S'pore launches new service to boost SMEs
Xinhua, Singapore
Singapore's SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Credit Bureau launched a new service, the Singapore Business Toolkit, to help SMEs finance, Minister of State for Education and Trade and Industry Chan Soo Sen announced Friday.“The Tookit will help SMEs to identify areas of weaknesses and offer basic advice to address these areas. The ultimate goal is to improve SMEs' credit standing and thus enhance their chances in raising capital,” Chan said at the second SME Credit Bureau Conference. The service is a joint effort by the SME Credit Bureau, which is an online platform providing lenders with credit-related information on local companies, and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation. Chan also noted in his speech that the Singapore government has adopted a three-pronged approach to collaborate with the private sector in helping SMEs access financing. Firstly, it has developed a suite of financing schemes, including the Start-up Enterprise Development Scheme (SEEDS) and the Business Angel Scheme (BAS) for the start-ups, as well as the Local Enterprise Finance Scheme (LEFS) and Micro loans for the growing SMEs, to address areas where there are market gaps, Chan said. The LEES has offered 40,000 loans worth 10 billion Singapore dollars (about 6 billion US dollars) since its launch in 1976 while Microloans have benefited more than 10,000 businesses, which have less than 10 employees each, in the past five years with some 326 million Singapore dollars (about 207 million US dollars), according to the minister. The second approach is that the government has been catalyzing new financing options, Chan said, citing the Loan Insurance Scheme (LIS) and the SME Access Loan as examples. The SME Access Loan has so far provided loans of over 100 million Singapore dollars (about 63 million US dollars) to more than 400 under-served SMEs. Thirdly, the government also helps create greater awareness and match SMEs to the appropriate financing options available through various platforms, such as the Finance Road shows, Deal Flow Connection, Enterprise one and the Enterprise Development Centers, Chan noted. He reiterated that the government has pledged 3 billion Singapore dollars (about 2 billion US dollars) as loans to SMEs over the next five years, hoping to catalyze an equal amount of loans from the private sector during the same period.
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