By Francis Chan & Fiona Chan

SINGAPORE firms are increasingly defaulting on payments - including bank loans - making them seem high-risk to lenders already tight on credit.

In one of the first signs of the global credit crunch hitting corporate Singapore, credit rating agency Dun and Bradstreet (Singapore) said more businesses are falling behind in making payments.

D&B chief executive K. S. Yun said that, apart from construction, more local businesses in other sectors will fall into the high-risk pocket this year and next.

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