Companies want more support for innovation-driven activities: KPMG poll

WHILE businesses in Singapore are recognising the need to innovate, they want more help from the government to become future-ready, said a KPMG Singapore report on Wednesday.

According to the audit firm's pre-Budget 2016 poll, 87 per cent of respondents ranked innovation and value creation within the top three areas of importance over the next five years. Still, 81 per cent said there is insufficient support for value-creation activities.

Said KPMG's head of tax, Tay Hong Beng: "As Singapore progresses up the economic ladder, we need to shift from simply adding value to creating value in order to develop a strong core of Singaporean businesses to compete globally at the higher end of the value chain.

"There needs to be a Singapore-centric talent pool, not only just having technical skills but also having the ability to innovate, lead and manage in the face of a weaker economy."

KPMG's report is based on feedback gathered from a poll of businesses in Singapore, as well as focus group discussions.

Conducted between November and December last year, the poll surveyed 106 companies, and represented the views of 30 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 41 large Singaporean companies, and 35 multinational firms.