PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE SCHEME (Particulars)

Mr Yeo Toon Chia asked the Minister for Trade and Industry, since the implementation of the Product Development Assistance Scheme in March, 1978, (a) the number of applications received by the Economic Development Board; (b) the criteria for approval; and (c) how many local companies have benefited from this scheme and the amount of assistance they received from the EDB.

The Minister for Finance and Acting Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Mr Speaker, Sir, since the scheme was announced in March 1978, 15 serious applications and numerous general enquiries have been received. However, several applications clearly did not meet the objective of the scheme which is to promote local product/process development work. These included applications for grants to purchase production equipment, to finance feasibility studies or were applications by foreign companies.

For approval under the scheme, an application should meet the following criteria:

(i) It should promote local product/process development work.

(ii) The applicant should be a wholly or majority owned local enterprise.

(iii) The development work should be carried out in Singapore, either in-house or through agencies such as SISIR or ARC.

(iv) The development work should have some technical and commercial value and not merely involve cosmetic changes in product design.

(v) The applicant should be a viable enterprise which can commercialise the results of the development effort.

So far, three companies are being supported under the scheme, involving a total grant of about $200,000 whilst three others are under consideration. As this is a grant scheme involving public funds, careful evaluation is necessary to sieve out less serious applicants.

Mr Yeo Toon Chia (Ang Mo Kio): A supplementary question, Sir. Will the Minister inform the House whether the applicant has to pay any fees when submitting his application? If so, how much does he have to pay?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not aware that any fees have been paid. I believe, like all applications to the Economic Development Board, they are treated as being of economic benefit to Singapore and are, therefore, welcomed.