1. Press releases
Government regulatory agencies continue strong pro-enterprise performance
9 November 2011
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GOVERNMENT REGULATORY AGENCIES CONTINUE STRONG PRO-ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE
Ideas to streamline processes and cut red tape from businesses win Best Pro-Enterprise Suggestions
Government agencies continue to be pro-actively responsive to business needs, according to the eighth annual survey on the pro-enterprise orientation of regulatory agencies commissioned by the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE).
The average Pro-Enterprise Index (PEI) of the 26 agencies surveyed in 2011 was 74.8, a strong showing amid growing business expectations for Government agencies to be even more prompt and helpful.
Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Minister in charge of Entrepreneurship, Mr Teo Ser Luck, who also chairs ACE, said, "Our consistently strong PEI score reflects our agencies’ continued efforts and commitment to create a conducive environment for businesses. Being pro-enterprise is a long and continuing journey. A business’s success is dependent on the support of the agencies. As business expectations continue to grow, regulatory agencies must likewise continue to remain responsive and to understand and serve businesses’ needs better, including seriously looking into priority areas for improvement based on feedback from companies surveyed. This is all the more important in anticipation of a challenging business climate ahead.”
In general, survey respondents were satisfied with agencies’ online application platform and improved efforts to attend and respond to queries. Clearer explanation of rules and regulations was also an area they perceived as agencies’ strength.
The survey also identified some areas for further improvement. Respondents asked for more experienced and knowledgeable staff to handle telephone queries, less lengthy application forms and more timely update of application status and new regulations and rules. They would also like regulatory agencies to co-ordinate more to resolve issues that cut across different agencies.
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), made it back to the top spot this year, a position they had taken for three consecutive years from 2007 to 2009. MPA's Chief Executive Lam Yi Young said: “We are heartened by the survey result and the feedback from our customers and partners. We will continue to work closely with our customers and partners to facilitate their businesses in Singapore and to grow Maritime Singapore.”
Notable improvements were made by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA). IDA moved up from 19th position to 5th position while HSA improved 13 places to reach the 13th spot. IDA Chief Executive Officer, RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay said: " We are pleased that we have achieved this ranking. IDA continues to review its policies and implement pro-enterprise initiatives to improve transparency and customer responsiveness, and facilitate greater competition in the telecommunications market.”
HSA Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Lim said: "We are grateful that our stakeholders have appreciated the concerted efforts of our regulatory staff to improve the ways we engage and communicate with them over the last few years. We have been serious about being more transparent on regulatory decisions and more responsive to industry concerns and feedback. Connecting and engaging with our stakeholders is an ongoing process. This will continue to be a top priority for us.”
In addition, three individuals from a wide range of industries will receive the Pro-Enterprise Panel (PEP) awards for the Best Pro-Enterprise Suggestions this year, for contributing ideas on ways to streamline application process and cut red tape. Their suggestions not only benefited their own businesses but also related industries as a whole, hence ensuring that Singapore offers a conducive, pro-enterprise environment for businesses.
The PEP awards for the Best Pro-Enterprise Suggestions was launched in 2008 to recognise private sector individuals and businesses who have given excellent suggestions to the PEP on how to cut red tape and create an even more business-friendly environment in Singapore. Details of the award winners can be found in Annex C.
Top 12 agencies in 2011, ranked by their Pro-Enterprise Index
Table caption
Position | Agency |
|---|---|
1 | Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) |
2 | Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) |
3 | Energy Market Authority (EMA) |
4 | Building and Construction Authority (BCA) |
5 | Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) |
6 | Singapore Land Authority (SLA) |
7 | Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) |
8 | Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) |
9 | Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) |
10 | Housing Development Board (HDB) |
11 | Singapore Customs (SC) |
12 | IE Singapore (IES) |
The top five agencies clinched the ACE Awards for 2011. IDA, which has made the greatest improvement, clinched the Most Improved Agency Award. The agencies will receive their awards from Minister of State for Trade and Industry Mr Teo Ser Luck, at the ACE Awards and PEP Awards Ceremony held at the Singapore Business Federation seminar on Corporate Governance on 9 Nov 2011.
MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
9 Nov 2011
Annex A
Background of ACE Awards 2011
The ACE Awards for pro-enterprise agencies is an initiative by the Rules Action Crucible (Rules AC) of ACE. The Rules AC's objective is to encourage regulatory agencies to establish a pro-enterprise environment in Singapore. Since 2004, the Rules AC has commissioned an annual survey to assess the pro-enterprise orientation of government agencies. The survey was conducted by Frost and Sullivan (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
This year’s survey, conducted from April to June 2011, assessed 26 government agencies (see Annex B for the full list) by surveying the perceptions and expectations of businesses that had interacted with these agencies. For agencies with multiple roles (e.g. regulatory and industry promotion), the survey covered only their regulatory activities.
More than 4,000 telephone interviews were conducted with businesses which had interacted at least once with the agency in the past 12 months. The Pro-Enterprise Index was then computed based on the aggregated scores of an agency’s performance in each of the five components (Compliance Cost; Review of Rules and Regulations; Transparency; Customer Responsiveness; and Pro-enterprise Orientation), which were all given equal weightage.
Annex B
List of Participating Agencies in 2011 Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey (in alphabetical order)
Table caption
No. | Agency |
|---|---|
1 | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) |
2 | Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) |
3 | Building and Construction Authority (BCA) |
4 | Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) |
5 | Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) |
6 | Energy Market Authority (EMA) |
7 | Health Sciences Authority (HSA) |
8 | Housing and Development Board (HDB) |
9 | Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) |
10 | Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) |
11 | Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) |
12 | Insolvency & Public Trustee's Office (IPTO) |
13 | International EnterpriseSingapore (IES) |
14 | JTC Corporation (JTC) |
15 | Land Transport Authority (LTA) |
16 | Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) |
17 | Media Development Authority (MDA) |
18 | Ministry of Manpower (MOM) |
19 | Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) |
20 | National Environment Agency (NEA) |
21 | Public Utilities Board (PUB) |
22 | Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) |
23 | Singapore Customs (SC) |
24 | SingaporeLand Authority (SLA) |
25 | Singapore Tourism Board (STB) |
26 | Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) |
Annex C
Background of PEP Awards 2011
The PEP Awards for the Best Pro-Enterprise Suggestions was launched in 2008 to recognize private sector individuals and businesses who have given excellent suggestions to the PEP to cut red tape and create an even more business-friendly environment in Singapore.
Award plaques and cash prizes of $1,000 each is given to the top three PEP suggestions accepted by government agencies from Sep 2010 to Sep 2011 for implementation.
As of Sep 2011, PEP has received slightly more than 1800 suggestions from businesses and about 1000 suggestions have been accepted after careful review.
Details of the winning suggestions are as follows:
Food Shop License
Mr Jack You Jian Wei of Yangon Kitchen wrote in to PEP to highlight what he felt was an unnecessary step in applying for a Food Shop License from the National Environment Agency (NEA). Applicants had to obtain approval from the land-owning agency e.g. HDB, as well as planning approval from URA, even if the intended location was already within a designated Food Zone approved for food-related business. The time taken to get these additional approvals before applying for a Food Shop License from NEA caused unnecessary delays for businesses to set up their Food Shop.
Mr You proposed that NEA coordinate with HDB, JTC and URA to maintain a database of the designated Food Zones and streamline the extraneous process for applicants within such Food Zones. NEA took up his suggestion and as of 1 Nov 2011, applicants can check HDB and JTC websites to verify if their intended premises are designated for food related business, and if so, no longer need to seek approval from URA, HDB or JTC before applying for a Food Shop License from NEA.
Faster video clearance for market distribution
Mr Tan Poh Lam of Hollywood Entertainment (S) Pte Ltd wrote in to PEP to highlight that the clearance time to classify commercial video titles was too long. He felt that more could be done to speed up the process, and suggested that video box-sets could be automatically cleared if the individual titles within had been processed before. The Board of Film Censors (BFC) saw merit in his suggestion and set up a process to clear video box-sets more quickly if the individual titles within are the same versions as those that had been processed previously. This reduced duplication of the classification work and enabled the videos to get to market faster.
Duty exemption for alcohol-based raw materials used in manufacturing
Mr Ho Cheng Lock of Scents & Blends Pte Ltd wrote in to PEP to appeal for Singapore Customs to consider their company to be eligible for duty exemption under the Industrial Exemption Factory (IEF) Scheme. The IEF Scheme is a duty-exemption scheme available to industries using dutiable raw materials e.g. ethyl alcohol to manufacture non-dutiable goods for export. The basis of duty exemption is to enhance the international competitiveness of high value-added industries in Singapore.
Arising from the suggestion, Singapore Customs reviewed the criteria and approval process of the IEF Scheme to enable companies like Mr Ho’s to benefit from enjoying duty exemption if they have sufficient control measures to prevent misuse of the duty exempted goods. This has unlocked potential cost savings for many companies from various industries, such as food flavoring, fragrance, medicinal and chemical industries.