SMEs received a lot of consideration in the 2016 budget, which is not a shock as SMEs form 99 per cent of the industry grants in Singapore. The government broadcasted many orders and grants to help companies nurture and improve their capabilities. The procedures announced by the government in the 2016 financial plan included giving more grants for SMEs, raising corporate tax income refunds, extending some superior credit schemes and helping businesses to influence technology. Expansion plans had been in the works in Singapore for at least two years. However, before last year, it was difficult to fund these expansion plans. Often, companies had to finance the projects themselves first so it was a challenge managing cash flow. It was difficult thinking of growth plans. Fortunately, the government announced the SME Working Capital Loan (WCL) system last year as one of its schemes for the 2016 financial plan. The WCL allows businesses to get credits from financial institutions of up to S$300,000. The Singapore government co-shares half of the default risk of such funding for SMEs with participating financial institutions. A company who applied for this loan and the funding has allowed them to carry out the expansion plans. These plans include a bigger showroom in Singapore. The WCL also enabled to finance larger scale projects. The working investment loan and tax incentives have given the company supplementary finances to better plan and chart the business growth forward in 2017, as well as overseas venture in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Myanmar.
Looking forward, the company hopes the government would continue to fund SMEs through more aggressive policies, helping them to cope with high business operations and expenses. Beverage Companies needed to automate to keep up with its growth. But without any assistance, the automation process would have been much slower. Operations Financial Planning & Analysis managers used Productivity and Innovation Credit which allows businesses to claim up to 400 per cent in tax deductions or up to S$100,000 cash disbursements per year. The standards for each scheme are different but the main condition to accomplish is to have CPF (Central Provident Fund) contributions for at least three resident personnel in the relevant month. Beverage companies applied for the ‘Acquisition and Leasing of PIC IT and Automation Equipment’ scheme, which aids with certain charges incurred in obtaining or leasing IT and automation equipment. The decrease of IT costs helped the companies to stretch their dollar to capitalize in more enhancements that would lessen low-value-added administrative work and generate more time to focus on the business tactic. To grow, SMEs often have to expand abroad but that comes with important costs including finance for staff overseas. Companies faced those same concerns and sought assistance from the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant. The MRA grant helps companies with up to 70% of eligible third-party costs such as overseas market system identification of business associates or overseas market promotion. Foreign worker tax charges have also enlarged by a fair bit in the service segment, so it would be good for that amount to alleviate and not continue to rise. Budget 2017 is expected to be delivered on February 20 by the Finance Minister. It therefore easy to recommend SME proprietors to discover all the incentives that are accessible and influence on government funding to continue capitalizing in business innovation and strengthening business fundamentals.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorIf your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can't have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far. ArchivesCategories |