SINGAPORE, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Local and foreign firms here say China and Singapore are their two top markets for the next 12 months, local media reported on Thursday.

Singapore narrowed the gap with China to just one percentage point this year as financial and business services preferred Singapore over China, local daily The Business Times reported on Thursday.

Of the 166 firms that responded to a question to the third quarter Business Climate Survey, 24 percent cited China and 23 percent picked Singapore as offering the best business prospects for them.

China has emerged as the top pick every time in the past five years in the survey.

But the preference gap between China and Singapore has narrowed from last year, when 30 percent of the firms cited China and 17 percent named Singapore.

Financial and business services preferred Singapore to China by about three percentage points, and the same preference was even more marked among construction firms.

Third-placed Indonesia has the brightest business outlook for the next year for 13 percent of the companies polled. (Mo Honge)