Every time there is a downturn, trade and businesses suffer. There will be bankruptcies, insolvencies, hardships and more property auctions and fire sales. Fortunes will be lost. Fortunes will be made. Navigating these economic storms will be intriguing. Some will survive and be stronger for it. This year will be no different.
The economic slowdown has inadvertently affected the property sector here. In the architectural and engineering segment, 940 people lost their jobs last year, reported the Ministry of Manpower. About three-quarters of them were professionals, managers and executives. They were either retrenched or early-released before the contract expired because of the industry decline.
Singapore has some three hundred odd registered architectural firms, the bulk of which are made up of small companies which tend to lose out due to insufficient means to upscale or take on bigger projects.