By Kate Lim

INDIAN enterprises in Singapore have been more resilient than expected in this recession, with 92 per cent of them staying in the black, according to findings in the inaugural Indian Business Community Survey.

The survey was commissioned by the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) to better understand the Indian business community here.

It was conducted by DP Information and supported by enterprise agency Spring Singapore.

While most firms have been hurt by the downturn - 70 per cent of respondents reported slower sales in the last quarter of 2008 - only one in 10 complained of insufficient cash flow.

Cash flow is a good indicator of the financial stress an enterprise is facing, according to Ms Chen Yew Nah, managing director of DP Information.

The findings classified respondents into companies and smaller businesses - companies are larger and in a better position to internationalise operations than smaller businesses, which are sole proprietorships and partnerships that are more domestically oriented.

Two-thirds of respondents were classified as companies and the rest were deemed to be businesses.

Confidence levels remain high with most firms being 'cautiously optimistic' that they can weather the downturn and expect better results by next year, said Mr Predeep Menon, chief executive of the SICCI, at a press conference yesterday.

More than half of the respondents expect to stay or become profitable as early as this year.

This optimism reflects the healthy turnover growth rates experienced by survey respondents last year, when about 60 per cent of them enjoyed up to 10 per cent growth. 'This gives us a lot of cause for optimism,' said Mr Menon, who is also director of the Enterprise Development Centre at the SICCI (EDC@SICCI).

Most firms that stayed resilient have their international presence to thank, he said. In particular, firms that have gone into emerging markets have done better due to the insulation these economies provide from the economic crisis.

Half of the companies doing business internationally enjoyed more than $5 million in turnover last year, while 48 per cent of companies with no overseas presence generated less than $1 million in turnover.

The survey also found a strong sense of entrepreneurship within the Indian business community here, with 55 per cent of respondents being new entrants that have been operating for less than 10 years.

Many have ventured into non-traditional sectors such as transport, storage and construction in the past five years.

A total 677 firms responded to the survey, which was conducted from last December to April this year.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.