Singapore - The "extraordinary" measures announced by the Budget may have received praises from relieved Singaporeans but local CEOs are keeping their cool even though they welcome the easing of financial pressures.

Some announced measures to help companies tide through the downturn include the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit Scheme to subsidise wage bills, enhancement of the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience and various corporate tax rebates. While many companies were hoping for a cut to the employer's Central Provident Fund (CPF) rate and lower company tax rate to level Hong Kong's 16%, local CEOs say the measures would do for now.

CEO for Apex-Pal International Douglas Foo says these measures would help mitigate the high labour and rental costs employers, such as himself, are facing today as the key challenge for most businesses currently is cash flow management. "Every little bit helps right now. At the end of the day, that would definitely help to cut costs and go a long way to retain work within the company."

Better cash flow would also give local companies more opportunities to grow and even expand overseas in this climate, adds Foo.

Vincent Tan, chairman and CEO of Dimensions Education Group, agrees these savings will be helpful especially since companies in Singapore tend to have high operating costs. With his company planning to expand with a second school campus and hire extra staff in 2009, Tan adds the 15% property tax rebate would help in keeping the company afloat.

However, the Job Credit scheme does not benefit companies which employ foreign talent. When asked if this means foreigners would be the first to go in headcount cuts, Foo says no company would like to "cut anybody from their employment" if possible. "The very fact that the company even hire [foreigners], they see a need for the person to contribute. The workers should work with the company together with this scheme to help overcome this."

While Foo is pleased with the incentives from "bold" budget, he stops short of guaranteeing jobs for his employees even though he applauds NTUC's gesture in its recent job guarantee pledge. That is because he feels both entities have different business standpoints altogether. "I think today nobody is able to guarantee [jobs]. It is the collective effort from the nation, the government budget, the enterprises and the workers to ride through this [downturn]."

Yet companies should not use these government grants or incentives as a basis to strategise the business. Instead, they should remain focused on their core business strategy, says Foo. "All these things coming in from the budget are bonuses to make us even stronger."