singapore, the next biggest contributor is China with three companies.

DP CREDIT RATING

The DP Credit Ratings of the 50 winners show that rapid growth can be achieved without taking unnecessary financial risks. This year 52% were awarded Investment Grade ratings of DP 1 to 4 and another 44% were deemed to be High Yield companies with ratings of DP 5 to 6. Only 4% (or 2 companies) were given a credit rating of DP 7 or 8.

FASTEST GROWING 50 CERTIFICATION EVENT

The "Fastest Growing 50" companies for 2006 will be honoured at a certification event on 8 June 2007 at the Raffles City Convention Centre. Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Information, Communications and The Arts will be the Guest of Honour for the event.

After the Certification Event, a special Forum will be examining the economic opportunities in Korea. Ambassador K. Kesavapany, who was the key negotiator for the Korea – Singapore Free Trade Agreement will officially open the forum discussion as the keynote speaker.

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), together with IE Singapore will participate in the forum discussion.

The "Fastest Growing 50" is organised, ranked and certified by DP Information Group. The supporting organisations are Ernst & Young, IE Singapore, SPRING Singapore and The Business Times. The gold sponsor for the event is HSBC Singapore.