Half of businesses seek aid amidst inflation and digital push

Budget initiatives are seen vital in managing costs and boosting productivity.

As Singapore is set to announce its spending plan for 2025, a UOB survey revealed that 50% of businesses hope this fiscal year’s budget will include support to manage the impact of high inflation and fund digital adoption.

According to UOB’s Business Outlook Study 2025 (SMEs & Large Enterprises), this increased from the 45% recorded in 2023.

There were also 46% who said the budget will hopefully include grants and extra funding for digital adoption, whilst 42% call for increased SkillsFuture credit, 41% seek incentives to adopt sustainable practices, and 25% want facilitation of export opportunities.

Businesses also see budget initiatives playing a key role in managing their costs, boosting productivity, improving cash flow, improving customer demand and ensuring staff retention.

UOB’s survey found that 45% said budget initiatives will help manage costs, 38% said these will improve their productivity, 33% said these will improve cashflow,  31% said these will enhance customer demand/revenue, and 30% said these will help staff retention.