By Francis Chan & Elizabeth Wilmot

HELP in lowering business costs.

That tops the festive season wish list of eight businesses and industry groups here. They were polled by The Straits Times yesterday with Budget 2009 just weeks away.

Most say they are bracing themselves for a tough year ahead but remain hopeful they can turn the corner if the right government help is available.

'On all counts, next year is also going to be a tough one, particularly the first half of the year,' said Mr Vijay Iyengar, chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 'Hopefully, corrective action taken by governments worldwide will have some effect.'

Mr Lawrence Leow, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said: 'SMEs have been most affected on two fronts: The tightening of credit, which affected cash flow, and the high business costs.'

Lke most in the business community, Mr Leow believes conditions next year are likely to get tougher before they get better and he hopes to see more help from the Government.

'Our main challenges are to reduce our operating costs and to achieve a sustainable level of revenue,' he added.

'We hope the Government, in the coming Budget, will implement measures to reduce business costs.'

Specifically, Mr Leow hopes to see tax rebates, and moves to lower rental for businesses on JTC Corporation and HDB premises.

Mr Anthony Yim, vice-chairman of the Singapore Precision Engineering and Tooling Association, agrees.

'The Government could help in reducing operational costs such as rental and property tax, utilities charges, foreign worker levy,' he said.

Mr Yim also hopes financial institutions continue to provide support to firms as many are expected to encounter liquidity problems because of the credit crunch.

Firms in the manufacturing sector are also counting on government support.

'We do not expect the economy to recover by the end of next year. Hopefully, our Government can provide some incentives to stimulate the market,' said Mr Renny Yeo, president of the Singapore Manufacturers Federation (SMa).

The SMa recently consulted its members and compiled a wish list for next year, which includes a call to cut property, utility and transportation costs, provide better corporate tax rebates or relief, reduce goods and services tax (GST) for essential goods and cut Central Provident Fund contribution rates.

'In general the outlook is bleak for next year and we are looking forward to the Budget 2009 announcement,' Mr Yeo said.

SMa's call to cut GST echoes a statement issued by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) last month that said: 'Drastic times do call for extraordinary measures.'

SCCCI also called for a reduction of overhead costs and charges, given the 'surge in overhead costs in the form of rentals, transportation, and utilities costs' in the last two years.

'In response to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's call to keep the economy humming by continuing to spend, perhaps one interim measure - while the economy is still down in the doldrums - would be to reduce the GST from 7 per cent to 3 per cent, to encourage greater spending and stimulate the economy for the next one to two years,' the SCCCI said.

'This would substantially encourage more Singaporeans to spend locally instead of travelling and spending overseas.'

Spending here is something that the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) is also hoping many Singaporeans and foreigners will do more next year.

SRA vice-president John Cheston said it hopes to work closely with the Singapore Tourism Board to attract tourists - making Singapore the first destination in Asia they would go to.

He urged landlords to work with tenants to deal with rental issues. 'We are not demanding decrease in rentals. We just hope landlords would acknowledge that they need (to work with retailers) to come up with solutions.'

Some other industry representatives, however, remain gung-ho about prospects next year despite a gloomy outlook.

'This global recession may be longer and deeper but we are ready for this,' said Mr Benny Pua, president of the Textile and Fashion Federation.

'With the strong foundation built up over the last 40 years...I am confident we will continue to serve the world's apparel industry,' he said.

That sentiment was shared by Mr Andrew Ng, president of the Singapore Furniture Industries Council, who said: 'We will work hard to establish our presence in the international furniture arena to showcase the sheer range, high quality and competitive pricing of Singapore furniture so that we can become the regional hub for furniture design, manufacture and export.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 20, 2008.