More than half of Asian business families believe that the region's economy will perform better this year compared with 2012, according to a new survey conducted by SMU and UOB. When asked which region would have the most impact on their businesses, nearly 70 per cent of respondents named Asia, with more than 80 per cent of Singaporean and Indonesian business families stating that their performance would be most closely linked to Asia. SMU Academic director of the Business Families Institute at SMU and Associate Professor of Finance Annie Koh said that Singapore's "inherent limitations as a city state means that it is profoundly dependent on regional growth in order to support its own economic development". Many Asian business families, especially those from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, indicated that expansion into new markets for growth is one of their key priorities for the year. Associate Prof Koh noted that these business families have most of their members from the third generation or beyond currently owning or managing their businesses. "The next generation are more inclined to explore new markets, given their overseas education and working experience. Given the maturity of their respective domestic markets, these business families are naturally inclined to explore other growth opportunities in the region,” she explained. She noted that business families will have to come up with better ways to attract and retain top talent.