Business as usual, for now

RENTAL cost has always been one of the top challenges for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore.

So when it was announced last October that industrial land and properties under the Housing Development Board (HDB) will be transferred to JTC Corporation, it was no surprise that some tenants and lessees expressed concern.

Most of HDB's industrial tenants and lessees are micro-SMEs, with average annual sales of less than S$1 million. Any raise in prices or changes in property policy will have an adverse impact on this group, which may not have the resources to adapt quickly.

The transfer, which will affect 10,…