Telcos will do well to deepen engagement with SMEs in good times or bad

SMALL businesses have turned cautious amid a cooling economy, Singtel enterprise chief Bill Chang said at a results briefing in August.

"The economy has taken a bit of a downturn in terms of the last quarters' reports and the cautious sentiment is really affecting SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)," Mr Chang said on Aug 8, just days before the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) cut full-year growth outlook.

This notwithstanding, the SME segment remains a deep pool for companies offering business solutions and services.