Access to funding and talent key to businesses' transformation efforts

Rising business costs and manpower among concerns raised at post-Budget dialogue

- 

To transform and innovate, businesses need access to funding and must have the right talent, said panellists at a post-Budget dialogue organised by The Business Times on March 18.

Beyond identifying key trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Government must ensure "businesses have enough access to finance so that they can do the innovation and the transformation", said Second Minister for Finance and National Development Indranee Rajah.

DBS Bank's group executive and group head of institutional banking Han Kwee Juan flagged that manpower remains companies' top concern.

Future-proofing businesses for resiliency was the theme of The Business Times Singapore Budget 2025 Dialogue, presented by DBS and moderated by BT deputy news editor Anita Gabriel.

Mr Han said this was also a key theme of Budget 2025, which moved away from Covid-19-related and inflation support to focus on "growth and resilience for the country, for businesses, as well as for people".

With geopolitical uncertainty and intensifying trade tensions, rising business costs remain a key concern — and have made companies less keen to embark on transformation, noted BT editor Chen Huifen in her welcome remarks.

For instance, Singapore companies launched 2,300 transformative projects in 2024, down from 3,000 in 2023, according to Enterprise Singapore.