450 Businesses filed for Bankruptcy in first 2 months of 2022

About 450 businesses here in Singapore filed for bankruptcy in the first 2 months of 2022. Although this figure is lower than that of 2021. As we all remember 2020 started pretty average but soon COVID-19 literally shut down the world not just SIngapore.

In Singapore April 2022 was the first time we saw a Circuit Breaker or a "lock down" where only essential workers and essential businesses could operate and that with safe management measures in place. Trains and Buses where empty. People were at home. Things looked bleak. Singapore businesses and Singaporeans were lucky enough to have rental rebates as well as wage subsidies which kept businesses afloat.

2021 was only slightly better with some return to normalcy but it was still had. In 2022 with the end of the rental rebates as well as wage subsidies, we still saw some recovery of the economy. Things seem to be getting back to normal with more people working from offices, more financial interactions. However the world has new challenges. Cost of living has sky rocketed, we have seen oil prices rise faster than salaries. In Singapore drivers complained that petrol prices at pumps rose to $3.15 per litre. Eggs rose from $4.75 to $5 to $6.25 and now at $7.20 within 1-2 years. Bread rose by $0.40- $0.60. Coffee shops and eatries have raised prices. There are high energy prices. Some businesses have seen their electrical bills doubled! There are supply chain disruptions.

All this and GST is about to be raised to 8% come 2023

Honestly sometimes winding down may be a good thing. There is no need to throw good money after bad. There may not be a clear indicator when certain sectors may start to see improvements and if the business owners have made their decisions, they should move on.