Recently, the Singapore Straits Times published a list of the fastest growing companies in 2023. Sadly, my company was not listed… 🙁 But I know why! LOL
If you are wondering what is a lucrative business or investment to be involved in, then this list could be a useful resource.
Nobody wants to be in a business with falling market demand. So this list is useful because it gives you a good idea of growth industries, with data on how much revenue has grown for these companies. Students of economics can easily connect the dots between demand and firm revenue (I hope!).
It was my first time looking at such a list and one of the first things that struck me was that Fintech and IT-related firms are growing massively. A whopping 11 out of the top 20 on the list are either Fintech or IT-related. No wonder, tech talents are still in strong demand in Singapore! This also helps to explain why there has been rising wage gap. You can check our video on Demand Supply Applications to Labour Markets.
Nevertheless, all economics students also know that Revenue is only one side of the coin. A company may be experiencing a lot of revenue growth but what about its Costs? Unfortunately, there is no data on costs or profits.
However, there is information on employee size. This made me wonder, is there any company on the list that has experienced such phenomenal revenue growth but with fewer or the same number of employees over the years?
Lo and behold, such a company exists. Number 28 on the list.
Its revenue grew at an average annual rate of 71%, whilst shedding 1 employee! What?! How’s that possible? Very high productivity?
Who is this Paneco?
Wow. I would never had thought about this business to begin with. But lo and behold. Some economics thinking and this was sieved out from the list.
While we cannot be certain if this is indeed a highly lucrative business, it is extremely likely to be, given its revenue growth despite its headcount falling. I am not advocating for anyone to enter into this boxing ring but it certainly does not seem to be one with that high barriers to entry and if the business fails, you know how to drown in your sorrows!!!
Is this an interesting application of basic economics knowledge? What do you think? Are you now more inspired about learning economics? Please share your thoughts and comments below.
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