SCCCI's 5 recommendations based on its Singapore Pre-Budget 2015 Survey

THE Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) has come up with five recommendations, based on feedback from its Pre-Budget 2015 Survey:

- Further widen coverage of Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) and Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) schemes;

- Arrest further cost increases in foreign worker policy or tightening of quota, and offer medical and insurance subsidies to encourage the hiring of older Singaporean workers aged 55 and above;

- Engage in more consultation with trade associations or businesses;

before introducing new government policies to ease compliance costs;

- Provide targeted funding for SMEs to venture into the Asean market to seize opportunities arising from the impending single Asean market in 2015;

- Urge government-linked companies/large corporations to create more project opportunities for SMEs' involvement to help SMEs build track records.

"As businesses have taken concrete measures to upgrade themselves, the government should continue incentives and programmes for business to help in their transformation, and in doing so, some may emerge to become world-class enterprises," said Thomas Chua, SCCCI president.

The SCCCI Pre-Budget Survey was conducted over an 11-week period from September and elicited response from 356 companies. Among the survey participants, 96.7 per cent of them are SMEs; 92.6 per cent of the respondents are the decision-makers of the respective companies.