FAQ: Market Readiness Assistance Grant

• Business entity that is registered/incorporated in Singapore;
• At least 30% local shareholding;
• Company’s Group Annual Sales Turnover of not more than S$100 million, or Company’s Group Employment Size of not more than 200 workers; and
• New to target overseas market (at country-level)

Companies that have previously benefited from MRA, but whose overseas sales for that market has not exceeded S$100,000, can continue to be supported during the enhancement period of 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.

Companies that have used up the maximum S$100,000 support for a particular market between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2025 will not be eligible for any more MRA grants for that market.

There is no limit to the number of MRA applications that a company can apply. This is to allow companies the flexibility to determine their pace of entry into the overseas market.

Companies are not allowed to apply for the MRA grant after they have received grant approvals from Enterprise Singapore or other agencies on the same eligible expenses or events.

• Made a payment including initial deposit to the third-party consultant/vendor
• Signed the contractual agreement/purchase order with the third-party consultant/vendor
• Commenced the project with the third-party consultant/vendor

Project commencement and completion dates must be in accordance with the project support period stipulated in the Business Grants Portal.

Only when companies participate in non-LEAD supported overseas trade fairs can they proceed with the following in consideration of the need to secure the booth space in advance and a longer preparation time is required:

• Make payment (including initial deposit) to the show organiser/third-party vendor
• Sign the contractual agreement/rental agreement/purchase order with the show organiser/third-party vendor

Companies have to submit the application before the commencement date of the trade fair.

The information required includes but is not limited to:

• Testimonials/credentials of the project team (with the exception of Enterprise Singapore’s list* of Free Trade Agreement [FTA] and Trade Compliance consultants
• Track records of past completed projects (with the exception of Enterprise Singapore’s list* of FTA and Trade Compliance consultants)
• Detailed scope of services
• Cost breakdown by scope of services
• Expected deliverables for the project

No. With the exception of Enterprise Singapore’s list* of FTA and Trade Compliance consultants, companies can tap on the reference list or approach their preferred consultants to seek quotations. Companies are strongly encouraged to exercise due diligence prior to appointing any consultant.

• A company which does not meet the eligibility criteria (Refer to the first question above)
• A company holding a shell business registration or having its main business operations outside Singapore
• A non-profit organisation
• A company seeking support for the purpose of fundraising or increasing domestic sales.

The S$100,000 grant cap is applicable over the enhancement period of 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025, comprising activity sub-caps of:

1. S$20,000 for Overseas Market Promotion
2. S$50,000 for Overseas Business Development
3. S$30,000 for Overseas Market Set-up

1. There is unavailable booth space under the Singapore National Pavilion supported under LEAD
2. It can secure a better booth location compared to the Singapore National Pavilion
3. It prefers not to be part of the Singapore National Pavilion for various reasons
4. It prefers to exhibit at a different specialty hall within the same LEAD supported tradeshow

None of the above will be supported. We strongly encourage Singapore companies to tap onto LEAD supported tradeshows to reach global customers, get feedback on products and services and learn more about overseas markets. Please refer here for LEAD supported tradeshows.

The typical internationalisation process involves identifying a target market and potential partners or leads through business matching, before investing resources to further assess leads for potential business. To effectively do this, companies can immerse themselves in the target market through in-market business development staff to understand the operating requirements. For companies that are new to market or new to internationalisation, this necessary and critical phase requires access to suitable third-party sources. Overseas Business Development projects support companies in conducting early-phase market exploration and in-market business development activities. The supported activities are:

1. Identification of Potential Overseas Partners
2. Overseas Marketing Presence
3. In-market Business Development

1. Employment or Appointment letters of staff who must be a paid employee of the firm
2. Staff’s NRIC or Passport number
3. CPF Statement (latest month within the project period) or employment pass/work permit for foreign employees
4. Proof of permanent residency for SG/PR, such as long stay agreement, passport etc.

MRA support companies in IP search and registration expenses under the Overseas Market Set-up category of MRA. For international application, companies can submit one single MRA application for multiple new markets under the Madrid System, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) System, Hague System, etc. Companies are required to indicate the key target market in the MRA application.

For direct national applications, companies should continue to submit one MRA application for each new market. For more information, please refer to IPOS’ website.

As FTA and Trade Compliance consultancy is a highly specialised field, companies can only tap on Enterprise Singapore’s list* of FTA and Trade Compliance consultants that offer the relevant consultancy services.

MRA can support the consultancy services as long as there are legitimate business relationships between your company and the manufacturing base - including but not limited to:

1. Manufacturing base as a wholly-owned entity under Singapore company, or;
2. Manufacturing base as a joint venture with overseas partner, or;
3. Manufacturing base operating as a contract manufacturer.

The MRA support for FTA consultancy scope is accessible to local SMEs. If the applicant company manufactures overseas, the consultant will advise the company on the relevant FTAs and help the company assess the potential benefit of leveraging on the FTAs, including those that Singapore is not a member of.

Please note that only eligible expenses stated in the scope of the MRA Grant are supported. The following expenses are not supported under the MRA Grant (please note that the list below is not exhaustive):

For all scopes:

• Out of pocket expenses (Singapore GST, exchange rate losses, etc.)
• Logistics for overseas physical trade fairs, airfare, accommodation, in-house manpower, maintenance, security deposit, sales commission and success fees
• Costs charged by other Singapore Government Agencies
• Out of pocket costs (e.g. airfare and hotel accommodation)

Overseas Marketing and PR activity

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Costs charged by other Singapore Government Agencies
• Out of pocket costs (e.g., airfare, transport, accommodation, staff meals)
• Prototyping
• Costs incurred for the purpose of fulfilling contractual obligation with clients
• Food samples/products, promotional prizes/gifts, sponsorship fees (prize money)
• In-house manpower, maintenance, security deposit, sales commission/success fees
• Stand-alone costs and/or collaterals that are not related to the marketing/PR campaign (e.g., video production for social media posts or production of corporate brochures that are not relevant to the campaign)
• Telemarketing
• Publicity costs to raise capital or investments
• Equipment (e.g., tablet, printer, hard disk, computer)

Overseas Trade Fairs

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Costs charged by other Singapore Government Agencies
• Out of pocket costs (e.g. airfare, transport, hotel accommodation, meals)
• Costs incurred for the purpose of sourcing for investors, raising capital, selling of applicant's shares
• Costs incurred for the purpose of fulfilling contractual obligation with clients
• Logistics for overseas physical trade fairs, in-house manpower (e.g., promoters, maintenance, security deposit, sales commission, namecard, and success fees)
• Shared/split booths
• Purchase of equipment, furniture, electrical appliances
• Insurance costs
• Sponsored or corporate gifts (e.g. notebooks, pens, lucky draw prizes), prize money
• Subscription to generic online databases

Business Matching and In-Market BD

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Costs charged by other Singapore Government Agencies
• Out of pocket costs (e.g. airfare, transport, hotel accommodation)
• Office rental, manpower salary
• Commission (Success Fee)
• Subscription to generic databases or directories
• Costs incurred for sourcing of investors, suppliers, capital raising, selling of company’s shares

Overseas Marketing Presence

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Costs charged by other Singapore Government Agencies
• Commission, bonus
• Subscription to generic databases or directories
• Costs incurred for sourcing of investors, suppliers, capital raising, selling of company’s shares
• Incidental costs – bonuses, commissions, taxes, allowances, employee’s overtime pay, airfare, meals, accommodation, etc.
• Other office costs – equipment/furniture, fixture, utilities, internet/ telecommunication costs, etc.
• Rental of warehouse, factory space, residential space, hotel room/suite
• Deposit and any form of downpayments

Market Entry

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Costs charged by other Singapore Government Agencies (exception of incorporation of entity activity and only if costs incurred are necessary as part of the overseas entity incorporation)
• Out of pocket costs (e.g., airfare, transport, accommodation)
• Costs to operationalise the business (e.g., signboard license, bookkeeping services)
• Costs related to appointment of Power of Attorney
• Corporate secretariat services
• Paid up capital
• Annual registered office address/Lease contract
• Custodial director service
• Individual director tax registration
• Costs related to manpower issues such as employee recruitment/work permit (e.g. social security registration, insurance)
• Product certification/testing costs (e.g. testing of ice-cream flavours), product liability insurance
• Trademark/Patent filings for Singapore

FTA and Trade Compliance consultancy

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Assistance with Customs Authorities post-audit FTA consultancy
• Application for Advanced Ruling with Singapore Customs

If the company has yet to register for a Corppass Administrator account, please visit www.corppass.gov.sg. After successful registration, users need to be assigned the e-Service access to the BGP in order to submit their grant application.

Operating hours are from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm (Mondays to Fridays)

Operating hours are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm (Mondays to Fridays) and from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm (Saturdays). Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.

You may choose to upload unaudited financial statements or management accounts, if audited statements are unavailable.

If the company is newly registered and a full year’s financial statements are not available, you may provide unaudited financial statements or management accounts for the year-to-date.

An email will be sent to the company’s contact person with the status of the submitted grant application.

Alternatively, applicants may log in to the BGP. Under the “My Grants” section, they can view the status of their grant application by toggling between the tabs (Drafts/Processing/Actions Required/ Completed).

Reminder emails will also be sent when the application is returned for further clarifications. Applicants may make the necessary clarifications via BGP. Inactive applications may be withdrawn by Enterprise Singapore.

Once you have submitted your application, there can be no further amendments. We may route the application back to the applicant should there be a need for clarification.

Any personnel assigned as a BGP user in the company and given a Preparer or Acceptor role by the company’s Corppass Administrator can edit and submit the grant application. Contact details of the new user should be updated in the Business Grants Portal.

Under the e-Service section of the BGP, the company’s Corppass Administrator should assign an Acceptor role to the new CEO/MD. This will enable the new management personnel to accept a Letter of Offer.

If the grant has not been approved, the Corppass Administrator can update the Letter of Offer addressee in the grant application form.

If the grant has been approved and a Letter of Offer has been issued, no amendment to the addressee can be made. However, the new CEO/MD can still accept the Letter of Offer if he/she has been granted rights to do so. Do also update ACRA and the grant processing agency of the change in management details.

The applicant company’s Corppass Admin would need to add in the “MTI – Business Grant Portal (BGP)” digital service:

1. Login at www.corppass.gov.sg
2. Go to ‘e-Services’ > ‘Select Entity e-Services’
3. Type “bgp” in the search bar to the right (next to ‘filter’)
4. Tick the box on the left of “BGP”, then press ‘Next'
   • If there is no checkbox to tick, you may skip ahead to Step 7 below.
5. Press ‘Next’ and ‘Submit’
6. Press ‘Return to Homepage’
   • After adding BGP for the company, the Admin would then need to assign it to the relevant staff.
7. Go to ‘e-Services’ > ‘Assign selected e-Services’
8. Tick the box next to the relevant staff’s name and press ‘Next’.
9. Type “bgp” in the search bar to the right (next to ‘filter’)
10. Tick the box on the left of “BGP”, then press ‘Next'
    • Select the “Acceptor” role.
    • “Authorization Effective Date” can be today
    • “Authorization Expiry Date” can be left blank
11. Press ‘Next’ and ‘Submit’
    • If you are unsure of who your Admin is, you may use your SingPass to check on the identities of your entity’s Corppass Admins and Sub-Admins
12. Go to www.corppass.gov.sg
13. Click on ‘Services’ > ‘Find Your Corppass Admin’
14. Login to SingPass
15. Enter the company’s UEN
16. Press ‘Search’ (the respective admins’ names will be displayed)

For further enquiries regarding Corppass roles, please refer to the Corppass User Guide.

Companies may be required to submit additional claim documents at the request of the processing officer to substantiate the validity of the approved activities. Please be informed that the list below is non-exhaustive.

• Deliverables to be provided during claims

• Event write-up attached with corresponding materials, e.g. publicity materials and photographs/screenshots of the launch of holistic marketing and PR campaign/activities. The write-up should include the number of attendees for the event/campaign and profile of target audience
• Overall roadmap/communications plan of activities that have been completed

Participation in Overseas Physical and Virtual Trade Fairs

• Photographs and exhibitors’ listing which reflects applicant company’s name at the booth
• Event write-up using word document to include 3-4 paragraphs on the environment of the booth, experience as well as how the participation has benefited applicant company

• Screenshots of exhibitor listing, publicity materials, virtual booths, virtual business meetings/matching sessions, post event analytics report product samples for virtual fairs (where available and/or applicable)

• Detailed report on the profile of potential customers/partners for the company in the selected market and business matching outcomes
• Pictures of meetings
• Photocopy of potential customers’ or partners’ name cards

• Proof of completion of setting up of overseas marketing presence in the market (e.g. rental agreement/invoice, bank transactions proof)
• Documentation to show proof that the marketing activities have been conducted in market (e.g. plans detailing the business strategy/business road map, business meetings, report detailing the project progress/milestones, marketing collaterals)
• Posting of the applicant’s staff (Singaporean/SPR/foreigner) (e.g. appointment letters, payslip to show that applicant had made payment to BD staff, proof of stay in market - residential agreement, long stay hotel agreement, passport departure and arrival dates, bank transactions proof)
• Proof of rebilling of the invoices to accrue expenses back to the Singapore applicant if its overseas subsidiaries are involved in executing and paying for the expenses incurred.

• Detailed report on updates of local in-market BD personnel’s progress, documentation and outcome of business meetings
• Report on market updates, including advice on set-up of entity in the market or future strategy plans etc

• Proof of Intellectual Property (IP) or trademarks that have been filed which includes relevant filing documents submitted to authorities
• Incorporation Certificate
• Copy of certificate/permit/licenses/franchise agreement
• Final assessment reports 

• Detailed report on assessment of current situation, trade compliance review/assessment, potential benefits from specific FTA(s), if any, and the related FTA information
• Plans/strategy to leverage on FTAs
• Relevant filing documents submitted to authorities
• Copies of certificates, permits and licenses obtained
• Written ruling / opinion for classification of goods, origin determination of goods and/or Customs valuation
• Standard Operating Procedure manuals
• Copies of certificate/permit/license/official submissions transacted with Customs authorities

Step 1/4

• Acceptor login to BGP > Click on 'Updates Required' tab
• Click on grant's Project Title

Step 2/4

• Click on 'Withdraw Application'

Step 3/4

• Enter details in 'Remarks' section
• Click on 'Withdraw Application'

Step 4/4

• Grant application has been withdrawn

CorpPass Helpdesk

E support@corppass.gov.sg
T +65 6643 0577

The operating hours are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm (Mondays to Fridays) and from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm (Saturdays). Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays.

Business Grant Portal helpdesk

Enquiry Form: go.gov.sg/bgphelpdesk
T +65 6708 7288

The operating hours are from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm (Mondays to Fridays).