SINGAPORE - With more multinational companies aiming to curtail their carbon footprint and extending these expectations to their suppliers, local firms can gain an edge by embracing sustainability.
This is why more support will be given to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt green solutions, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during his Budget statement on Feb 16.
“SMEs today sometimes still treat sustainability as an additional imposition and cost, but going green can be a competitive advantage,” he said.
DPM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, announced three enhancements to the Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS), which enables Singapore businesses to access financing more readily across all stages of growth.
First, the maximum loan quantum under the EFS – SME Working Capital Loan will be permanently increased from $300,000 to $500,000. This will help SMEs to meet their increased working capital and operational cash flow needs amid elevated costs.
Second, the enhanced maximum loan quantum under the EFS – Trade Loan of $10 million will be extended till March 31, 2025. This will support businesses’ internationalisation efforts amid global supply chain disruptions.
Third, support for domestic construction projects under the EFS – Project Loan will also be extended till March 31, 2025, with a maximum loan quantum of $15 million. This will support domestic construction firms amid a challenging operating environment.
DPM Wong also announced enhancements to the Energy Efficiency Grant, which was introduced in 2022 for companies in the food services, food manufacturing and retail sectors.
These include extending the scheme to more sectors, including manufacturing, construction, maritime, as well as data centres and their users.
Companies registered and operating in Singapore with at least 30 per cent local shareholding, at least one local employee and group annual sales turnover of not more than $500 million will be eligible for support.
The scheme will also be enhanced to provide two tiers of support – a base tier to provide support for pre-approved energy-efficient equipment up to a $30,000 cap, as well as an advanced tier to support companies that wish to make larger investments to drive greater energy efficiency.
DPM Wong also noted that the Partnerships for Capability Transformation, or Pact scheme, will be enhanced in more areas, mainly capability training, internationalisation and corporate venturing.
The Pact scheme was introduced in 2010 and supports the likes of co-innovation and internationalisation projects.
“With the enhanced Pact, we aim to help more of our firms plug into global supply chains, compete in markets abroad and grow to become industry leaders in their own right,” DPM Wong said.
In his speech, he noted that local firms can partner multinational enterprises (MNEs) based in Singapore to help them grow quickly, but these companies have set high requirements and standards for firms that wish to supply to them.
He said: “We cannot force MNEs to choose only local suppliers. But we can, and we will, help Singapore enterprises to meet the high standards and to form win-win partnerships with MNEs.”
DPM Wong highlighted the aerospace industry’s high manufacturing and safety standards, which drive aerospace giants such as Rolls-Royce to be highly selective in their partnerships.
He cited local player Zincode as a company that had levelled up to partner Rolls-Royce.
Zincode was able to improve its image processing capabilities with the support of the Smart Manufacturing Joint Lab – a collaboration between the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Rolls-Royce and Singapore Aero Engine Services – and qualify as an approved partner for inspection work at Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing facility in Singapore.
“Zincode has now successfully captured new opportunities from other companies in the aerospace sector, and benefited from an increase in sales,” DPM Wong noted.
