SBF welcomes CFE's recommendations, to play bigger role in supporting businesses

THE Singapore Business Federation (SBF) said on Thursday it welcomes the recommendations made by the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) to better position Singapore to be a vibrant and resilient economy.

In a statement, the SBF said it looks forward to partnering the government to play a bigger role to better support the business community.

This includes the transformation and upgrading of Singapore's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be ready for the new economy.

But the SBF cautioned that while planning for the long term is important and necessary, addressing near-term issues to help viable businesses and SMEs transit to the newly restructured economy should not be neglected.

"We urge the government to continue to put sufficient emphasis on assisting businesses to overcome the near-term economic headwinds, as we expect the local business environment to remain tepid at least in the short term."

Recommendations by the CFE were announced on Thursday.