Linkflow Capital: SME Borrowing Costs Ease to 8.18% in 2025 as Larger Loans Return, but Middle East Conflict Threatens 2026 Outlook

Annual Linkflow Capital research finds SME credit conditions thawed modestly in 2025, with SME borrowing rate declining to an average of 8.18% from a high of 8.47% the preceding year. Bank disbursement times stretched to 33 days on average, against just 7 days for non-bank funders, reshaping where SMEs source credit.

SINGAPORE - Media Outreach Newswire - 29 April 2026 - Singapore's SMEs experienced their first easing in borrowing costs in three years, with average unsecured lending rates falling to 8.18% per annum in 2025 from a multi-year high of 8.47% in 2024, according to Linkflow Capital's latest SME Financing Accessibility Survey. Larger loan approvals above $500,000, which had disappeared entirely in 2024, also returned to form 5% of approvals in 2025.

The recovery, however, was uneven. Bank loan processing times stretched to 33 days on average, up from 22 days in 2024, while non-bank funders disbursed approved cases in just 7 days. The widening gap reshaped lender competition through the year.

Key findings from the 2025 survey:

• Borrowing costs eased modestly: Average SME loan interest rate fell 29 basis points to 8.18% per annum but remain stubbornly high against the backdrop of a significant decline in benchmark 3-month SORA rate throughout 2025.
• Larger loans returned: Approvals above $500K returned to 5% of approved loan dollar volume in 2025 after disappearing entirely in 2024. Loans in the $300K–$500K bracket also expanded from 3% to 7%.
• Loan approval rate recovered to 74%, up from 70% in 2024 (a 5-year low).
• Foreign banks extended their market share of loan origination within our platform: Foreign lenders grew their share of approved loan dollar volume to 38% in 2025, up from 26% in 2024 and 19% in 2023, while local banks fell to 46% (from 59%). Digital banks recovered modestly to 11% (from 8%).
• Credit-related rejections nearly tripled: Among unsuccessful applicants, those rejected due to adverse personal credit records jumped from 3% in 2024 to 11% in 2025, signalling rising personal credit stress among SME owners.

"2025 was the year SME credit conditions began to thaw after the 2024 squeeze, but the recovery was uneven," said Benjamin Teo, spokesperson for Linkflow Capital. "Banks gradually reopened to larger loans, yet took meaningfully longer to process applications. Some SMEs facing immediate cash flow pressure turned to non-bank funders for speed, even at higher costs."

A new and more severe headwind for 2026

Linkflow Capital flagged the Middle East conflict which began in February 2026 as the most consequential macroeconomic event facing Singapore SMEs in the year ahead. The conflict has elevated freight, energy and shipping costs through Iran's intermittent disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.

"Singapore SMEs entered 2026 facing a potential macro shock with the Middle East conflict," Teo said. "The inflationary price pressures feed directly into SME operating costs through fuel, freight, and energy. We expect credit conditions to re-tighten, and the modest 2025 thaw could partially reverse if the conflict escalates."

The full survey findings and detailed charts are available at: https://smeloan.sg/blog/2025-sme-finance-accessibility-survey/

Website: smeloan.sg
LinkedIn: sg.linkedin.com/company/linkflow-capital-pte-ltd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinkflowSG/
Hashtag: #LinkflowCapital #SMEFinancing #SMELoan #SingaporeSME #BusinessLoan #SMEBanking #SMECredit

https://smeloan.sg/
https://sg.linkedin.com/company/linkflow-capital-pte-ltd
https://www.facebook.com/LinkflowSG/
https://www.instagram.com/linkflow_capital/

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Linkflow Capital

Founded in 2012, Linkflow Capital is a leading SME loan consultancy in Singapore. Through its loan comparison portal and advisory services, Linkflow Capital assists SMEs in navigating the financing landscape and securing funding solutions from an extensive network of banks and financial institutions.

** This press release is distributed by Media OutReach Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **

STUTTGART, GERMANY / BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire – 29 April 2026 -Porsche Design Tower Bangkok and Christie's co-hosted The Collector's Evening, an exclusive invitation-only event held at The Peak, Gaysorn Tower, Bangkok. The private gathering brought together rare highlights from Christie's forthcoming Hong Kong and Geneva auctions before a distinguished audience of collectors, investors, and wealth intermediaries, marking one of the most distinguished gatherings of collectors Bangkok has seen this year.

Melissa Chollasap (4th from left), Managing Director of Porsche Design Tower Bangkok, and Prapavadee Sophonpanich (5th from left), Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Christie's Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, co-hosted The Collector's Evening, a private preview of rare highlights from Christie's forthcoming Hong Kong and Geneva auctions, in Bangkok.

The auction preview brought together a rare timepiece, a significant work of jewelry art, and a highly limited collectible — each with a provenance and a place in the collector market that extends well beyond its auction estimate. The evening was led by Vickie Sek, Deputy Chairman and Asia Pacific Chairman of Christie's, and Alexandre Bigler, Senior Vice President and Head of Watches for Asia Pacific, whose attendance of the event in Bangkok reflects the growing weight of the city's collector community on the regional stage. This year marks Christie's 40th year of presence in Asia.

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok served as co-host — an adequate setting that reflects the exclusivity of the objects on display. Born from the collaboration between Porsche Design and Ananda Development PCL, the tower is guided by Professor F. A. Porsche's founding principle of optimising function while uncompromisingly reducing form to the essentials. The result is 'Sky Villa' residences — distinguished by design, exclusive in the truest sense, and coveted by those who understand the true meaning and value of architectural excellence. With just 22 residences, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok underscores its profound exclusivity but unequivocally establishes it as an unparalleled, coveted address. Beyond the preview, the evening served as an intimate occasion for Porsche Design Tower Bangkok to host its clients and prospective owners within a setting that reflected the project's own collector values.

Central to that distinction is the 'Passion Space' — a private collector's garage directly connected to each residence by private lift. Whatever its owner chooses to place within it, the 'Passion Space' was designed with the same conviction that defined the evening: that what individuals surround themselves with is never incidental.

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok emerges as one of merely two Porsche Design residential towers globally, drawing a parallel only with its prestigious Miami counterpart.

For those who value the extraordinary, Porsche Design Tower Bangkok welcomes private viewings by appointment at pdtowerbangkok.com.

Hashtag: #PorscheDesign

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Porsche Design:

In 1963, Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche created one of the most iconic design objects in contemporary history: the Porsche 911. Following his vision to take the principles and myth of Porsche beyond the automotive world, he created the exclusive lifestyle brand Porsche Design in 1972. His philosophy and design language can still be seen in all Porsche Design products today. Every Porsche Design product stands for extraordinary precision and perfection, boasts a high level of technological innovation and seamlessly combines intelligent functionality and puristic design. Created by Studio F. A. Porsche in Austria, our products are sold worldwide in Porsche Design stores, high-end department stores, exclusive specialist retailers and the official online store (porsche-design.com).

** This press release is distributed by Media OutReach Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **