In an economic downturn, companies either find ways to adapt or perish, and companies in Singapore have found a way grow, which may eventually boost the local economy and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The Plan. In the next three years, 16 electronics and precion engineering (EPE) firms will come together to form six consortia and seal $60 million worth of deals and expand their presence around the world, writes Robin Chan for The Strait Times.

What It Means. Intentional Enterprise (IE) has helped combine the 16 companies’ resources to capitalize on economies of scale so as to be an effective and efficient competitor when pursuing markets in the United States, Europe, Japan, Russia, China, and Thailand.

The Singapore ETFs which may benefit from the increased trade and new deals include:

• iShares MSCI Singapore Index (EWS): down 2.5% year-to-date.

• NETS FTSE Singapore Straits Times Index (SGT): down 1.7% year-to-date

Tags: Asia, Emerging Markets, EWS, SGT, Singapore