27 proposals to boost Singapore’s competitiveness, with some ready to be implemented
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DPM Gan Kim Yong (second left) receives the report from AfA co-chair Mark Lee (second right), together with Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling (left) and SBF CEO Kok Ping Soon.
PHOTO: SBF
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SINGAPORE – One of the 27 recommendations in a Nov 1 report that aims to improve competitiveness has already been implemented, with a handful of others ready to be put into effect.
The report by the public-private Alliance for Action (AfA) on Business Competitiveness is the culmination of nine months of work that included thousands of hours of meetings with businesses, trade associations, chambers of commerce and government agencies.
The establishment of the SME Pro-Enterprise Office has already been set in motion.
It was announced in late September that the office will open in the first quarter of 2025.
“This was set up urgently because the key feedback was that businesses found it hard to navigate through the myriad of complex government regulations,” said AfA co-chair and Singapore Business Federation (SBF) vice-chairman Mark Lee.
Most of the 27 suggestions put forward fell into three broad categories: manpower, land and the regulatory environment.
The manpower recommendations focus on boosting government grants that underpin workforce transformation, including the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit scheme that offers companies $10,000 to support productivity and job transformation initiatives.
A key proposal on land focused on new industrial sites, where lease extensions of up to three years will be given to offset the construction period so that businesses can better recoup their investments over the full tenure of the 20- or 30-year lease.
A notable suggestion on the regulatory system was for greater flexibility to be exercised in helping businesses go green. Another recommendation called for a more efficient approval process for solar energy projects that will be spearheaded by the Energy Market Authority.
Some of the recommendations can be enacted easily, including enabling businesses to retain higher-skilled work permit holders and deploy their foreign workers more efficiently.
There is also one on enhancing a scheme that provides transitional support for businesses undergoing transformation, while another is to expand access to labour from non-traditional sources such as Thailand and the Philippines.
Mr Lee said: “These initiatives can be piloted in specific sectors, delivering early wins for the business community.”
He added that cost-related recommendations, especially those addressing manpower needs, are also immediate, actionable goals.
“We hope they’ll receive timely consideration from the Government.”
There are also recommendations that require mid- to long-term planning, such as those involving land and regulatory frameworks.
Despite the longer lead time, Mr Lee said: “I’m encouraged by the serious engagement to bolster Singapore’s pro-business landscape.”
SBF chief executive Kok Ping Soon said many proposals that did not pass muster were company-specific, and it would not make sense to change policy for just that one firm.
Another category of rejected suggestions was those that are already addressed by existing schemes and initiatives, but these were not widely used by many companies because of the “lack of understanding or awareness” about them, he added.
Another group of recommendations failed to make the cut either because the technology was not sufficiently mature, or because they would have an impact on the broader society, rather than just the economy.
Mr Kok said: “I would define the report’s success this way: On the first level, we hope to see all the 27 recommendations implemented, but we also recognise that some of them will need time for government agencies to study.
“On another more intangible level, it is to see a new season of collaboration between public agencies and private companies. And we think it is a very good sign.
“Lastly, the longer-term definition of success is seeing Singapore live up to its economic potential of 2 per cent to 3 per cent growth despite the challenges that we face.”
NUS Business School professor Lawrence Loh noted: “The recommendations are collectively comprehensive yet individually specific.
“They are most timely and critical now to position Singapore for competitiveness in an increasingly volatile world.”
He said the key takeaway “is to tap the synergy of three crucial success pillars – manpower, land and regulations – for Singapore’s industries and businesses to be future-ready across different global economic and geopolitical scenarios”.
“The most compelling set of policy recommendations centres on enhancing Singapore as an attractive and lasting place for investments, particularly land leases and space usage, support for the green transition, and strengthening of the local core manpower complemented by foreign workers.”
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that “another scheme offers companies $10,000 to support productivity and job transformation initiatives”. This has been corrected. We are sorry for the error.
