SINGAPORE, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Business sentiment in Singapore has weakened amid global economic uncertainties in 2019 with 38 percent of local companies expecting conditions to worsen this year, 21 percent higher than the figure of last year's survey, according to the latest survey.

The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) launched its annual National Business Survey 2018/2019 on Thursday, which was carried out from Sept. 19 to Dec. 7 last year, collecting responses from more than 700 companies across all major industries in Singapore.

According to the survey, the outlook was basically neutral as about 45 percent of Singapore companies believed the business climate here will remain unchanged this year.

The mostly worried challenges of local businesses include the rising interest rates and the ongoing trade tensions, representing 65 percent and 61 percent of the respondents, respectively. Only 18 percent of Singapore businesses expressed satisfaction with the current global business climate.

The survey showed that innovations have become a priority for local companies to overcome the tough global challenges, with 56 percent of these companies implementing innovations in 2018. About 39 percent of local businesses viewed the digital capabilities as a priority for 2019.