The Edge Singapore Published on Fri, Jul 23, 2021
The government is putting out a package of measures worth $1.1 billion to help businesses forced to put up with dialled-back measures following the spike in new Covid-19 cases.
The tighter measures, which includes a ban on dining-in, is in effect from July 22 to Aug 18.
In addition, the government will provide an additional four-week rental waiver for qualifying tenants on government-owned commercial properties.
There’s also an additional two-week rental relief cash payout for qualifying tenant-occupiers and owner-occupiers of privately-owned commercial properties under the Rental Support Scheme.
While various forms of rental-related relief have been made available since the start of the pandemic, some tenants have groused that not all commercial landlords were “forthcoming”.
“To ensure fair burden sharing, the government is looking to require sharing of rental obligations between the government, landlords and qualifying tenants,” said MOF.
“We recognise that there will be landlords who may face genuine hardship, and will take these landlords’ circumstances into consideration. More details will be announced by the Ministry of Law in due course,” MOF added.
Also, credit support measures will remain available, where banks and finance companies are to continue to provide cashflow assistance to borrowers affected by the tightening of restrictions.
This is facilitated by the ESG, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and industry support measures that had been recently extended. Lenders will further offer relief and restructuring options for borrowers based on their specific circumstances.
The government will also beef up wage subsidies, known as the Jobs Support Scheme, for affected sectors.
For businesses such as F&B, gyms, fitness studios, performing arts organisations and arts education centres, they will enjoy a wage subsidy of 60%.
Other less affected sectors, such as retail sector, affected personal care services, tourist attractions, licensed hotels, cruise and regional ferry operators, MICE organisers, travel agents, museums, art galleries, cinema operators and other family entertainment centres, will receive 40%.
The subsidy will drop back to just 10% from Aug 19 to Aug 31.
Joyce Tee, group head of SME banking at DBS, citing a survey done by the bank, notes that 35% of the micro and small enterprises in the F&B and retail sectors saw earnings fall by more than half during the restrictions in May.
“While most SMEs are taking the situation in their stride, they are understandably concerned about their ability to manage overheads during this period,” she says.
“We are also mindful of the need to address potential cashflow issues early before they become too challenging,” says Tee, adding that the bank has in place an automated, data-driven system that will raise alerts if SMEs are at risk.
Frederick Chin, head of group wholesale banking and markets at UOB, notes that the pandemic continues to upend business plans, requiring SMEs to adapt constantly so as to sustain their business. Since February 2020, UOB has extended relief assistance exceeding S$13 billion to more than 12,000 SMEs in Singapore.
“UOB will continue to support our SME customers facing unprecedented challenges to their day-to-day operations and business outlook,” he adds.