That tops the festive season wishlists of eight business and industry groups here polled The Straits Times on Friday with Budget 2009 just weeks away.

Most say their members are bracing themselves for a tough year ahead but remain hopeful they can turn the corner if the right government help is available.

'On all counts, 2009 is also going to be a tough one, particularly the first half of the year,'' said Mr Vijay Iyengar, chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry . 'Hopefully corrective action taken by governments worldwide will have some effect.'

Mr Lawrence Leow, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said: 'SMEs have been most affected on two fronts: The tightening of credit, which affected cashflow, and the high business costs.'

Like most in the business community, Mr Leow believes conditions next year are likely to get tougher before they get better and he hopes to see more help from the Government.

'Our main challenges are to reduce our operating costs and to achieve a sustainable level of revenue,' he added.

'We hope the Government in the coming Budget will implement measures to reduce business costs.'

Specifically, Mr Leow hopes to see tax rebates, and moves to lower rental for businesses in JTC and HDB premises.

Mr Anthony Yim, vice-chairman of the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association, agrees.

'The Government could help in reducing operational costs such as rental and property tax, utilities charges, foreign workers levy,' he said.

Mr Yim also hopes financial institutions continue to provide support to firms as many are expected to encounter liquidity problems due to the credit crunch.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.