SINGAPORE: Small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) can soon tap a new office for help to navigate red tape across multiple agencies and long-drawn regulatory bottlenecks.
The SME Pro-Enterprise Office (SME PEO), established under Enterprise Singapore, will be launched in the first quarter of next year.
This comes as SMEs sometimes face issues when navigating regulations, particularly in emerging areas like the green economy or on issues that cut across multiple agencies.
For instance, companies that want to install solar panels have to seek permission from multiple agencies. The issue could involve the Building and Construction Authority, the National Environment Agency, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Ministry of Manpower.
The new office will complement the work of other regulatory agencies, which will continue to handle cases that are more straightforward and specific to them.
LIFEBLOOD OF THE ECONOMYSenior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling on Monday (Sep 23) said the government is committed to supporting SMEs to grow and transform.
SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy, employing about 70 per cent of the labour force, she noted.
There needs to be smoother and shorter regulatory processes, as well as lower regulatory barriers, said Ms Low.
“This is even more vital with the rapid emergence of new technology and a fast-evolving business environment.”
The SME PEO will have three main functions: triage, track and treat, she said.
This involves gathering and directing feedback from SMEs, monitoring standards on regulatory issues, and ensuring that the relevant agencies review and resolve issues quickly
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Mr Ang Yuit, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), said SMEs, in particular, are typically short on resources and often “have to really firefight” problems that come their way.
“At the same time, SMEs are also the bedrock of our economy and they actually help cushion a lot of the economic shocks,” he added. “And this ground really needs to be watered.”
The new office to help SMEs navigate regulations is a timely initiative, said Mr Ang, adding that rules could be simplified to help these firms.
“Over time, we were just concerned, from our perspective, that there has been more focus on the larger enterprises and less on the smaller ones,” he noted.
“And I think that there's a lot of opportunities for SMEs to grow when given the right attention.”
Observers believe the SME PEO would help attract new opportunities, and give the overall business environment a boost.
“SMEs are currently dealing with a lot of costsprimo gaming,” said Mr Ang. “So if you can reduce the regulatory burden, that will reduce the costs and that leaves them the headroom to actually look at growing.”