The new system will give business owners greater access to multiple agencies, so they can spend less time engaging individual organisations separately.

The Singapore Government is developing a new S$30-million integrated multi-agency business licensing system which will serve as a one-stop service portal for licence, compliance and portfolio management in the business licensing application process.

The system will integrate more than 250 different business licences from 18 government ministries and agencies, which is three times more than the number of licenses available on the existing Online Business Licensing System (OBLS). The agencies include the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Law, the Ministry of Manpower, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, the Health Sciences Authority, and the National Environment Agency.

Announcing the new system on 18 November 2011, at the presentation of the Shell LiveWIRE Awards to recognise young entrepreneurs, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Mr Teo Ser Luck said, “Businesses want to get the licensing done with minimum hassle, and get down to the business of doing business. The new system will help businesses meet their regulatory obligations in a simple and convenient way. This is part of the Government’s continuing efforts to foster a more pro-enterprise environment in Singapore.”

The new business licensing system is expected to go “live” by end-2013. According to e-government solutions provider CrimsonLogic, which has been awarded the project, it will give business owners greater access to multiple agencies, enabling them to spend less time engaging individual organisations separately for licensing needs.

For example, a business generally requires between two to four licences in order to start operations. Under the existing OBLS, licence applications are routed to the respective agencies for processing. The various agencies may then follow up with the company separately for additional information to support its licence applications.

Under the new system, the government agencies will share a common database that provides them with a consolidated view of each company applicant’s licensing requirements. This will enable the agencies to collaborate with the necessary information to complete licence processing. In a case where one agency’s licence approval is dependent on another agency’s decision, the two agencies can consult each other in the background to expedite licence processing.

The system also promises to be more user-friendly and intuitive, with new features allowing businesses to search, sort and apply for the licences required. Businesses will also be able to manage and keep track of all their licence-related transactions with their own e-folder in the new system.

Government agencies, on their part, will be able to implement changes easily in the system’s business licensing engine, to cater to policy changes. The new system can also facilitate the implementation of multi-agency changes quickly and consistently to expedite decision-making on licence applications.

For example, where a policy change affects more than one agency, the new system will allow the agencies to incorporate the change into their licencing processes in a timely and coordinated manner, reducing uncertainties for business users.

“With the centralisation of automated rules that are set by the various government agencies, the approval processes of licence applications will be faster and more streamlined. Consequently, this next generation system will elevate the ease of doing business in Singapore, making the country even more competitive and attractive as a business hub globally,” said Mr Leong Peng Kiong, Chief Executive Officer of CrimsonLogic.

The first phase of the new system will be rolled out by the end of 2013 when businesses can apply for some 160 licences on the new portal. The second phase will come in the second half of 2014 with about 80 licences added, and the remaining will be made available in the first half of 2015.