Chan Chun Sing support to businessses
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-support-package-see-singapore-through-3-6-months-12590288
April 3, 2020
Newsletter, Singapore
Chan Chun Sing announces support packages to help businesses for the next three to six months
Mr. Chan Chun Sing, the Trade and Industry Minister of Singapore, recently announced that the Government has multiple relief measures planned to be executed to support the workers and businesses in the coming 3-6 months, as the CoVID-19 outbreak continues to threaten the country.
In a recent interview, he mentioned that delivering the necessary support packages is of the utmost priority for now, and the Government is ready to dole out more aids if needed. The Government announced a support package of a whooping S$48 billion last week for shoring up support for the economy, which seems likely to be going into recession in 2020.
Along with the amount of S$6.4 billion previously mentioned in the budget this year, the Government is known to be earmarking about S$55 billion, or roughly eleven percent of the GDP, to fight against the deadly CoVID-19.
When asked about the number of businesses the supplementary budget of the Government can support and for what duration of time, Mr. Chan clearly stated that the exact number of businesses that may go under is difficult to be specified right now, but the Government will make sure to try and make the maximum number of businesses stay afloat.
He further added that the current priority is to put the available budget and schemes to use for helping the businesses and workers manage the next 3-6 months. The Government is ready to launch a couple of schemes that will help businesses with their immediate financial needs.
The Minister also mentioned that supply chains had witnessed serious disruption, and many of the businesses have already gone down, and thus, getting back on their feet will be difficult for them. The bigger question is how these businesses can maintain their capabilities and connectivity for the country. He said that the short-term challenge is a loss in the ability of selling, but the bigger concern is the loss in the ability to produce, which indicates the fall of company capabilities.
He explained that just as hard it is to reopen a factory that has been shut down, it is equally difficult to get the nation’s economy back up again after such a major crisis. Mr. Chan cited measures like the Job Support Scheme and property tax rebates to help businesses stay afloat.
The massive support package is expected to save many jobs, and help the ones that might get displaced to get rehired to other available roles. Apart from the short term issues, the support package is also expected to address the long term problems of the country. It includes continued efforts for strengthening the abilities of local workers and businesses, like building digital capacities, such that Singapore can be the first one to rise at a time when the recovery is found. Besides, it’s all about reinstating the confidence in the nation’s economy.
Mr. Chan said that the depth of the nation’s reserves and the size of the announced package would make the people confident about the ability of the nation to brave the storm, and in fact, it will also be noted keenly by other observers. So, when it comes to an investment decision in the future, the observers will definitely think of Singapore as one of the nations that they can believe in.
It was also noted by him that the workers and businesses would be relieved in knowing the fact that the Government has enough in the national reserves to give out aids.
Regardless of all these, the clouds of concern still loom large. For example, many workers and companies now want to know whether they are qualified to get the benefits of the scheme and how soon they can get those benefits. Besides, it is also worrying to consider that Singapore might not have ample resources if the CoVID-19 situation takes a worse shape than what it is at present.