Budget proposals: People at the Jubilee Bridge at the Marina Bay waterfront in Singapore. Expanding the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone to include Indonesia’s Riau Islands Batam, Bintan and Karimun is one of the ideas to improve the economy. — AFP
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s apex business chamber is urging the government to boost intellectual property (IP) financing, hasten Asean integration, and work with businesses to support the hiring and retention of older workers.
Drawing on 56 detailed proposals consolidated into 18 recommendations, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and its knowledge partner, PwC Singapore, outlined five key priorities for the government to consider in shaping the 2026 fiscal Budget.
At a media briefing on Jan 12, SBF chief executive Kok Ping Soon said the proposals were grounded in findings from the chamber’s business surveys, industry feedback, as well as insights gleaned from the ongoing Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce and Economic Strategy Review.
Though Singapore’s economy grew 4.8% in 2025, the government’s slower 1% to 3% projection for 2026 reflects caution, Kok said, noting that some factors that fuelled growth in 2025 may dissipate this year.
Growth in 2025 was boosted by the front-loading of exports in anticipation of US tariffs, which have yet to be determined for the pharmaceutical and semiconductor sectors.
These two sectors collectively account for about 40% of Singapore’s exports into the United States.
“The truce between China and the United States will come to an end sometime in November, so we really do not know what is going to happen,” he noted.
SBF and PwC are among the organisations and individuals making recommendations for the upcoming 2026 Budget since the Finance Ministry started collecting views from Dec 2.
Finance Minister and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will deliver the Budget statement on Feb 12.
More than half of last year’s recommendations made by SBF and PwC, which are partnering for a second year, were taken up, said Kok.
“This year’s report spotlights new areas that we think are worth paying attention to. One is that whole chapter about capturing new growth,” he said.
IP financing, carbon trading, and the opportunity to hasten regional economic integration as Singapore prepares to assume the Asean chair in 2027 were among them.
Compared to 2025, workforce transformation has taken a back seat in this year’s recommendations.
“Not that it’s not important, but it was a big chunk of what we proposed last year,” Kok said.
“The government has introduced various new programmes to support workforce transformation, so I think we should allow some time for them to be implemented.”
PwC Singapore executive chairman Marcus Lam said companies now grapple with decisions on “where to invest, what to automate, how fast to decarbonise, and which markets to double down on”.
One idea is to expand the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone to include Indonesia’s Riau Islands Batam, Bintan, Karimun to make it more attractive to global investors.
Lam also mooted the creation of a digital IP collateral registry, with the government adding another boost by widening its risk-sharing schemes to cover IP-backed loans with higher ratios of 70% to 80%
He said: “One impediment to our ambition to be an innovation hub is our limited ability to use IP as financing collateral.
“We identified a few reasons for this.
“One is the lack of valuation expertise amongst our financial institutions.
“Two is a preference among our financial institutions for traditional forms of collateral like property and equipment.”
“But places such as China, Hong Kong and South Korea are advancing IP financing initiatives, and Singapore should keep up.”
The partners would also like to see the current productivity solutions grant (PSG), administered by Enterprise Singapore to help small and medium enterprises digitalise, be made more accessible.
Lam said the PSG currently helps smaller firms procure mostly pre-packaged software solutions in sales or back office from pre-approved vendors.
But as these businesses progress to artificial intelligence (AI) agents or more advanced uses, what they need are customised solutions and sustained AI support.
On decarbonisation, the partners are calling for the set-up of a carbon transition council to develop industry best practices and road maps, and for the government to extend the Enterprise Financing Scheme – Green beyond March 31.
SBF’s chief policy and operating officer Musa Fazal said: “We know that the carbon tax is going up this year, and quite significantly, from S$25 to S$45 per tonne.
“This will have an impact on businesses, either directly for the heavy carbon emitters, or indirectly for the rest of firms, through energy prices.”
On employment, even as the partners asked for more incentives to enhance hiring of older workers, they also made a case for more foreign workers in civil engineering, manufacturing and logistics, where not enough Singaporeans are willing to take up its jobs.
Six recommendations to boost senior employment were made, including encouraging flexible and fractional work, supporting smaller businesses to cope with higher health and insurance costs of older workers, and nudging business culture towards a less ageist environment.
On inclusive growth, PwC Singapore’s corporate tax leader Tan Ching Ne called for better support for hiring among vulnerable communities and more incentives to promote corporate volunteering.
Tethered to that is a request for support for initiatives to integrate foreign talent into the Singapore workforce.
The ideas here ranged from orientation programmes for employment pass holders, a central online repository of integration resources for companies, and training courses on local-foreign workplace integration.
Kok said: “We have included it because we think that if we do not address the ‘us against them’ sort of underlying tensions in Singapore, it will reduce our economic potential.
“So how can we increase the absorptive capacity of Singapore for foreigners? I think that’s important.” — The Straits Times/ANN
