January 17, 2023
SINGAPORE – While fintech, e-commerce and IT firms continued to be among the fastest growing in Singapore, several companies in the energy and utilities sector have topped the charts in terms of growth, according to a list of the 100 fastest growing firms here.
Released on Tuesday, the 2023 ranking, which was compiled by The Straits Times and global research firm Statista, also showed that more firms in logistics and transportation as well as manufacturing registered high growth.
The Singapore’s Fastest Growing Companies list includes 100 local businesses that achieved markedly high revenue growth between 2018 and 2021. The firms must be independent companies headquartered in Singapore with at least $150,000 of revenue generated in 2018 and $1.5 million in 2021.
The 2023 ranking included seven energy and utilities companies. In comparison, there were just three such firms on the previous list, which had 75 companies.
Singapore Exchange-listed Rex International, a multinational oil company with production licences in Oman, Norway and Malaysia, topped the charts in terms of absolute growth.
In the company’s 2021 annual report, Rex International chairman Dan Brostrom said the year marked a number of breakthroughs for the firm as oil prices rose. These include ending the year profitable on the back of higher production volumes as well as transferring its SGX listing from the secondary Catalist board to the mainboard.
The other energy and utilities firms include Union Gas, which was also on the 2021 list. Newcomers to the list comprise SGX-listed coal miner Geo Energy Resources, which benefited from rising prices of coal, NW Corporation, BlackGold and PS Energy.
With global supply chains under pressure from Covid-19 lockdowns at ports and consumers resorting to online shopping, companies providing logistics and transportation services saw a spike in demand between 2020 and 2021 as firms rushed to deliver orders.
There were a total of eight logistics and transportation companies on the 2023 list compared with five in 2022 and this could continue to rise as the industry grows.
While demand has softened and port disruptions have eased in 2022, global supply chains continue to face uncertainties and a lack of talent in areas like technology to help digitalise and increase global port efficiencies, reports by consulting firms McKinsey & Company and KPMG noted.
A greater number of manufacturing firms also made it on the 2023 ranking.
According to Statista, the total manufacturing output in Singapore in 2021 was valued at around $372.4 billion, an increase of 13.2 per cent compared with the previous year, indicating a recovery from the economic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While there were a greater number of firms from other sectors of the economy on the 2023 ranking, fintech remained as the sector with the most high-growth firms.
A total of 10 fintech companies made it on the 2023 list, compared with five in 2022, and this could continue to rise. According to a report by KPMG, Singapore’s global market share for deal value for fintech has more than doubled from 3.1 per cent in 2021 to 6.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.
“Contributing to Singapore’s market stability has been the city state’s ranking among the world’s most competitive economies and its recognition as a dynamic global financial hub,” KPMG said.
As at June 2022, there were 1,007 operating fintech firms in Singapore.
How the list was compiled
Singapore’s Fastest Growing Companies is a list of 100 local businesses that achieved markedly high-revenue growth between 2018 and 2021.
Companies keen to get on the league table had to register via websites created by Statista and The Straits Times from May to September 2021.
Through research on company databases and other public sources, Statista identified over 2,000 companies in Singapore as potential candidates for the ranking. They were invited by post, e-mail and phone to participate in the competition.
They had to be independent companies headquartered in Singapore with at least $150,000 of revenue generated in 2018 and $1.5 million in 2021.
Statista examined the officially stated revenue data of more than 600 public companies here. Certain high-profile companies that met the aforementioned criteria were then added to the list.
The calculation of growth rates was based on revenue figures submitted by the companies in their respective national currencies. These figures were then converted into Singapore dollars for comparison.
The result is a list of companies ranked by compound annual growth rate – calculated by taking into account revenue growth over the three-year period.
Top 10 Singapore firms on growth streak
1. Rex International Holding
The oil exploration and production company’s main focus is on the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources in Norway, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Absolute growth rate: 38,829.7%
2. NW Corporation
The international trading business, which was founded in 2016, provides a range of commodities and energy products, such as oil and gas, which have become an attractive option for savvy traders looking to take advantage of fluctuations in oil and gas prices.
Absolute growth rate: 27,770.4%
3. Doctor Anywhere
The healthtech company provides telemedicine services in Singapore and the region. During the pandemic, it partnered the Ministry of Health to help Covid-19 patients recover at home, and also launched tele-antigen rapid testing so people do not have to leave home for a supervised test.
Absolute growth rate: 10,865.7%
4. Maneuver Marketing
The marketing consultancy firm specialises in creating disruptive brands for different industries. It is currently working on a natural supplement e-commerce venture aimed at improving the quality of life through high-efficacy supplements.
Absolute growth rate: 3,539.7%
5. StashAway
Digital wealth firm StashAway allows users to personalise and build their own investment portfolios. Founded in 2016, it manages more than US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion) in assets and is backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital.
Absolute growth rate: 2,669.8%
6. SCI Ecommerce
The e-commerce firm provides technology and services to help businesses sell their products and services online. This includes creating and managing online stores, processing payments and handling logistics such as shipping and inventory management.
Absolute growth rate: 1,602.5%
7. Kindle Kids International School
This school for both primary and secondary students has a curriculum that focuses on imparting academic knowledge and the acquisition of life and leadership skills.
Absolute growth rate: 1,341.1%
8. Aspire
Aspire, an all-in-one finance operating system for businesses, helps companies integrate their finance operations on a single platform. It hopes to empower entrepreneurs with the financial tools to tap their company’s full potential.
Absolute growth rate: 1,107.0%
9. SEA
SEA is a global consumer Internet company that aims to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with the use of technology. It is the parent company of e-commerce platform Shopee.
Absolute growth rate: 1,103.8%
10. Helicap
The Singapore-based fintech firm connects global investors to private investment opportunities in South-east Asia. Their goal is to fill a $500 billion financing gap that banks are unable to serve and have also built an institutional-grade credit analytics technology that can analyse millions of loan data points and extract meaningful credit rating insights.
Absolute growth rate: 1,103.3%