A survey has revealed that 24 percent of 120 businesses in Hong Kong are considering moving out of the city as a result of the ongoing protests, with Singapore as their preferred destination, Bloomberg reported.

What's more, 80 percent of the respondents agreed that the protests had affected their decision to invest in Hong Kong in the future.

91 percent of firms planning to shift, looking at Singapore

The survey was conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham) and further revealed that 23 percent of the firms were planning to move their business functions out, while an additional 1 percent already planned to do so.

Additionally, 91 percent of these firms were looking at shifting to Singapore.

Strong perception that Singapore will benefit economically from protests

The survey also revealed that a majority of the firms, regardless of whether they were moving or not, thought that the protests were economically beneficial for Singapore.

For firms that were moving out, 86 percent thought that this was the case, while for firms that were staying put, the figure stood at 64 percent.

However, Bloomberg noted that there appeared to be a reluctance by Singaporean officials to celebrate.

On Sep. 3, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing stated that continued disruptions to Hong Kong’s stability will eventually have a larger negative spillover on Singapore as a result of close ties.

Most of the companies surveyed have a head office in Singapore

AmCham further noted that 73 percent of the 120 companies have their head office in Singapore, while 64 percent of the total number had an office in Hong Kong.

Bloomberg added that while this meant the survey represented a modest sample, it also revealed corporate sentiment on the issue.

Top left photo by Ivan Abreu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, right photo by Bernardo Benzecry via Flickr