Middle-market firms in Singapore are brimming with optimism this year, with nine in 10 expecting growth in excess of the global average growth rate of 6 per cent, according to the annual EY Growth Barometer released on Wednesday (July 25).

Middle-market firms are those with sizeable annual revenues that fall centrally within the market in which they operate. Thus, they straddle the middle market between smaller companies and the billion-dollar giants.

Singapore ranked fourth for growth expectations in Ernst & Young’s survey of 2,766 middle-market executives across 21 countries, including 103 from Singapore.

Just under two-fifths of the Singapore respondents are aiming for growth of more than 10 per cent for the year, compared with about a quarter of respondents globally. Another 51 per cent of Singapore respondents are targeting growth of 6 per cent to 10 per cent.

For Singapore respondents, the most-cited growth strategies were overseas expansion (30 per cent) and mergers and acquisitions (19 per cent). However, a quarter of respondents also plan to divest part of their business.

(Read more: The Strait Times)