The Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant and the Double Tax Deduction Scheme for Internationalization (DTDi) are two programs that assist Singaporean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand their business overseas.
The MRA was introduced in 2013 and provides funding of up to 70-80 percent of eligible costs for overseas expansion that covers market promotion, business development, and market set-up.
In budget 2021, the government announced an enhancement to 80 percent until March 31, 2022, after which it will revert to 70 percent until March 31, 2023.
Eligible SMEs will receive the following support:
Up to 80 percent of eligible costs (until March 31, 2022), capped at S$100,000 (US$74,328) which covers:
To be eligible, the applicant must be a company incorporated in Singapore with at least a 30 percent local shareholding.
The DTDi provides a 200 percent tax deduction on qualifying market expansion and investment development expenses. This is subject to approval from Enterprise Singapore (ESG) or the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
The DTDi supports businesses in four categories and several sub-categories:
The specific expenses to participate in virtual trade fairs cover:
This article was first published by AseanBriefing which is produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists foreign investors throughout Asia from offices across the world, including in in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, India, and Russia. Readers may write to [email protected].
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