SINGAPORE - The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts served as much-needed cash flow relief for Lim Kee Food Manufacturing amid the circuit breaker and supply chain challenges last year but the safety net is being rolled up.
Lim Kee, which makes s traditional steamed buns, falls under Tier 3A of JSS support, so it received 10 per cent of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages for every Singaporean or permanent resident employee for the four-month period from last September.
It will receive another payout in June for the January to March period this year.
Several support measures, including the JSS and deferred principal repayments on loans for some companies in sectors less affected by the pandemic, ended on Wednesday (March 31), while others have been eased to initial support levels.
Mr Ang Khim Wee, the head of business development, said losing JSS support will not have a major impact on the firm's finances and planning, pointing to the lower level of support compared with other tiers.
Other forms of government assistance, such as the enhanced Enterprise Development Grant with support levels of up to 80 per cent until next March, have also been key to Lim Kee's productivity growth and development through the Covid-19 crisis, he added.
The March payout for the September to December period last year will be the last for software and digital agency Inginim, which is classed under Tier 3B.
Founder and managing director Ang Yuit said "life would be much tougher" for a lot of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like Inginim if not for the support of the JSS.
But the firm, like others, has been preparing for the end of such schemes, he said, especially since these measures have been well-communicated in past months. While some firms will no longer receive wage support, many SMEs are still able to benefit from other initiatives, he noted, such as the Jobs Growth Incentive, which is intended to boost hiring.
Meanwhile, investment holding company Closeract will resume principal repayments on its commercial property loan from April.
Lender UOB had allowed the firm to defer 80 per cent of principal repayment until the end of December last year, and further extended the relief until yesterday (March 31) under Monetary Authority of Singapore measures. This meant that the firm had to pay only the interest incurred on its loan during this period.
Closeract founder and chief executive Gael Tang said: "I took up the (credit relief) offer as we had some cash flow difficulties then. While there's still some cash flow concerns now, I think we'll be OK paying off the principal."
