SINGAPORE companies have an advantage in the Middle East because the island's business community is well-regarded there, says the CEO of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) South Asia and Middle East, Rajesh Mirchandani.

'The business community from Singapore is very well regarded and very well accepted, in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) in particular,' he said yesterday. 'So I think that's a very huge advantage that Singapore businesses have over the others.'

Mr Mirchandani was speaking to reporters at the third SME Credit Bureau Conference, which focused on globalisation opportunities for local SMEs. It was organised by D&B and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

During his talk at the conference, Mr Mirchandani highlighted the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar as the best Middle Eastern countries for SME expansion.

Although Saudi Arabia is a good destination for larger companies, SMEs might find it difficult to enter that market without the help of reliable local partners, he said.

For SMEs, the most promising industries in the Middle East are oil and energy services - such as engineering consulting or exploration - and property-related services such as construction, he believes.

Despite the potential the Middle East holds, SMEs should be cautious.

'I think the biggest issue of doing business in the Middle East is one of corporate transparency,' Mr Mirchandani said. Strong legal frameworks are generally not yet available in the Middle East, so SMEs should work closely with government agencies and chambers of commerce if they want to expand there.

In her opening address to the conference, Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said 2006 SME Development Survey showed a fall in the percentage of respondents with income from overseas.

'This is not a good sign,' Mrs Lim said. 'There remains significant potential for SMEs to expand their businesses overseas.'

She highlighted the high-growth markets of China and India, and said Singapore's links to the Middle East 'are also increasing through high-level engagements and trade missions'.

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