The Singapore Budget 2018 includes new funding opportunities for startups and capacity building programmes for non-tech businesses

Minister of Finance Heng Swee Keat delivered the Singapore Budget 2018 in a speech today.

The government generally encourages all firms across different sectors to “embrace innovation and adopt new technologies” as a response to three major cultural shifts: the invention of new technologies, the rise of Asia, and the country’s ageing population.

“Robotics and digital technologies are changing the way we live, work and play. They have already enabled the shift to Industry 4.0, and the rapid rise of e-commerce and a sharing economy. These are interacting with traditional businesses in different ways –sometimes as competing substitutes, sometimes as complementary enablers,” the minister said in his speech.

The following are key points that will affect local tech startup communities, divided into three major categories for your reading convenience:

Funding

One of the highlights of the Singapore Budget 2018 is the announcement of new funding opportunities for local tech startups.

National Research Foundation (NRF) and Temasek Holdings are set to launch a new investment venture with the goal to groom startups based on IP created from publicly-funded researches and development (R&D) in the country.

The government is also set to integrate grant support for internationalisation from IE with capacity building grants from SPRING, to form the Enterprise Development Grant aimed to help firms deepen capabilities.

Taxation

On the tax sector, the government has announced that it will raise tax deductions on licensing payments for the commercial use of IP. The tax deductions will be raised up to 200 per cent and capped at S$100,000 of licensing payments per year.

In order to support firms in building innovations, the goverment also announced that it will raise tax deductions for IP registration fees (from 100 per cent to 200 per cent) as well as qualifying expenses incurred on R&D in the country (from 15 per cent to 20 per cent).

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Capacity-building programme

The government also announced several capacity building programmes aimed at both companies working in the tech sector and employees from non-tech industries, as it aims to continue harnessing R&D resources to “enhance competitiveness, drive greater adoption of digital technology, automation, and robotics.”

“We must anchor Singapore as a Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise, welcome investments, talent and ideas to Singapore, and be bold in venturing out into new markets. To do this, we must make innovation pervasive in our economy, develop deep capabilities in our firms and workers, and establish strong partnerships locally and abroad,” the minister said.

One of the most notable is the Open Innovation Platform, a virtual crowdsourcing platform where companies can be matched with ICT firms and research institutes to co-develop digital solutions.

The government is also set to launch aviation and maritime transformation programmes, and expand the existing national robotics programme.

It will also launch a new Southeast Asia Leaders Programme to help industry players better gain deeper understanding of the Southeast Asian markets, build networks in the region, and chart growth plans.

For industries other than tech, the government is set to train Singaporeans in digital skills through the existing Tech Skills Accelerator programme. It aims to expand to scope of the programme by adding sectors such as manufacturing and professional services.

Together with Singapore Business Federation and other industry partners, the government is also studying the development of a nationwide e-invoicing framework.

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Image Credit: Mike Enerio on Unsplash

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