Overseas expansion remained close to the hearts of many Singapore companies despite the global economic slowdown in 2009, said International Enterprise Singapore’s Chairman Sunny Verghese.

In his opening address at the annual IE Partnership Seminar, he told the 300 company representatives that there are more SMEs engaging in international activities compared to previous years, and that overseas revenue now accounts for a larger portion of total revenue.

He said, “DP Info’s SME Survey in 2009 showed that the proportion of SMEs engaging in international business went up from 64 per cent in 2008 to 69 per cent in 2009 despite the downturn.

“Bucking the notion that internationalisation would take a nosedive with the downturn, it now appears that it is in fact an important component of enterprise resilience.”

More companies assisted in 2009

In 2009 alone, through its various assistance schemes, IE Singapore assisted over 54,500 companies to generate S$15 billion worth of overseas sales. The number of companies helped was 30 per cent more than in 2008, and the total value of support in terms of grants and loans was four times of that in 2008.

In terms of activities, the agency organised more than 680 events last year, a 70 per cent jump over 2008. These include about 300 overseas missions which has benefited more than 900 companies.

IE Singapore also worked closely with many others to facilitate over 350 projects successfully, achieving S$6.3 billion and S$1.7 billion in overseas sales and overseas investments, respectively.

And to help local companies ride over the tight credit conditions last year, IE Singapore also introduced enhancements to its financing schemes such as the Internationalisation Finance Scheme, which helps companies secure financing for overseas expansion, and the Loan Insurance Scheme (LIS), which avails short-term trade financing loans. These saw increased take-up of 72 per cent and 176 per cent, respectively, from 2008.

Other new schemes such as the Export Coverage Scheme and the LIS+ also saw encouraging take up by local companies. In addition, the Exporter Development Programme was also launched last year to help SMEs with little export experience take their first step towards internationalisation.

Continued focus on the emerging economies

Moving forward, IE Singapore will continue its strong focus on the regional economies of China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Mr Verghese also revealed that the agency will take a close look at markets which are “still holding our relatively well, such as Latin America, Russia, Libya, and Africa”.

At the same time, IE Singapore will continue to explore promising new geographies such as sub-Saharan Africa, Colombia, and Peru.

Mr Verghese said, “We will align our capability and market development efforts with SPRING to maximise the impact for SMEs, and empower trade associations and chambers to play a larger role in driving SME internationalisation.

“Our vision is to grow a vibrant pool of export-capable and international SMEs to drive Singapore’s economy and trade.”