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Singapore Companies COVID 19 Stimulus Measures

Singapore Companies COVID 19 Stimulus Measures

  • Modified On: January 12, 2026

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Enhanced SME Working Capital Loan

  • The SME Working Capital Loan (which has been subsumed under the Enterprise Financing Scheme), will be enhanced to increase the maximum loan quantum to S$1 million.
  • The Government’s risk share will be increased to 90% and SMEs may request for deferment of principal repayment for one year.
  • Maximum repayment period shall be 5 years.
  • Interest rate shall be Subject to the Participating Financial Institutions (PFI’s) assessments of risks involved.
 
Eligibility Criteria: 

  • Be a business entity* that is registered and physically present in Singapore;

  • At least 30% local equity held directly or indirectly by Singaporean(s) and/or Singapore PR(s), determined by the ultimate individual ownership.
  • Maximum Borrower Group** revenue cap of S$500 million for all enterprises.
  • For “SME Working Capital”, the SME definition refers to Group revenue of up to S$100 million or maximum employment of 200 employees.

Notes:
* ACRA registered Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Partnerships and Companies are eligible to apply for the enhanced SME Working Capital Loan.
** Borrower Group consists of the following:

  1. Borrower; and
  2. Corporate shareholders that hold more than 50% of the total shareholding of the applicant company, and any subsequent corporate parents (all levels up), and subsidiaries all levels down. (Annual sales turnover and employment size is computed on a group basis.)

Temporary Bridging Loan Program For Enterprises 
  • Eligible enterprises may borrow up to $5 million under The Temporary Bridging Loan Programme (TBLP) with the interest rate capped at 5% p.a.
  • The Government will provide 90% risk-share on these loans for new applications initiated from 8 April until 31 March 2021.
  • Eligible enterprises under the TBLP may also apply for up to 1 year deferral of principal repayment to help manage their debt, subject to assessment by the PFIs.
 
Eligibility Criteria: 
  • Be a business entity* that is registered and physically present in Singapore.
  • At least 30% local equity held directly or indirectly by Singaporean(s) and/or Singapore PR(s), determined by the ultimate individual ownership.

Note:
* ACRA registered Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Partnerships and Companies are eligible to apply for the Temporary Bridging Loan. Approval of the loan is subject to the PFI’s assessment.

Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS) – Trade Loan Program For Singapore-based Enterprises  

  • Eligible Enterprises will be able to borrow up to S$10 million to finance short-term import, export and guarantee needs.

  • The Government will co-share up to 90% of the borrowing risk for new applications initiated from 8 April 2020 until 31 March 2021.
 
Eligibility Criteria: 
  • Be registered and operating in Singapore.
  • Have a minimum of 30% local shareholding.
  • Maximum Borrower Group* revenue cap of S$500 million for all enterprises

Note:
* Borrower Group consists of the borrower as well as corporate shareholders that hold more than 50% of the total shareholding of the applicant company, and any subsequent corporate parents (all levels up) and subsidiaries all levels down. (Annual sales turnover and employment size are computed on a group basis).

SG Together Enhancing Enterprise Resilience (STEER)  
  • The Government will increase the dollar for dollar matching; S$1 for every S$2 raised by funds set up by the Trade Associations and Chambers (TAC) or industry groupings, up to S$1 million per fund.
  • To apply for the STEER programme, interested TACs and industry groupings can submit their proposals to Enterprise Singapore.
  • Proposals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by Enterprise Singapore to ensure that the programme’s intent is met, and to consider operational arrangements, including the rigour of the fund management process, number of local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported, and types of assistance to be provided.
  • Upon qualifying for STEER, TACs and industry groupings will need to use the funds within 18 months.
  • Interested TACs and industry groupings can apply for the STEER programme from 3 Mar 2020 to 2 Mar 2021.

Medium And Longer-term Measures
Apart from the short-term measures to combat the negative economic impact brought about by COVID-19, the Government also announced certain medium and longer-term measures, amongst others, announced/ enhanced include:

1. Enterprise Development Grant
  •  The Government is aiming to reach out to 3,000 SMEs with the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) that provides maximum support level of up to 80% support in three areas: Core Capabilities, Innovation and Productivity, and Market Access.
  • For enterprises that are most severely impacted by COVID-19, the maximum support level may be raised to 90% on a case-by-case basis.
  •  Applications will be assessed by Enterprise Singapore based on project scope, project outcomes and competency of service provider.

Eligibility:
  • Enterprise must be registered and operating in Singapore.
  • Have a minimum of 30% local shareholding (Singaporean/PR).
  • Be in a financially viable position to start and complete the project.

2. Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant
  • Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will receive an international boost with the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant to help take your business overseas.
  • Eligible SMEs will receive the following support:
  • Up to 70% of eligible costs, capped at S$100,000 per company per new market* from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2023 that covers:
  1. Overseas market promotion (capped at S$20,000
  2. Overseas market set-up (capped at S$30,000)
  3. Overseas business development (capped at S$50,000)

  • The MRA Grant support level of up to 70% will be extended until 31 Mar 2023.

Eligibility:
  •  Business entity is registered/incorporated in Singapore.
  •  New market entry criteria, i.e. target overseas country whereby the applicant has not exceeded S$100,000 in overseas sales in each of the last three preceding years.
  •  At least 30% local shareholding (Singaporean/PR).
  •  Group Annual Sales Turnover of not more than S$100 million; OR Company’s Group Employment Size of not more than 200 employees.

3. Automatic Deferment Of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Payments
  • All companies with CIT payments due in the months of April, May and June 2020 will be granted an automatic three-month deferment of these payments. The CIT payments that are deferred from April, May and June 2020 will be collected in July, August and September 2020 respectively.
  • Companies can expect to receive a letter from IRAS by April 2020.

4. Corproate Tax Rebate For YA 2020
  •  Companies will be granted a rebate of 25 per cent of tax payable, capped at $15,000, for the year of assessment 2020 – a move that will cost the Government about $400 million.

5. Property Tax Measures

Imposing obligations on property owners to pass on the PTR in full to tenants

  • Non-residential properties will be granted property tax rebate for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Commercial properties badly affected by COVID-19 like hotels, serviced apartments, tourist attractions, shops and restaurants will receive a 100% rebate. Other non-residential properties such as offices and industrial properties will get a 30% rebate on their property tax payable.
  • IRAS will send out the rebate notices by 31 May 2020. Property owners can expect to receive their refunds by 30 June 2020.

6. Jobs Support Scheme
  • The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) introduced where eligible employers would receive a 25% cash grant (up from 8%) on the gross monthly wages of each local employee (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) for the months of October to December 2019, subject to a monthly wage cap of $4,600 per employee.
  • Higher tiers of support on top of the base rate of 25% will also be given to businesses in severely-affected sectors.
  • The JSS will also be extended to cover nine months of wages (up from three months), which will be paid in two additional tranches in July 2020 and October 2020.
  • Under the Solidarity Budget, the wage subsidy for all firms will be raised to 75% of gross monthly wages for the first $4,600 of wages paid to all local employees in April 2020. The first JSS payout will be brought forward from May to April 2020.
  • With the extended circuit breaker period till 1 Jun 2020, the 75% wage support on the first $4600 of gross monthly wages for local employees across all sectors will be extended for another month, i.e. in the month of May 2020.
  • The JSS payout has also been extended to cover wages of employees of a company who are also shareholders and directors of the company (shareholder-directors).
  • Employers do not need to apply for the JSS. The grant will be computed based on CPF contribution data.

All local companies can take advantages of above grants, scheme, loans and measures.

We IMC are at your service, please feel free to contact if any queries:

Pankaj Kumar
[email protected]
+65 92340891

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