young Asian man reviewing his household expenses at home
‘Maybe for most of you, you will be alright’: Small retailer worries his business may go down after just 1 or 2 bad months; urges people to ‘think hard’ before starting a business
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s corporates, households, and financial institutions have adequate buffers to weather financial shocks amid macroeconomic uncertainty, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its 2026 Financial Stability Review released on Tuesday (Sep 22), although some businesses with high levels of debt or thinner liquidity buffers could still come under strain.
For some small businesses, however, this strain is already being felt.
One small local retailer lamented online that he’s already feeling the pressure, worried that his business could go under after just one or two bad months.
Joining a discussion on r/singapore about the stress test done by MAS, he wrote: “I will be brutally honest. I run a very small business, and my business may go down if I have a bad 1-2 months. This year has been a struggle for me and my business, and it's clear the sentiment amongst consumers has been poor. Maybe for most of you, you will be alright, but I live every moment stressed about my livelihood and for my family”.
The post author sells home goods. He said he had been “trying to keep prices low, but everything is rising” from rental, manpower, logistics and cost of goods, adding, “I can see the economy is not that strong. People are more careful in their spending.”
His comment was followed by another business owner who said he had been “applying for a debt management program.” Asked how serious things were, the commenter replied: “Serious enough to bring the banks to the negotiating table. Yes. It’s basically a restructuring of my debts before the next step, which is declaring myself bankrupt lol. Thankfully I’m still gainfully employed and making money so it’s not so bad.”
He later explained that most of the debt was “unsecured debt from business expansion”.
For some, the exchange was enough to make them feel a little better about never having dared to become a business owner.
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The retailer, for his part, agreed that starting a business in Singapore was something people should “think hard” about. “Starting a business in Singapore is rough. High rental. High costs. High risks,” he added.
According to MAS, Singapore's financial stress index (FSI) rose sharply at the onset of the Middle East conflict. However, this spike was brief, with the index soon returning to historically low levels. More recently, however, it has edged higher alongside rising global yields. Looking ahead, shifts in global risk sentiment could generate renewed stress.