SICCI ready to tackle SME issues

THE Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) is no stranger to fighting fires and managing a shoestring budget. Which makes their point that costs remains an issue for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) particularly poignant.

"I think that the government needs to really look closely at costs, fundamentally, as a problem. And look at how cost competitiveness can be addressed," says its newly appointed executive director, Malminderjit Singh.

With rents and high labour costs continuing to exert pressure on businesses, companies that are going overseas might be doing so not so much for reasons of expansion, but to escape the high cost of operation here.