The Economic Development Board (EDB) is predicting it will achieve half the amount of commitments in total dollar terms that it pulled in last year.

As the credit crunch continues, the agency is also taking steps to help companies already committed here to maintain their presence and create the jobs they have promised.

About 6,000 job vacancies are expected to open up in coming months from investments already made, with tens of thousands more coming onstream down the line.

EDB, which is responsible for attracting foreign investors to Singapore, said yesterday it expects $10 billion in fixed asset investments this year, down from the $18 billion it achieved last year and the $17.2 billion in 2007.

But it stressed that the last two years were exceptional and the 'jumbo investments' made then cannot be expected every year. Fixed asset investments, which include companies setting up plants and buying machinery, averaged close to $10 billion in the five years before 2007.

The forecast for this year already excludes projects that were put off due to the worldwide recession, said EDB chairman Lim Siong Guan. About 20 per cent were postponed, while fewer than 2 per cent have been cancelled outright.

If the economic situation improves soon, the delayed projects could be revived next year, he told reporters yesterday at a briefing on EDB's performance last year. If not, they will hopefully come onstream in 2011.

'The present global economic uncertainty is very challenging for attracting new investments,' he said. 'However, given Singapore's strong fundamentals in supporting business, we are cautiously optimistic of achieving a respectable level of investment commitments this year.'

For 2009, EDB will have a double focus, Mr Lim added. Apart from keeping the pipeline going for future investments, it will also preserve and create jobs, and help companies and their people to upgrade and position themselves for the eventual upturn.

'What is important this year is to make sure that we continue to attract investments that create new jobs and, at the same time, help companies ride out this period so that as many jobs as possible can be preserved,' an EDB statement said.

Many of the 6,000 jobs EDB expects to be created in coming months are in industries such as games development and pharmaceuticals, and will require science, engineering and technical skills.

An additional 18,000 to 22,000 jobs are forecast to be created from the investments expected this year. From last year's commitments will come 21,700 jobs, 44 per cent of which will be in manufacturing and the rest in services.

To ease some pressure on businesses, EDB is offering a few forms of help.

For companies that have settled their investment plans but are finding it hard to get financing, the agency will help out provided the projects remain viable. But so far, says EDB managing director Beh Swan Gin, the number of firms that have sought this help is in the single digits.

Firms that are unable to achieve their incentive milestones this year, such as meeting spending targets, will be given a grace period until March 31 next year.

Companies enjoying pioneer status or development and expansion initiatives that end this year will also enjoy an extension of incentive periods until March 31 next year, as long as they do not cut back present levels of operation in Singapore.

Despite the gloomy sentiment, EDB said there are firms still keen on increasing investments to reposition themselves or gain market share ahead of a recovery.

Firms in high-growth sectors like game development and animation, as well as those in basic consumer products and food-related services, are likely to keep growing even in a downturn, it said.

Another silver lining: industries that have been 'chronically short' of experienced manpower for years, like precision engineering, integrated circuit design and games design, are getting a breather to recruit more talent, said Dr Beh.