[SINGAPORE] Under a new grant, tariff-hit local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can claim up to half the costs involved in adapting, while affected larger local companies can claim up to 30 per cent.
Launched on Tuesday (Oct 7) by Enterprise Singapore, the Business Adaptation Grant (BizAdapt) is capped at S$100,000 per company.
Applications are now open on the government’s Business Grants Portal, with the grant available for a two-year period until Oct 6, 2027.
This period may be extended if necessary, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in response to reporters’ questions on Tuesday.
“This grant is specific, targeted at the impact of tariffs,” he said on the sidelines of a visit to local medtech company Forefront Medical Technology. “So once the tariffs have stabilised, we may need to look at other schemes and programmes to support the companies in a new environment.”
“Whether this transitional period will need to be extended is something that we will watch, and if need be, we will extend it.”
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Help for reconfiguration
The grant was first announced in July by the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce, chaired by DPM Gan.
On Tuesday, DPM Gan noted that BizAdapt supports companies that are both directly and indirectly affected by tariffs.
The latter refers to when companies’ exports head to countries besides the US, but are incorporated in final products that are bound for the US.
The grant offers support in two main areas: third-party advisory services and supply chain reconfiguration activities.
The former includes advisory on free trade agreements and trade compliance; legal and contractual matters; and supply chain optimisation and market diversification.
For reconfiguration, companies can claim for costs related to logistics – such as freight charges – and holding inventory, such as warehouse rental.
Walter Tarca, president of Forefront, said his company plans to apply for the grant to defray costs of reconfiguring supply chains, as this is a “very expensive” endeavour.
“Every time you shift, it’s not just moving machines — it is the compliance factors, the revaluation factors. It can take a long time to move a medical device line.”
He noted that the company’s customers are mainly European and American, and they are looking to suppliers like Forefront to mitigate tariff-driven cost increases.
A few years ago, Forefront set up a plant in Juarez, Mexico in a bid to “nearshore” to the US. Now, it is encouraging some of its customers to look at Singapore as an alternate manufacturing location.
It also built a factory in China, so that it can manufacture devices for Chinese customers, meant for distribution within the country.
“For our company size, you have to be nimble… and we’re always looking to evolve our capabilities so that we can present a compelling case to our customers to choose a country like Singapore to put their medical products,” said Tarca.
DPM Gan said that beyond supporting companies, the government is also supporting workers, particularly fresh graduates that are concerned about entering the workforce.
The Graduate Industry Traineeships programme has attracted “a lot of interest from these graduates”, he added.
While the labour market “generally is still quite robust”, the government is “prepared to do more if necessary”, he said.
