A new inter-ministerial committee is looking at how to make Singapore's business regulations more business-friendly, particularly in reducing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The inter-ministerial committee on Pro-Enterprise Rules Review, set up in April, is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.
The other members are Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, National Development Minister Desmond Lee, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling.
The committee will look into how to lower costs for businesses — particularly SMEs — when they transact with the government, Chee told reporters on Friday (May 24).
This is especially because SMEs have cited business costs as a major challenge, he added.
"The purpose is to engage different groups of businesses — including our trade associations — to understand some of the feedback, pain points and concerns that they face regarding government rules, regulations and processes," he said.
"We will take their feedback and suggestions back, and discuss with our colleagues within the government to see how we can make things better."
As an illustrative example of the type of work that the committee will do, Chee cited ongoing efforts to reduce regulatory costs for drone light show operators — though this is not being carried out by the committee itself.
These efforts involve slashing drone licensing fees for light show operators, by moving from a per-drone basis to a per-show basis.
Separately on Friday, Low shared further details of the previously announced Alliance for Action (AfA) on Business Competitiveness, a public-private partnership that aims to help local businesses stay competitive in an uncertain global economic environment.
Established in February, the AfA focuses on three areas: manpower, land, and regulations.
It holds engagements with both the public and private sectors to seek feedback and suggestions, with five such sessions already held to date.
Said Low: "We hear and we know that (businesses) are concerned about rising business costs, resource constraints, and they also hope that the pro-business regulations can be more flexible."
After the engagements, the AfA will put together a list of recommendations and present this to the government by end-2024.
Asked whether the inter-ministerial committee's work might overlap with the AfA's ambit, Chee said the committee aims to "reinforce" and give "a further boost" to existing efforts.
"I see this as not working separately, but working together with our existing workstreams and stakeholders," he added.
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This article was first published in The Business Times. Permission required for reproduction.
