The government has committed around $1 billion of investments via Heliconia Capital to help promising local SMEs to grow and be globally competitive, as part of a range of funding and capital available.
One way the government has been doing so is via Heliconia Capital, an asset management firm that is a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.
To date, some 60 local companies have received investment from this pool, plus another $2 billion in private capital that have co-invested in these same companies, says deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong.
Speaking at his Feb 14 Budget 2023 speech, Wong says that the total revenue of this portfolio of companies has more than doubled after the investments, and over half of them have developed new capabilities or expanded beyond Singapore.
The government will commit another $150 million into the SME Co-Investment Fund, with the aim of eliciting a corresponding $300 million from other investors.
According to Wong, the government has been helping a series of local companies with the potential to grow overseas. One such example cited by him was Mooreast Holdings 1V3 , headed by founder and CEO Sim Koon Lam.
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The company, which was listed in November 2021, specialises in providing anchor and mooring solutions for the offshore industry for the oil and gas sector. Among its key investors are Singapore's Economic Development Board.
To tap the growth of the green energy sector, Mooreast has been capturing more business from offshore windfarm customers in Japan and Europe.
“Good design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities are needed to customise mooring solutions for various different offshore conditions. Mooreast a homegrown company is now one of the top three global players in this niche area,” says Wong.
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“There should be many more opportunities to come with the growing global demand for offshore wind and other renewable energy projects,” he adds.
Mooreast shares, which traded at 13.3 cents before Wong’s speech, gained 0.7 cents to 14 cents after the company was mentioned.
