New Market Intelligence Portal for SMEs

NEW Market Intelligence PORTAL for SMEs

For the first time, entrepreneurs can access a one-stop shop portal – MarketInfo.sg – for market intelligence tailored to meet the needs of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).Many of the market reports from this portal have been newly developed by private sector research firms with the SME in mind.Through a public-private partnership, these reports bundle Government data with private sector analyses to offer SMEs relevant business insights at affordable prices.

This new market intelligence portal was launched by Minister-in-charge of Entrepreneurship, Mr Lee Yi Shyan at Singapore Business Federation’s Young Business Leaders Forum on 8 Sep 2006.

What value does MarketInfo.sg offer?Suppose an entrepreneur is planning to go into the restaurant business in Singapore. He can buy those reports with the relevant information to facilitate his business decisions.

• Sales turnover performance of the key players in the Food & Beverage (F&B) sector;

• Average rentals of business premises by location;

• Average wage of different F&B related jobs, such as waiter, cook and kitchen helper;

• Number of F&B establishments by location; and

• Business expectations of the F&B sector.

Besides buying market intelligence reports, SMEs can also approach the research firms in MarketInfo.sg for customised research services.As part of the service to SMEs, complimentary industry and business-related articles will be posted and updated online.

President of the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Association Mr James See gives his thumbs up for the MarketInfo.sg portal: “The digital age that we live in calls for fast information to help us win business battles.I am happy that we can now have a convenient portal to turn to when we need market intelligence.”

For a start, there are currently about 20 reports online.Half are newly developed market intelligence reports, covering sectors in Retail, Food & Beverage, Chemical and Electronics.

“This Market Information project is a result of listening and responding to our business customers.We are delighted to deliver another e-service in partnership with the private sector to serve the needs of SMEs.” said Mr Ng Wai Choong, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The MarketInfo.sg portal is available at www.marketinfo.sg.

Ministry of Trade and Industry
8 September 2006

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The MarketInfo.sg portal is a strategic collaboration by the public and private sectors, tapping on the core offerings and strengths of each stakeholder.

Public Sector

The agencies which release government data to SMEs through reports available in MarketInfo.sg are: Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Department of Statistics, Economic Development Board, International Enterprise Singapore, Housing & Development Board, Ministry of Manpower and Urban Redevelopment Authority.The Ministry of Trade and Industry facilitates this Whole-of-Government iGovernment project, with support from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and SPRING Singapore.

Private and People Sector

The private sector partners are: NCS Group (portal manager) and four research firms (Dun & Bradstreet (Singapore) Pte Ltd, DP Information Group, Forbes Research Pte Ltd and Synovate).