SINGAPOR (CU) _ On Friday the Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing made a statement that business as well as whole sellers have benefited from this loan scheme and over 20,000 businesses has taken loans because of the fall of the economy.
The loans are over seen by the ESG (Enterprise Singapore) and the time line set for the loans in between March and December for the year 2020. Just in 2020 there has been more than the number is more than 13 times than the number in 2019. It is seen that scheme includes a system called the temporary bridging loan programme this helps businesses to systematically handle the problems caused by Covid 19 to their business.
The whole sale sector in Singapore was the worst hit in the corona virus pandemic, this sector also creates a decent amount of jobs for Singapore if one takes the numbers its 320,000 jobs or 9% of Singapore’s workforce which is more than 50,00 companies. Although it seems short term Singapore is hopeful that they can recover in the year 2021.
Mr Chan after visiting these firms and getting a clear understanding of what was happening has come up with t a three factor plan that will help the whole sale industry get into its regular pace of normalcy in the coming years.
- The first factor is the shift in supply chains and trade flow
- The second factor is the increased use of digital technology in conventional arbitrage and provide transparency
- The third factor is the search for greater resilience, reliability and efficiency in operations
Apart from getting loans from the government which in itself is a huge help for these firms the government has also helped them with building up new capabilities by giving them access to digital technologies that will help them.
In finality Mr. Chan states that by doing these thing and helping the firms it will open up new market opportunities there by helping and making Singapore’s position stronger in the regional and global wholesale trade market.
