SCCCI to be anchor tenant at JTC's iHub
The iHub facility, which will be operational by early 2017, is at the old Jurong Town Hall. -- PHOTO: JTC CORPORATION -
ONE of Singapore's largest business organisations will be among the first to move into a new facility that will gather trade associations and chambers under one roof.
The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) will be the anchor tenant of JTC's iHub.
Both parties signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday to collaborate on developing the hub.
The facility, which will be operational by early 2017, aims to promote the sharing of resources among trade associations and chambers and help reduce business costs.
iHub is at the old Jurong Town Hall, which played a pivotal role in the country's early industrial history.
Plans for the hub were first announced during the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Committee of Supply debates in Parliament last week.
While larger trade associations and chambers have strong secretariat teams, sizeable membership bases and are well-positioned to roll out initiatives to benefit the industry, their smaller counterparts are not able to provide similar services due to resource constraints, the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Teo Ser Luck, told the House.
As part of its collaboration with JTC, SCCCI is encouraging its 150 trade association members to join the iHub.
SCCCI president Thomas Chua also welcomed trade associations that are non-members to "come on board to share these resources".
He said at yesterday's signing ceremony that the SCCCI will be "working closely with government agencies...to enable the Trade Association Hub to become a core location for the cooperation and development of traditional industries and small and medium-sized enterprises".
This was echoed by Mr Teo Chee Hean, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs.
Mr Teo noted that the SCCCI's membership profile enables it to be "well-placed to address issues faced by family businesses, such as succession planning".
In addition to the trade association hub, the Budget included a raft of measures to help companies cope with ongoing restructuring, he said.
These include extending the Wage Credit Scheme and the 30 per cent corporate income tax rebate by two years. Levy increases for S Pass and Work Permit Holders will also be deferred.
The Straits Times / Money Published on Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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