Comparing Available Loans for SMEs

Government-backed loans make the island nation a conducive and premier location for business start-ups, especially SMEs. Singapore-based companies can benefit from various loans & schemes for working capital, equipment & trade financing, all of which contribute to a healthy business environment and consistent economic growth.

Innovative, high-growth companies can access alternative venture debt financing of up to $5 million for business expansion.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for the SME Venture Loan should meet the following criteria:

  • Company registered and operating in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding
  • Group annual sales of ≤ S$100m or group employment size ≤ 200
 Scope
  • Working capital
  • Asset financing
  • Project financing
  • Mergers & acquisitions
 Loan Quantum
  • Up to S$5,000,000
 Warrants
  • Warrants will be required
 Participating Financial Institutions  Contact
 DBS Bank Ltd  1800 222 2200
 Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd  6538 1111
 United Overseas Bank Ltd  1800 2266 121
 Innoven Capital  6532 2416

Companies can access unsecured working capital loan of up to S$300,000 to support daily operations.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for the SME Working Capital Loan should meet the following criteria:

  • Company registered and operating in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding
  • Company’s Group Annual Sales of ≤ S$100m or company’s Group employment size ≤ 200

 Scope
  • Working capital (e.g. daily operations)
 Loan Quantum
  • Up to S$300,000
 Repayment  Period
  • Up to 5 years
 Interest Rate
  • Subject to Participating Financial Institutions’ assessments of risks involved
Participating Financial Institutions Contact
DBS Bank Ltd 1800 222 2200
Ethoz Capital Ltd 6654 7799
Hong Leong Finance Ltd 1800 3388 338
IFS Capital Ltd 6270 7711
Malayan Banking Berhad 1800 777 0022
ORIX Leasing Singapore Ltd 6339 3622
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd 6538 1111
RHB Bank Berhad 1800 323 0100
Sing Investments & Finance Ltd 6305 0300
Standard Chartered Bank 1800 743 3000
The Bank of East Asia Ltd 6602 7848 / 6602 7849
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd 1800 216 9008 / 6216 9008
United Overseas Bank Ltd 1800 2266 121

Companies with 10 or fewer employees can access working capital loan of up to S$100,000 to support their daily operations.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for the SME Micro Loans should meet the following criteria:

  • Company registered and operating in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding
  • Annual sales ≤ S$1m or ≤ 10 employees
  • Group annual sales of ≤ S$100m or group employment size ≤ 200
 Scope
  • Daily operations
  • Automating and upgrading factory and equipment
 Loan Quantum
  • Up to S$100,000
 Repayment Period
  • Up to 4 years
 Interest Rate
  • Subject to Participating Financial Institutions’ assessments of risks involved
Participating Financial Institutions Contact
DBS Bank Ltd 1800 222 2200
Ethoz Capital Ltd 6654 7799
Hong Leong Finance Ltd 1800 3388 338
IFS Capital Ltd 6270 7711
Malayan Banking Berhad 1800 777 0022
ORIX Leasing Singapore Ltd 6339 3622
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd 6538 1111
RHB Bank Berhad 1800 323 0100
United Overseas Bank Ltd 1800 2266 121

Companies can access financing of up to S$15 million to purchase equipment, machines or selected factory properties.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for equipment or factory loans should meet the following criteria:

  • Company registered and operating in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding
  • Company’s Group Annual Sales of ≤ S$100m or company’s Group employment size ≤ 200
 Scope
  • Automating and upgrading factory and equipment
  • Purchasing JTC Corporation or Housing & Development Board factory and business premises
 Loan Quantum
  • Up to S$15 million
 Repayment  Period
  • Up to 8 years for Equipment Loans
  • Up to 10 years for Factory Loans
 Interest Rate
  • Subject to Participating Financial Institutions’ assessments of risks involved
Participating Financial Institutions Contact
DBS Bank Ltd 1800 222 2200
Ethoz Capital Ltd 6654 7799
Hong Leong Finance Ltd 1800 3388 338
IFS Capital Ltd 6270 7711
Malayan Banking Berhad 1800 777 0022
ORIX Leasing Singapore Ltd 6339 3622
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd 6538 1111
RHB Bank Berhad 1800 323 0100
Sing Investments & Finance Ltd 6305 0300
Singapura Finance Ltd 6880 0688
United Overseas Bank Ltd 1800 2266 121

Singapore-based companies can borrow up to S$30 million to finance their international expansion efforts abroad.

With IFS, companies have opportunities to access financing facilities provided by PFI in the following categories:

  • Asset-based financing to purchase fixed assets for use overseas, or to purchase/construct factories overseas.
  • Structured loans to finance the working expenses of secured overseas projects.
  • Banker’s guarantee for issuance of guarantee facilities for secured overseas projects which can take the form of advance payment guarantee, performance guarantee or tender bond guarantee.
  • Merger and Acquisition financing to finance acquisition of equity stakes in businesses for overseas expansion. The acquisition should be in line with the applicant’s core business.

Eligibility Criteria

Singapore-based companies with main business functions in Singapore and annual sales revenue (including subsidiaries) of less than S$500 million (for trading companies) or less than S$300 million (for non-trading companies) may apply.

Funding Support

  • Up to S$30 million in credit facilities to support your business’ overseas expansion.
  • Interest rates, repayment structures and collateral requirements would be determined by the PFIs.
  • Enterprise Singapore bears 70% risk with the PFIs.
Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) Contact Details
Bank of China 6412 8656 / 6412 8342
CIMB Bank Berhad 6302 2688 / 6410 3240
DBS Bank Limited 1800 222 2200
Hong Leong Finance Limited 1800 338 8338
IFS Capital Limited 6270 7711
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited 6538 1066
Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) 6550 7586
Mizuho Bank, Limited 6805 3766
ORIX Leasing Singapore Limited
Standard Chartered Bank
6339 3622
1800 747 7000
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd (OCBC Bank) 6538 1111
Resona Merchant Bank Asia Ltd 6224 7155 / 6228 6105
Standard Chartered Bank 1800 747 7000
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited 1800 216 9008 / 6216 9000
United Overseas Bank Limited 6539 1236

Mid-sized Singapore-based companies developing local and regional infrastructure projects can tap the IFS-NR to manage risk.

Eligibility Criteria

Singapore based companies with main business functions in Singapore and annual sales revenue (including subsidiaries) of less than S$1 billion (for trading companies) or less than S$500 million (for non-trading companies) may apply for IFS-NR.

In addition, the qualifying Singapore entity must have at least 30% equity share in the Special Purpose Vehicle and the overseas business must complement the Singapore company’s core operations and result in clear economic spin-offs to Singapore.

The TCIS protects companies against cashflow problems arising from situations beyond control such as non-payment from buyers.

Eligibility Criteria

Your company needs to fulfil the following criteria:

  • Global headquarters anchored in Singapore
  • Turnover of Applicant Company and its subsidiaries should not exceed S$100 million
  • A minimum paid-up capital of S$50,000

If your company qualifies, Enterprise Singapore can support up to 50% of the minimum insurance premium for TCI policies provided commercially by Singapore-registered credit insurers. This is subject to a maximum lifetime support of S$100,000 per qualifying Applicant Company.

The PRIS provides a 50% subsidy on political risk insurance premiums for Singapore-based companies that venture overseas.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for PRIS should meet the following criteria:

  • Global HQ anchored in Singapore
  • At least three strategic business functions in Singapore
  • An annual turnover not exceeding S$500 million
  • An annual total business spending of at least S$250,000 in Singapore for each of the past three years
  • A minimum paid-up capital of S$50,000

With Political Risk Insurance Scheme (PRIS), qualifying Singapore companies can receive premium support for PRI policies. Enterprise Singapore will support 50% of the premium for up to the first three years of each PRI policy. This is subject to a maximum amount of S$500,000 per qualifying Singapore-based company.

A typical PRI policy covers risks such as:

  • Expropriation
  • Currency inconvertibility and transfer restrictions
  • Political violence
  • Breach of contract by host government
  • Non-honouring of sovereign financial obligations

The LIS helps companies secure short-term trade financing by insuring banks against the insolvency risks of borrowers. 

Companies can apply for the LIS to secure short-term trade financing lines such as:

  • Inventory / stock financing facility
  • Structured pre-delivery working capital
  • Factoring / bill or invoice or accounts receivable discounting with recourse

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for the LIS should meet the following criteria:

  • Registered and operating in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding
  • Applicant’s group annual sales turnover should be up to S$100 million or applicant’s group employment size must not exceed 200 workers
Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) Contact Details
Bibby Financial Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd 6922 5030
The Bank of East Asia, Limited 6602 7848/ 6602 7849
CIMB Bank Berhad 6438 7888
DBS Bank Ltd 1800 222 2200
Hong Leong Finance Limited 1800 338 8338
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited 1800 216 9008 / 6216 9008
Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) 1800 629 2265
Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC Bank) 6538 1111
RHB Bank Berhad Singapore 1800 323 0100
Standard Chartered Bank 1800 743 3000
United Overseas Bank Limited 1800 226 6121

Singapore-based M&OE companies can access working capital to finance their operations and bridge short-term cash flow gaps.

Eligibility Criteria

Companies applying for the BL-MOE should meet all of the following criteria:

  • Are registered and operating in Singapore
  • Have at least 30% local shareholding
  • Be from the Marine & Offshore Engineering industry

Sub-categories of the Marine & Offshore Engineering include:

  1. Shipyards
  2. Contractors to shipyards
  3. Offshore services providers
  4. Exploration & Production (E&P) companies
  5. Oil and gas (O&G) equipment and services companies
  6. Suppliers to O&G equipment and services companies
Please note that loan approvals are subject to Participating Financial Institutions’ (PFIs) credit assessment.

Scope Working capital
Loan Quantum Up to S$5M per borrower
(Up to S$15M per borrower group)
Repayment Period Up to 6 years
Interest Rate Subject to PFIs’ assessment of the risks involved
Participating Financial Institutions Contact
DBS Bank Ltd 1800 222 2200
Ethoz Capital Ltd 6654 7799
Hong Leong Finance Ltd 1800 3388 338
IFS Capital Ltd 6270 7711
Malayan Banking Berhad 1800 629 2265
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd 6538 1111
RHB Bank Berhad 1800 323 0100
Standard Chartered Bank 1800 743 3000
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd 1800 216 9008 / 6216 9008
United Overseas Bank Ltd 1800 2266 121