Smaller firms outshine MNCs

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore have proven their determination to be innovative and make a name for themselves in the competitive corporate market.

According to the Fastest Growing 50 (FG50) Awards organised by the DP Information Group, 17 companies with turnovers of less than $100 million made this year’s FG50 winners list.

Of these companies, 10 firms were home-grown SMEs.

Chen Yew Nah, managing director of DP Information Group, said the return of the SMEs to the winners list was a good result for Singapore as SMEs are the country’s major source of employment.

“Last year the list was dominated by large multinational firms with 20 companies on the list with sales of more than $1 billion. This year the number of billion dollar companies has fallen to 15,” she said.

This year’s rankings also comprised of 23 home-grown firms in total, up from 16 last year. Additionally, the wholesale sector had the largest number of winners with 19 on the list, followed by property companies (8).

For these awards, DP Group identified companies that achieved a minimum of 10% turnover growth every year for the last three years while remaining profitable each year. The qualifying companies were then ranked by their three-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), with the top 50 receiving a FG50 Award.

German chemical giant LANXESS was titled the fastest growing company in Singapore, recording a three year CAGR of 6,246.8% – the highest growth rate recorded in the award’s 13 year history.

“The key to growth for SMEs is usually carving out a niche in the market by doing something better, faster or more economically," Chen said.

"So achieving fast growth is a reflection of the company’s innovation rather than its market dominance.”

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