{"id":7449,"date":"2021-07-04T10:43:51","date_gmt":"2021-07-04T02:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?p=7449"},"modified":"2021-07-07T14:15:47","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T06:15:47","slug":"nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Nightlife Businesses: The Forgotten Sector In Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Singapore had a thriving nightlife scene. Many locals and foreigners would usually say that it was not as good as Hong Kong\u2019s Lan Kwai Fong \u2013 but at least there was that comparison. Fast forward to today, nightlife in Singapore is all but gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Government Support Extended To Nightlife Businesses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Singapore had been gradually easing safe management measures (SMM) until May 2021. On the back of a spike in local transmissions, the government announced tightening measures \u2013 sending employees to 100% work-from-home, limiting group sizes and even pausing dine-in, gym and fitness studios from operating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this was definitely a hit, the sectors that were most affected were supported in various ways. The biggest chunk comes from the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), providing enhanced salary support for the affected businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: Here\u2019s What You Need To Know About The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS)<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s impossible to fathom that nightlife businesses were not affected, but according to the sectors supported on the JSS, nightlife was not one of them. The JSS provided very targeted support this time around (unlike when it was initially rolled out in 2020). And SSIC Code<\/a> 93203 \u2013 specifically representing \u201cNight clubs, discotheques, dance clubs and karaoke lounges\u201d was not included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Source: IRAS<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Other targeted support measures also did not feature the nightlife industry. These included the COVID-19 Drivers Relief Fund (CDRF)<\/a>, Sports Resilience Package<\/a>, Arts and Culture Package<\/a>, self-employed persons<\/a>, and others such as the Food Delivery Booster Package<\/a>, E-Commerce Booster Package<\/a> and more. Again, nothing for nightlife businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Exactly Shocking That Nightlife Is Not On The Government\u2019s Radar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a broad sense, nightlife businesses may not be as pertinent to Singapore\u2019s ongoing subsistence and recovery as other sectors. While an argument could be made for other sectors under the entertainment umbrella as well, it could perhaps be seen as a lost cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re also not seeing a strong reaction against this lack of the nightlife industry. This was certainly not the case for gyms and fitness studios that had to temporarily shutter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason for this is that there genuinely may not be any nightlife business in existence in Singapore today. The government had offered grants specifically to nightlife businesses to either pivot or exit<\/strong> the industry as far back as the end of 2020. This pivot or exit programme offers $50,000 for nightlife businesses to defray the cost of pivoting their business, while it offers $30,000 to help with winding up costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, alcohol consumption \u2013 a hallmark of any nightlife business \u2013 has not been allowed past 10.30 p.m. ever since Singapore first came out of the Circuit Breaker in June 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: Government Grants Available For Nightlife Businesses To Pivot Or Wind Up Operations<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, while it\u2019s true that a nightlife business would no doubt be impacted by the government\u2019s Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) measures, there are perhaps few businesses that are solely nightlife businesses anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cNightlife\u201d Businesses That Still Remain Are No Longer Just Focused On Nightlife<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain nightlife establishments such as Zouk has pivoted to offering spinning classes by day and being a cinema venue as well. It has also pivoted to offer dine-in. Its nightclub activities remain suspended for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many more nightlife venues have pivoted to offering dine-in. In a sense, they are no longer nightlife businesses, and have become regular F&B establishments. Perhaps, this is just an interim measure to sustain their business (and pay their rent and employees) before nightlife comes alive again at some point in the future. In the meantime, these businesses can tap on government support measures in their new sector – be in F&B or fitness, or others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, it\u2019s not difficult to see that many nightlife businesses have also exited the scene. Apart from the stories we\u2019ve heard from personal friends, a stroll down boat quay during a weekend night will tell us all we need to know about smaller players without holding power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When government restrictions ease, the nightlife will definitely come alive again. There is also pent-up demand to just head out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it also remains true \u2013 as can be seen with safe management measures easing and then tightening again \u2013 that even if nightlife businesses are able to continue, there\u2019s no guarantee that the rug will suddenly be pulled from under the feet again at any moment. Further tightening measures may be re-introduced at any point. This will be an added layer of uncertainty for any business still hoping to open once SMM are eased for the nightlife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There may not be any nightlife-only business left in Singapore.\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[364],"tags":[474,210,538],"yoast_head":"\nNightlife Businesses: The Forgotten Sector In Singapore | DollarsAndSense Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With limited support for nightlife-only businesses, many have pivoted or exited the industry altogether.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nightlife Businesses: The Forgotten Sector In Singapore | DollarsAndSense Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With limited support for nightlife-only businesses, many have pivoted or exited the industry altogether.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DollarsAndSense Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-04T02:43:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-07T06:15:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Singapores-Nightlife-Businesses.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/\",\"name\":\"DollarsAndSense Business\",\"description\":\"Helping Real People Build Real Businesses\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Singapores-Nightlife-Businesses.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Singapores-Nightlife-Businesses.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333,\"caption\":\"Singapore nightlife businesses\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/\",\"name\":\"Nightlife Businesses: The Forgotten Sector In Singapore | DollarsAndSense Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-04T02:43:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-07T06:15:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/c6937acb6f1f669cc952b38ad623d277\"},\"description\":\"With limited support for nightlife-only businesses, many have pivoted or exited the industry altogether.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/nightlife-businesses-the-forgotten-sector-in-singapore\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/c6937acb6f1f669cc952b38ad623d277\",\"name\":\"Dinesh Dayani\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/author\/dineshdayani\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7449"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7471,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7449\/revisions\/7471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}