A poll of small- and medium-sized enterprises shows the city-state leads the way in having a government that is supportive rather than a drag on performance.

While Singapore’s economy hasn’t set the hottest pace in Asia over recent months, data shows that small- and medium-sized enterprises in the city-state can boast the world's most supportive government.

According to a global survey from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Institute of Management Accountants, SME’s confidence levels in the economic outlook have improved “drastically”.

Asked about business outcomes in the 2013/2014 financial year compared with a year earlier, some 36 per cent of SMEs in Asia said there had been a positive response and 64 per cent said there had been opportunities.

On a plus 60 per cent and minus 60 per cent scale rating government actions as beneficial or harmful, Singapore scored almost the maximum at 60 per cent, the study showed.

Singapore emerged as the country with the government judged most SME-friendly in 2013/14, followed by the UAE and the UK, due to positive government support, particularly on providing grants and tax benefits for training purposes, the report said.

The investment environment has also improved considerably for SMEs globally, driven primarily by a greater availability of capital and, to a lesser extent, profitable investment opportunities. Micro and small businesses reported the biggest boost in capital, as finance finally reached those SMEs that were the most squeezed in the pre-2013 period of rationing and restraint, the report said.

Despite a small decrease, SMEs in Singapore consistently report higher levels of government support for investment than do SMEs in other countries, it said.

Singapore’s gross domestic product hasn’t been particularly strong recently although it has been generally robust compared with many other locations since the financial crisis. The city-state expanded an annualised 1.20 per cent in the third quarter of 2014 over the previous quarter.