Louis delivered his budget cut on Help for Micro SMEs at Committee of Supply 2016.

Louis: Sir, with an expected global economic slowdown, small business owners are understandably concerned for their company and are looking at the Government to provide some help and support during the downturn.

As I mentioned in my speech during the Budget debate, they are concerned about the lowering of the cash payout rates for the Productivity and Innovation Credit Scheme and that the Government is proceeding with increasing the foreign worker levies for the services and construction sectors.

There is also concern that a significant portion of the Budget seems to be tailored towards helping the larger SMEs. Considering that micro SMEs will be hit the hardest during an economic slowdown, what initiatives will the Ministry be launching to help these smaller SMEs?

Dr Koh Poh Koon (The Minister of State for Trade and Industry): I would like to assure Mr Louis Ng and Mr Azmoon Ahmad that Government support is open to all local enterprises, including the smaller ones. Depending on their specific needs, many SMEs have made use of the $5,000 ICV for consultancy services, and to adopt the various Integrated Solutions such as fleet management systems and mobile ordering and payment schemes.

So, there are solutions that SMEs can adopt based on their individual specific needs. But the key challenge is in the outreach to this diverse group of 116,000 local micro-enterprises which can range from our HDB heartlander shops to a car workshop, for example. To make Government assistance more accessible to SMEs, especially the smaller ones, SPRING has worked with Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) to set up a network of 12 SME Centres, all across Singapore, housed within the TACs, our Community Development Council (CDC) offices as well as within the heartlands. Like GP clinics, these SME Centres have been serving as the first port of call for SMEs, and providing one-to-one consultations on business and productivity assistance. In 2015, our Business Advisors at the SME Centres reached out to more than 22,000 SMEs. But I hope that SMEs will also take the opportunity to be proactive in seeking help from these SME Centres especially if they are in need of assistance.

As mentioned by the Minister for Finance, the second half of 2016 will also see the public launch of the Business Grants Portal (BGP), which will make grants even more accessible to our SMEs.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)

Louis asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) in light of the opinion issued by the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU that the EU does not have exclusive competence to conclude the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), whether he can provide an update on how the relevant parties are working towards a swift ratification of the EUSFTA.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang (MTI, Trade): On 4 March 2015, the European Commission (Commission) sent the negotiated text of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a legal opinion to establish the Commission’s and EU Member States' (MS) areas of competence in the EUSFTA. The opinion would clarify which of the EUSFTA provisions fall within (i) the EU’s exclusive competence; or are (ii) shared competence between the EU and MS; or are (iii) within the MS’ exclusive competence.

Should the entire EUSFTA agreement be found to be under the EU's exclusive competence, it would only have to be approved by the Council of the EU (Council) and the European Parliament (EP). The agreement would enter into force thereafter on a mutually agreed date.

The Advocate General's preliminary opinion released on 21 December 2016 opined that the EUSFTA should be deemed a "mixed agreement" with areas of shared competence between the EU and MS. If the ECJ takes the same view, it would mean that the agreement has to be approved by the Council, the EP as well as the 38 national and regional Parliaments of all MS. However, the provisions in the agreement deemed to be under the EU's exclusive competence would be provisionally applied and take effect once the Council and the EP have approved. In comparison, provisions that are under shared competence or MS' exclusive competence would have to go through domestic ratification processes in all MS before they can take effect.

The ECJ's final opinion, which is deliberated by a full court of 28 Judges, is typically released three to five months after the Advocate General's preliminary opinion.

Singapore is actively working with the EU and MS to ensure that the EUSFTA can proceed with ratification as soon as the ECJ delivers its final opinion so that businesses can reap its benefits as soon as possible.

Source: Hansard (Parliament of Singapore)