Budget 2023 to empower business transformation: SBF

The government's measures include a $4b top-up to the National Productivity Fund.

The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) welcomed business support measures from the 2023 budget, adding that these will help enterprises “press on with transformation and seek new opportunities in their growth journey.”

Amongst budget measures that got a thumbs up from the federation include the Enterprise Financing Scheme and Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) to March 2024.

According to the SBF, the extension of these two schemes will help to address the financing challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore.

“It is encouraging that the government and participating financial institutions will continue to help share the risk of financing and lower the cost of borrowing for SMEs. The government’s continual funding of the Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) will also encourage more Singapore companies to adopt energy-efficient practices and enhance Singapore’s efforts to promote sustainable development and combat climate Change,” the SBF said.

The federation also applauded the introduction of the Job-Skills Integrators initiative, saying it would help optimise training and job placements for Singapore businesses.

“These job-skills integrators or intermediaries will play a crucial role as they serve to close the labour and skills gaps. This initiative will benefit workers as it will help identify individuals who are the right fit for training and also ensure better-earning prospects,” the SBF said.

Meanwhile, the SBF also underscored the importance of the new Enterprise Innovation Scheme and the additional S$4 billion top-up to the National Productivity Fund (NPF).

According to SBF, the Enterprise Innovation Scheme will place Singapore companies “on transformation maps with ‘cushioned’ risks,” whilst the NPF top-up will allow “continued investment on measures and programmes that can help businesses to become more competitive and productive as they develop the Singapore talent pool.”

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