Speech by SMS Sim Ann at The Federation of Merchants’ Associations Singapore Chinese New Year Dinner
Feb 26, 2024
Mr Yeo Hiang Meng, President of the Federation of Merchants’ Associations (Singapore),
Merchants and hawkers’ association representatives, members and friends
1. Good evening, everyone. I’m happy to join you today at FMAS’s annual Chinese New Year dinner.
Importance of FMAS and members
2. Our heartlands shops are vital to our neighbourhood centres. Aside from providing our residents with affordable and diverse goods and services close to home, they make our heartlands centres distinctive and dynamic.
3. Since its incorporation in 1989, the FMAS has played an important role in bringing together heartland business owners and acting as a bridge between Government agencies, merchants and hawkers, working towards a shared goal of enhancing our heartlands as a whole.
4. The FMAS also runs other programmes to upgrade the capabilities of heartland merchants and hawkers. The Heartland Innovation Challenge and the Singapore Heartland Enterprise Summit are some examples.
5. As members, our local merchants’ and hawkers’ associations contribute a great deal to enlivening their neighbourhood centres through organising local-led programmes and activities, and enhancing the environment for shoppers.
Working together to create positive impact
6. Earlier this month, we concluded the Heartlands Festival 2023. From December to February, 53 merchants’ and hawkers’ associations organised more than 120 activations across the island, injecting vibrancy and attracting many visitors . Organised by the FMAS and their subsidiary, the Heartland Enterprise Centre Singapore (HECS), the festival is a great example of the positive impact that can be achieved when our heartland merchants and hawkers put their minds together and work hand in hand.
7. I hope that FMAS and its members will continue to foster this collective spirit in our subsequent endeavours.
Budget Meals initiative
8. In the spirit of collaboration, the Government has been partnering with hawkers and food merchants in HDB estates on the Budget Meals initiative, which we announced last year, to increase the availability of affordable cooked food options for residents. Under this initiative, HDB rental coffee shops provide budget meals and drinks as a condition for tenancy renewal. To ease the transition for these operators, they are given a 5% rental discount for one year, from when the Budget Meals are implemented. And this comes on top of HDB’s practice of holding rents steady, for their coffee shop operator tenants.
9. To complement this initiative, we recently launched a platform called the Great Budget Meal Hunt, which allows Singaporeans to submit information on affordable meals in the heartlands. Currently, almost 130 of these rental coffee shops offering budget meals and drinks are listed on the website, BudgetMealGoWhere. Including contributions from the public, there are close to 260 coffee shops listed on the site.
10. I would like to call upon hawkers and food merchants here to partner with us to offer Budget Meals in your coffee shops, if you are not already doing so. Eating out in our coffee shops is a big part of Singaporeans’ everyday lives, and together we can work towards ensuring that residents have access to affordable food options near their homes.
Support for Small Enterprises and Heartlands Residents in Budget 2024
11. Earlier this month, the Government announced the Enterprise Support Package at Budget 2024. Through this, the Government will provide $1.3 billion in support to companies, including our heartland merchants and hawkers, to help them cope with rising costs. Eligible companies can benefit from the following:
a. First, a 50% Corporate Income Tax rebate, capped at $40,000, in the Year of Assessment 2024. For companies that employed at least one local employee in 2023, we will provide a minimum benefit of $2,000 in cash payouts;
b. Second, enhancements to the Enterprise Financing Scheme, under which the maximum capital loan quantum will be raised to $500,000; and
c. Third, an extension of the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit for a year until 30 June 2025, so eligible employers can cover expenses when embarking on workforce and business transformation.
12. I encourage businesses here today to tap on these schemes.
13. During Budget 2024, DPM Wong also announced an additional $600 in CDC vouchers for all Singaporean households. We believe these vouchers will help to bolster our heartland businesses.
14. Allow me to now say a few words in Mandarin.
全国商联总会的各位朋友们，女士们，先生们，大家晚上好。非常感谢大家邀请我参加今晚的新年晚宴。
新加坡全国商联总会成立的35年来，大大促进了政府、商家与小贩之间的合作关系，也致力于举办各种活动，为各个邻里增添色彩，提升居民的购物体验。最近圆满落幕的邻里节就是一个很好的例子，共有53个商家和小贩团体参与，共同举办了超过120项精彩的活动，包括展览、音乐会、保健讲座，手工艺工作坊等。
在今年的财政预算案中，政府宣布每户家庭将获得额外600元的邻里购物券 (CDC Vouchers)，鼓励居民在邻里商店消费。同时，为了协助商家应对成本上涨的问题，政府推出了13亿元的“企业援助配套” (Enterprise Support Package）。符合条件的企业可获得百分之50的公司税回扣。此外，政府还将升级企业融资计划（Enterprise Financing Scheme），帮助本地企业解决融资需求。我们也延长了“技能创前程企业补助计划”（SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit），津贴培训员工的费用。我鼓励在座的各位充分利用这些计划，促进企业的发展。
为了让更多居民享有经济实惠的三餐，建屋局在去年推出了经济餐饮计划，要求所有续租的咖啡店提供经济餐饮，并提供百分之五的租金折扣，维持一年。与此同时，建屋局也一如既往的为咖啡店经营者持稳定的租金。
政府最近也推出了“经济餐大搜寻” (The Great Budget Meal Hunt)活动，通过CrowdTaskSG平台邀请公众推荐提供平价美食的摊位，在分享好介绍之外，也是对提供经济餐饮的商家提供一种实在的鼓励。 在这里，我想要鼓励在座的餐饮业者积极参与经济餐计划，为居民提供大众化的餐饮选择。
在这里，我要恭祝大家，在龙年里新年快乐。祝大家身体健康，生意兴隆，龙马精神！
Conclusion
15. Thank you to everyone for the great work done in uplifting our heartland enterprises and injecting vibrancy into our neighbourhood centres.
16. Let me wish everyone a wonderful Lunar New Year, good health and prosperity for the year of the dragon!