A NEW survey to identify Singapore's top 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was launched yesterday.

The poll, published by Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) and research group Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), ranks companies with annual revenues of $10 million to $40 million by their return on equity (ROE).

ROE, a key financial performance factor, helps identify companies that have significant potential for further expansion, especially overseas.

The first ranking was based on 2006 data. SMEs had to be profitable for two consecutive years and in operation for at least three years to qualify for the survey.

Superworld Electronics, which makes magnetic products, was the top performer, followed by developer One North Bridge, Tai-Tech Advanced Electronics, Mediterranean Shipping Company South East Asia and Yuan Li Shipping.

'The rankings will raise the profile of top SMEs significantly, especially truly high potential companies that are still growing,' said Stanchart SME banking head Kavita Bedi.

Ms Adeline Wong, a director of top-ranked Superworld, said: 'This will definitely help to create more awareness, particularly of our product branding.

'We believe the recognition the ranking gives us will also foster greater confidence among our customers and members of the organisation about moving forward together.'

D&B executive director William Lim added: 'There has been a growing awareness of the importance of SMEs recently, and we felt there was no better time to launch this ranking.'

Stanchart and D&B plan to make the rankings an annual exercise. D&B will also rank SMEs in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The rankings were announced at the inaugural Standard Chartered SME Summit at Raffles City Convention Centre.

The conference focused on how companies can expand in the region and how they can deal with challenges such as inflation.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 24, 2008.