• BreadTalk, Bee Cheng Hiang clinch brand awards
  
• Small businesses to spend more on IT
  
• DP to poll SMBs on financial openness
  
• SMB CEOs have 'lower threshold for mistakes'
  

BreadTalk, Bee Cheng Hiang clinch brand awards
Thirty small and medium-size businesses have garnered Singapore Promising Awards as part of an annual affair co-organized by the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises. The award is given to SMBs that have shown "outstanding performance in the communication of their brands". Among the recipients were Bee Cheng Hiang, BreadTalk and Haach, who have won it three times in a row.

Small businesses to spend more on IT
SMBs in Singapore are expected to spend US$1.2 billion on IT this year, rising to US$1.4 billion by 2008, according to market researcher IDC. In the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan, IT spending by SMBs is expected to rise 12 percent this year. On the whole, IT services are expected to grow in importance, with expenditure surpassing that on hardware and software beyond 2004.

DP to poll SMBs on financial openness
DP Information Network has launched a survey of 10,000 SMBs in Singapore. The study, supported by Spring Singapore, will focus on the attitudes of SMBs towards financial transparency, which DP considers a key factor in securing financing. SMBs will also be polled on the creation of a credit bureau which acts as a repository of SMB credit information. The survey results are expected to be released in September.

SMB CEOs have 'lower threshold for mistakes'
Top executives of SMBs "possessed good foresight", but have a "lower threshold for mistakes" commited by subordinates, according to the Singapore Institute of Management. For this latest installment of an ongoing survey on the level of professionalism among SMBs in Singapore, the Institute polled 120 executives from a range of industries. It found that many SMBs lacked an effective reward and incentive system and fared poorly in terms of equitable work distribution. It also recommended that CEOs gain greater confidence and commitment from employees, while encouraging a greater level of creativity and innovation.

Shifting gears  

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