F&B and Retail Businesses Are Closing Down: How Can Owners Stay Afloat and How Can We Help

Ever since the start of the Circuit Breaker in April, dining at F&B outlets have been banned, reducing operations of these outlets to only delivery and take-away options.

Who else misses this?

This sudden and drastic change has severely impacted the livelihoods of F&B owners, with many struggling to keep their businesses afloat.

According to a Lianhe Zaobao report, 529 F&B establishments have shut their doors between February to April 2020.

A survey by Chope has also revealed that 93% of restaurants have seen a dip in revenue, with 78% having difficulties lasting more than six months, if the situation does not get better.

Since then, Whatsapp messages have been popping up and informing us of the closure of our favourite restaurants.

Here are some of the restaurants who have announced their departure:

Amidst this gloomy economic outlook, many other businesses have taken a huge hit too.

How Can Business Owners Seek Help

In Singapore, the government has rolled out several initiatives to help businesses cope during this difficult period.

1. Finances and Cashflow

Corporate Income Tax Rebate and Payment Deferment

Companies will be granted a 25% corporate income tax rebate capped at $15,000 for YA2020.

In addition, there will be a three-month deferment for corporate tax payments, to help to temporarily alleviate the financial burden.

Enhanced Property Tax Rebate

To help businesses, there will be an enhanced property tax rebate for the following properties, for 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020:

More details can be found in this annex.

Enhanced Rental Waivers

There will be an increase in rental waivers for industrial, office and agricultural tenants of Government agencies to two months.

Financing Grants and Schemes

Several grants and schemes have been rolled out during the past budgetary speeches in the earlier months.

The full list of initiatives is available online.

New financing programmes have been introduced, and enhancements have also been made to existing schemes.

Managing Cashflow, Debt and Insurance

MAS has rolled out various support measures to assist individuals and businesses in cashflow issues and debt.

Some initiatives that could help Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) owners include the option to defer payment of principal on secured SME Loans to 31 December 2020, and getting lower interest rates on their loans obtained under Enterprise Singapore (ESG)’s Enhanced Enterprise Financing Scheme.

Support Package for FinTechs

On 8 April 2020, a $125 Million support package was announced to help the financial and FinTech sectors.

This was termed as the COVID-19 Support Package for FinTech, which aims to provide support in manpower costs, operational costs and also provide access to business opportunities.

MAS also jointly launched a S$6 million MAS-SFA-AMTD FinTech Solidarity Grant on 13 May 2020 to help Singapore-based FinTech firms in their operations and manpower costs, allowing businesses to still continue to innovate and create opportunities for growth.

Assistance With Legal Contracts

The Ministry of Law has introduced the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill in Parliament, and the bill seeks to offer temporary relief to businesses and individuals who are unable to fulfil their contractual obligations due to COVID-19.

Due to the current situation, companies who are unable to meet their obligations may have to pay damages or forfeit deposits.

Stable businesses may be sued and face litigation or possible insolvency.

This bill would, therefore, provide temporary cash-flow relief for these businesses, who may otherwise have to pay damages or risk having their deposits or assets forfeited.

Relief of Government Fees

There will not be any increase in government fees and charges from 1 Apr 2020 to 31 Mar 2021.

Some of the fees include:

• Business License Fees
• Business Permits
• Company Registration Fees
• HDB Carpark Charges
• HDB Flat Application Fees
• Inspection Fees
• School Fees
• Passport Renewal Fees
• Work Pass Application Fees

2. Manpower Costs

Introduction of Job Support Scheme (JSS)

The Job Support Scheme (JSS) was introduced during the Budget 2020, and was further enhanced over the next few months.

Under this scheme, the government will co-fund between 25 to 75 per cent of the first $4,600 gross monthly wages paid to each local employee for 10 months.

The amount of payout will be as below:

Wage Credit Scheme (WCS)

The government co-funding ratios for wage increases in 2019 and 2020 will be raised to 20% and 15% respectively.

This is an increase from the current 15% and 10%.

The qualifying gross wage ceiling will also be raised to $5,000 for both years, up from the current $4,000.

Foreign Worker Levy (FWL)

The Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) waiver and FWL rebate will be extended by up to 2 months for businesses that are not allowed to resume operations after the circuit breaker.

This rebate will be 100% in June 2020, and 50% in July 2020.

Career Support Programme (CSP)

The Career Support Programme (CSP) is a programme that was introduced to encourage employers to hire eligible Singapore Citizen Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs).

Companies would be able to receive up to $42,000 in salary support for hiring eligible candidates.

SGUnited Traineeships

The SGUnited Traineeships scheme was introduced as part of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, in a bid to provide more opportunities for young locals.

For host companies, the Government will co-fund 80% of the training allowance.

This would allow companies to still be able to onboard fresh graduates without facing great financial strains.

Career Trial

Career Trial is another initiative by WSG that allows companies to hire employees for shorter stints, and also on a part-time basis.

This allows companies to assess a candidate’s suitability through this ‘trial period’, before hiring as a full-time employee.

Under this scheme, employers would be supported by the government for 30% of monthly salary (up to 6 months), capped at $5,400 per hire and $2,700 per hire for part-time jobs.

This would encourage employers to hire unemployed Singaporeans who have been job hunting for 6 months or more.

3. Employee Training

Funding Support for Training of Local Employees

For employers who are sending their Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident employees to courses, funding support will be provided.

This applies to eligible in-house and Skillsfuture courses.

More details on the course fees funding and subsidies can be found here.

Professional Conversion Programme (PCP)

The Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) is a career conversion programme that aims to reskill individuals to take on new job roles.

This programme is targetted at Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), including mid-career switchers.

For companies who are interested to hire employees under this programme, there will be salary support and course fees subsidies provided.

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What Can We Do to Help?

While the closure of some establishments was inevitable, there are still ways we can provide support.

If you are interested to help companies during this difficult period, there are a few areas you can look into.

While we do not advocate spamming your purchases since we are all about making smart personal finance decisions, we can all still play our part responsibly.

Supporting the Hawkers

The Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 page has been wildly successful, with more than 270,000 members since its creation.

On this page, hawkers with no prior online presence now have the opportunity to publicise their stalls.

The next time you’re hungry and wish to plan for your next meal, do give this page a scroll and check out these hawkers.

We don’t need a lot of money to start helping these small businesses. 😊

Order Directly From Hawkers

Another initiative to save the hawkers would be the SG Dabao website.

Through this site, buyers can purchase directly from these stall owners, where the full profits will be going to them (i.e. no middleman fees).

The website contains information which includes opening hours, delivery menus and contact information.

There is also further categorisation into different zones of Singapore, where you could easily access the area which is nearest or you.

Buying Local Groceries

Another group of local businesses that has taken a huge hit is our resident market fishmongers and vegetable sellers.

Another page – Pasar United – Dabao 2020 was set up to cater to this group of business owners.

We don’t even have to head downstairs for our grocery shopping anymore.

You can now get your local groceries right at your doorstep, without squeezing through any crowds.

Purchase Wet Market Products Virtually

Many sellers have even taken up new methods to sell their products, such as having live streaming sessions.

The Tekka Online Market was set up during the COVID-19 period for shoppers to still be able to shop from their favourite Tekka sellers.

Once you enter the site, you will see cute aunties trying to sell their fish and dried goods.

Super endearing and wholesome.

Interested buyers can get their groceries through sliding into the FB admin’s DMs after live-streaming.

Purchase Gift Cards under ChopeAndSave

ChopeandSave is a brilliant initiative which was started as an attempt to save local businesses.

From this website, you can choose to make purchases in advance, and enjoy the deal later.

Basically, it acts as a regular gift card.

We can purchase them from various restaurants, including P.S. Cafe, Tanuki Raw and even ice-cream parlours such as Creamier.

Such purchases would provide these food establishments some help in tiding over this difficult wave.

For any places which are not on the website yet, owners can easily set up their own voucher systems to join in this programme.

Support Home-Based Businesses

A community-based page has been set up for home-based businesses, where small businesses can list their goods and services for free.

This website lists a wide range of products, from food, to bath soaps and personal fitness training.

F&B and Retail Businesses Are Closing Down: How Can Owners Stay Afloat and How Can We Help

It has been an incredibly tough period for most businesses, with many struggling to stay afloat.

With the various schemes and initiatives in place, we hope that everyone would be able to make it through the storm, and remain steady during this very challenging period of time.

You can do it!