A new round of Singapore stimulus measures should sufficiently support businesses and jobs through COVID-19 while also preparing them for the period of digitalisation to follow, Colliers International says.

Announced on May 26, the "Fortitude Budget" follows the Unity Budget announced on Feb 18, the Resilience Budget of Mar 26, and the Solidarity Budget of 6 April, and comes as Singapore is about to ease out of the two-month circuit breaker which lasted from 7 April to 1 June.   

The fourth stimulus package will cost a further SGD33 billion, taking the government’s COVID-19 related relief measures to SGD93 billion, representing 19.2 per cent of gross domestic product.

At a glance:  

• The Singapore Government has released a fourth round of COVID-19 stimulus measures.
• The Fortitude Budget stimulus package will cost a further SGD33 billion, taking the government’s COVID-19 related relief measures to SGD93 billion, representing 19.2 per cent of gross domestic product.
• Measures include new cash grants to offset rental costs for SMEs and a new bill directing landlords to grant a rental waiver to small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tenants that have suffered a significant revenue drop in the past few months.

Colliers International Singapore Head of Research Tricia Song told WILLIAMS MEDIA the quick succession and magnitude of measures indicated the government was willing to go to great lengths to protect the economy.

"We believe the various stimulus measures announced and refined over the four budgets are sufficiently generous," she said.

"They should help supporting businesses which are occupiers across public and private property in the near term and better prepare them for the long term, this prevents a systemic breakdown and bodes well for all property stakeholders."

As part of the measures, the government will offer new cash grants to offset rental costs for SMEs

For qualifying tenants of commercial properties, the grant will amount to about 0.8 month's worth of rent.

Those in industrial and office properties will get a grant amounting to 0.64 months of rent.

Colliers International Singapore Head of Research Tricia Song. Source: Colliers International

The Singapore government will also introduce a new bill directing landlords to grant a rental waiver to small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tenants that have suffered a significant revenue drop in the past few months.

The new bill will cover provisions on temporary relief from onerous contractual terms such as excessive late payment interest or charges, while allowing tenants to repay their arrears through installments.

If the bill is passed by Parliament, SME tenants in commercial properties who have suffered a significant revenue drop will benefit from a total of four months of rental relief - shared equally between the government and landlords.

Ms Song said the measures taken together should provide further clarity in helping SMEs to survive the COVID-19 crisis.

"The earlier Temporary Measures bill provided a moratorium in rental payments for affected businesses, but uncertainty of the tenants’ ability to pay after six months still exists, which create a lot of risk to the landlords and entire eco-system," he said.

"A full four months’ rental relief for SME retail tenants, with landlords sharing half of it, should ensure a better collective outcome for both tenants and landlords."

Click here to find out more about the Fortitude Budget.

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