THERE is good news for local small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), with the launch of two International Enterprise (IE) Singapore initiatives yesterday that will help businesses expand overseas.
The first is a $20 million scheme to support a broad range of capabilities for companies venturing abroad.
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said at the launch ceremony yesterday: 'It'll support local companies...in areas such as branding, design, intellectual property, franchising and licensing, financing, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures and overseas market entry.'
This scheme is expected to benefit between 250 and 300 Singapore firms over the next three years, with 70 per cent of them likely to be SMEs.
Qualifying criteria include a turnover of at least $500,000, a minimum paid-up capital of $50,000 and total business spending of at least $250,000 for each of the last three years.
The second initiative, which was also launched by IE Singapore, involved the setting up of an advisory centre at the agency's Bugis office.
The centre is a one- stop shop with personalised services to help companies export and venture abroad.
A key enhancement from IE Singapore's previous resource centre is the free personalised advisory by in-house experts and private sector partner consultants.
Overall, IE Singapore's services have helped 26,800 SMEs, or about 20 per cent of SMEs in the country, in 2006 and 2007 by making available more than $280 million in tax and financial grants to support international expansion.
The assistance helped SMEs expand into over 90 overseas markets.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 15, 2008
