Question
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) to date, how many companies, particularly SMEs, have ceased operations due to curbs on foreign manpower; (b) whether the schemes offered by the Ministry have helped companies restructure and strengthen productivity; and (c) apart from the construction sector, what is the productivity growth in all other key sectors.
Written Reply by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry
About 17,000 companies ceased operations in 2013. There is no data on how many of these companies had done so because of curbs on foreign manpower. While manpower policies affect companies, there are many other reasons, including market forces, mergers and acquisitions, and personal choice, that could also have contributed to a company’s decision to fold. However, about 37,000 companies were formed in 2013, which means that there was a net increase in the number of companies in Singapore.
More than 17,000 companies have benefited from productivity initiatives under the National Productivity Council (NPC) to date. As of 28 February 2014, under the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme, businesses have also enjoyed more than $1.5 billion of tax savings and cash payouts for engaging in a range of productivity-improving activities, such as the acquisition of IT and automation equipment, training of employees, and R&D.
Over the period from 2010 to 2013, exportable sectors such as Precision Engineering, Transport Engineering and Finance and Insurance showed healthy productivity growth of 4.1%, 8.1% and 2.2% per annum respectively. These sectors are globally competitive, and hence are able to transform and adjust their processes quickly to changing market conditions. In contrast, productivity growth in domestically-oriented sectors like Retail and Food and Beverage declined by 2.1% and 0.6% per annum respectively, as they continue to face challenges in moving up the value-chain and improving their processes. We will continue to work with these sectors as we press on with our restructuring efforts.