Singaporeans are Optimistic: SMEs have Growth Potential in Latin America
The Chinese economy, in 2015, has not faired all that good. The disclosure of each of new set of its economic data is raising the worries about its recovery and growth. The Asian and other equities from all over the world are suffering because of it.
China GDP data, published on 19 Oct 2015, showed that its growth has slowed to 6.9%. On 20 Oct 2015, it drove Australian stocks down by 0.4%. Experts acknowledged that the latest development has put pressure on the mining and metals industry.
Singapore authorities, amidst the economic chaos of 2015, are still optimistic. They are still rooting for the expansion of their SMEs to distant shores. Singapore Budget 2015 has launched schemes to provide support to the companies willing to risk new markets.
Singapore incorporation services like SBS Consulting are there to assists the creative business owners in their company registration Singapore.
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to Boost Trade
At the beginning of Oct 2015, Singapore has signed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the Latin American countries. The authorities see this free-trade deal as a major opportunity for the Singapore registered Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
According to IE Singapore CEO Teo Eng Cheong, thorough market knowledge and in-time support by the government is necessary to override the current economic crises. He also advises that the Singapore business owners should explore and hack their way to the new opportunities. The onus is really on the innovative and creative entrepreneurs who are opting to open company in Singapore.
The TPP treaty, no doubt, is yet another feather in the Singaporean hat. The country has already signed more than 74 Double Taxation Agreements, 41 Investment Guarantee Agreements, and 21 Free Trade Agreements / Economic Partnership Agreements with other trading nations.
There are 12 member countries to the TPP. They are Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Vietnam. TPP is an expansion of an old treaty, Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore.
The Benefits of TPP to SMEs
According to the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam, TPP will remove the intimidating obstacles and tariffs that really prevents SMEs from thinking big. He also urged IE Singapore and businesses to take make the most of opportunity.
Schemes for the Singapore SMEs
It is yet another free-trade treaty for the Singapore SMEs to take benefit of in their adventure to be global entities. Singapore Budget 2015 has launched a few schemes to support these entities. They are as follows:
- IE Singapore’s Grant Schemes for SMEs
- Double Tax Deduction for Internationalization Scheme
- International Growth Scheme (IGS)
- SkillsFuture Credit Scheme
At the time of the signing of the TPP, the member countries also expressed their optimism that the treaty will be useful to speed up the economic co-operation between member countries. True to its commitments, Singapore has already invested more than S$6 billion in the region in direct foreign investment.
