According to a recent Risk & Resilience research report from Beazley, Singapore business is more worried about risk and less resilient than its global peers.
The report revealed that business leaders in Singapore display an admirable respect for the risks they face but at the same time, climate change needs to urgently move up the agenda as it is considered one of their top environmental risks.
Lucien Mounier, Head of Asia Pacific for Beazley commented: “Fortune may favour the bold, but in an increasingly uncertain world, the thoughtful approach that Singapore’s business leaders take to risk is reassuring. They are more aware of the risks they face and are more cautious about their levels of resilience.”
Pandemic risk remains a big concern across Asia, yet Beazley’s analysts wonder if the focus on this immediate threat is deflecting businesses from looking at the long term problem of environmental risk.
As Singapore’s risk and resilience matrix shows that all environmental risks, with the exception of pandemic, fall well below the Beazley Risk & Resilience high-risk category line, analysts also ask if Singapore based business leaders could be complacent about environmental risks.
The report key findings stated that 35% of Singapore-based business leaders feel they operate in a high-risk environment, almost 10% more than global peers; only 23% of the participants feel highly resilient – in marked contrast to the US where 34% report feeling highly resilient.
Mounier said: “On the issue of the environment and climate change, business needs to be bolder and actively invest in strategies to address environmental risks including focusing on the regulatory complexity of ESG reporting and the consequent liabilities that come with it.”
The report also revealed that just 15% place climate change as their top environmental risk and only 27% feel very prepared to address this risk; and that supply chains are key to Singapore but they are perceived as high risk with low resilience.
This trading city state is described as a vital lynchpin in global supply chains and as an urban centre, it is heavily reliant on imports.
These two factors, according to analysts, are coming together to focus thoughts on supply chain risk and resilience. With 27% of business leaders identify it as their top risk. While only 28% declare they feel ‘very prepared’ to deal with supply chain issues against a global average of 35%.
Mounier said: “While insurance is not a panacea for climate risk or a complete answer to creating a more resilient business environment, it is clear that as we move into a world where more economic uncertainty seems likely, business leaders need to be able to rely on their insurers for support in building resilience.”
