Dear Members and Friends
Our
annual post-budget set piece is
a set piece because of the
quality of speakers we invite
each year. Yesterday’s panel of
experts was no exception.
Ms. Selena Ling, Chief
Economist & Global Head, Global
Markets Research & Strategy,
OCBC, Dr. Chua Hak Bin, Regional
Co-Head of Macro Research,
Maybank and Mr. Loh Eng Kiat,
Tax Partner, Deloitte
each gave a thoughtful
presentation followed by a panel
conversation moderated by me.
Here's what we learned:
-
Budget 2024 is definitely a
crowd-pleasing and generous
one with more financial
support via vouchers and a
plethora of schemes to help
households and businesses
with the rising cost of
living. No-one was left out
in this budget and no area
of concern forgotten.
-
Budget 2024 can also be said
to be the first policy
response to citizen input
from the Forward SG
initiative. Significant and
generous SkillsFuture credit
top-ups act as financial
incentives to encourage each
of us to upskill or reskill
– especially those of us
older than 40 - for a more
sustainable economic future
for ourselves and for the
economy. Every worker
matters and every citizen
counts. The active support
of employers will be a key
enabler of their teams'
ability to take up these
schemes and, therefore, of
their progress.
-
Collaboration, as always, is
the driver for innovation
and growth. The announcement
of the enhanced Partnerships
for Capability
Transformation (PACT) scheme
(itself one of the catalysts
of the Chamber’s annual
business awards) was very
welcome. PACT demonstrates
the power of collaborative
partnerships between SMEs
and MNEs. The latter can
help nurture and grow the
former giving rise to
enhanced capabilities for
both to compete in the
global value chain.
-
The
Corporate Income Tax Rebate
and Cash Grant are
significant for businesses
which pay tax and those
which do not respectively.
The introduction of the
Refundable Investment Credit
scheme will enhance
Singapore’s competitiveness
and balance the impact of
the minimum effective tax
rate of 15% to be levied on
applicable MNEs from 1
January 2025. This will
allow Singapore to continue
to attract high-value and
substantive investment to
spur innovation and create
jobs.
-
We
all have a responsibility
for the environment – the
Future Energy Fund will be
set up with an initial
injection of $5 billion to
drive Singapore's transition
to cleaner fuels.
Many
thanks to our expert speakers
for sharing their insights and
knowledge and to our audience
for participating in the Q & A.
Special thanks go to our virtual
participants and friends from
the Hong Kong General Chamber of
Commerce for joining us.
#Budget2024 #ForwardSG
#vibranteconomy #SkillsFuture
Yours faithfully
Victor Mills
Chief Executive
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