Question
Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether he can provide a breakdown of the projects undertaken under SPRING Singapore's Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT) programme by industry sectors; and (b) whether more efforts will be channelled towards expanding PACT in the services sector.
Written Answer (attributed to Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry)
The Partnership for Capability Transformation (PACT) programme was expanded in Budget 2013. Under the programme, EDB and SPRING Singapore support partnerships between large organisations[1] (LOs) and SMEs from the manufacturing and services sectors. SMEs can benefit through the upgrading of their capabilities by being suppliers to LOs. They can also work together on joint innovation projects. In total, $60 million has been committed to the PACT programme from FY13 to FY15.
Since 2013, SPRING Singapore has supported 14 PACT projects and 455 SMEs in the services sector. In the manufacturing sector, the programme has benefitted 173 SMEs and 78 PACT projects.
[1] Large organisations refer to companies, including Multi-National Corporations, with group annual sales turnover above $100 million, and government agencies.