- The EDGE Grant funds brand research, brand strategy and brand identity for overseas expansion at up to 70% for SMEs and up to 50% for non-SMEs.
- Each activity in each target market needs its own application, and all EDGE support shares one cap of S$100,000 per company per year.
- A regional brand works when its strategic core stays fixed and its expression adapts to each market’s language, rules and culture.
- Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines each set different conditions for names, labels, advertising and trademarks (Exhibit 1).
- Companies plan the brand work, the trademark filings and the grant applications together, before any work starts.
EDGE funds research, strategy and identity for each overseas market
EDGE replaced EDG, MRA and PSG on 30 September 2026. Enterprise Singapore’s International Branding activity supports three areas of work: brand research and analysis, development of brand strategy, and development or refresh of brand identity. A project must include at least one of them.
Support covers professional service costs. Enterprise Singapore lists several costs it does not support: collateral production, website development, social media management, marketing plans and campaigns, and implementation of the brand roadmap. Activities aimed at domestic business are also excluded. The project must finish within 12 months of approval, and the outcome of an application is indicated within 10 weeks.
Trademark protection sits in a separate activity. EDGE’s Market Entry Setup activity supports intellectual property registration in the target market, also at up to 70% for SMEs, with 18 months to complete. A brand that will trade under a new or adapted name can fund both the brand work and its registration through EDGE. A trademark filed through the Madrid System can cover several markets in one Market Entry Setup application.
Three rules shape the plan. Enterprise Singapore requires a separate application for each internationalisation activity in each country. Companies may apply for several markets at the same time, and a project aimed at a region names its primary market. All EDGE support counts towards one cap of S$100,000 per company per year, refreshed on 1 April. Work must not start, and no deposit may be paid, before the application is submitted.
EDGE funds the brand market by market. The plan has to be built market by market too.
A regional brand keeps one core and adapts its expression
The common mistake in regional expansion is to treat the Singapore brand as finished and the other markets as translation work. Each of these five markets differs in language, script, religion and regulation. A brand built only for Singapore meets those differences late, when the name and identity are already fixed.
The stronger approach separates what stays fixed from what adapts. The positioning, the promise and the signature cues of the identity stay the same in every market. The language, the imagery, the claims and some product names adapt. Our analysis of Singapore Airlines’ new cabins describes the same principle within one company’s product range.
Car makers apply this principle across markets. A model sold in Jakarta and Manila carries the same badge and design language as the model sold in Singapore, with local specifications, local names for some variants and local advertising.
Exhibit 1: The five-market brand conditions
Exhibit 1 sets out the conditions that most often change the brand work in each market.
| Market | Language and script | Rules that shape the brand | Trademark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | Bahasa Malaysia, with English, Chinese and Tamil audiences | Halal claims are regulated under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011; only JAKIM and state religious councils certify halal | MyIPO; Madrid System member since December 2019 |
| Indonesia | Bahasa Indonesia | Language Law 24/2009 and Presidential Regulation 63/2019 require Indonesian in many business contexts; halal certification is mandatory in phases | DJKI; Madrid System member since January 2018 |
| Vietnam | Vietnamese, in the Latin alphabet with diacritics | Advertising must be in Vietnamese; foreign text may not exceed three quarters of its size and sits below it | IP Viet Nam; Madrid System member |
| Thailand | Thai script, written without spaces between words | Food and cosmetics labels must be in Thai | Department of Intellectual Property; Madrid System member since November 2017 |
| The Philippines | Filipino and English | English works widely in business and advertising | IPOPHL; Madrid System member since July 2012; proof of use due within three years |
Exhibit 1. The five-market brand conditions. Vantage summary of national rules, November 2026.
Malaysia rewards brands that plan for several audiences and the halal question
Malaysia’s market is multilingual. A brand speaks to Malay, Chinese and Indian audiences, often in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Chinese at once. The identity system needs typography and layouts that carry more than one language well.
Halal is the second early question. Certification in Malaysia is voluntary. The use of "halal" on food and goods is regulated under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 and its two 2011 halal orders, and only JAKIM and the state Islamic religious councils may certify it. A brand in food, cosmetics or pharmaceuticals decides its halal position during strategy, because the decision affects claims, packaging and supply.
Malaysia joined the Madrid System in December 2019, so a Singapore company can designate Malaysia in an international trademark application.
Indonesia puts language and halal at the centre of the brand
Indonesia’s Language Law (Law 24 of 2009) and Presidential Regulation 63 of 2019 require Indonesian in a wide range of business contexts, including product information and agreements with Indonesian parties. The regulation also requires Indonesian for trademarks owned by Indonesian citizens or legal entities. Law firms report that the trademark office has not enforced this rule. A brand held by an Indonesian subsidiary still needs legal advice on it.
Halal certification in Indonesia is mandatory in phases. On 16 October 2026 the government extended several deadlines. Under Government Regulation 40 of 2026, mandatory certification for imported food, beverages and slaughtered products starts on 18 October 2028, and cosmetics, supplements and several consumer goods also moved to October 2028. Guides written before mid-October 2026 show the old dates.
A brand entering Indonesia plans Indonesian-language naming and messaging from the start, and settles its halal position before packaging is designed.
Vietnam requires Vietnamese to lead in advertising
Vietnam’s Law on Advertising 2012 requires advertising content in Vietnamese. Trademarks, slogans, trade names and internationally used terms that cannot be translated are exempt. Where an advertisement also uses a foreign language, the foreign text may not be larger than three quarters of the Vietnamese text and must sit below it.
The rule shapes the identity system. Layouts, signage and campaign templates need a Vietnamese line that leads, with the brand’s English line in a secondary position. Vietnamese diacritics are part of each word, so the brand typefaces must support them fully.
Thailand’s script and label rules shape the identity system
Thai uses its own script and does not separate words with spaces. A brand entering Thailand needs a Thai version of its name, chosen deliberately for sound or meaning, and a Thai typeface that matches the character of its Latin typeface.
Labels add a practical requirement. The Thai FDA requires food and cosmetics labels in Thai. Packaging designed only in English will need a Thai label before sale, so the packaging system should plan space for Thai text from the start.
The Philippines makes trademark use a condition of ownership
English is an official language in the Philippines alongside Filipino, and it works widely in business. Language is rarely the barrier. The trademark system is the distinctive condition.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) requires a Declaration of Actual Use, with evidence, within three years of the filing date or the international registration date. Without it, the application is refused or the mark is removed from the register. Further declarations follow after registration and renewal. A Singapore company that files in the Philippines needs to be selling there under that mark within three years.
Plan the markets in sequence within the annual cap
The S$100,000 annual cap is shared across every EDGE activity, including automation, digital systems and sustainability. Brand work for two markets in the same year can use most of it.
A worked example shows the effect. A S$60,000 brand programme for one market, supported at 70%, uses S$42,000 of the cap. A second market at the same scale uses another S$42,000. Trademark registration under Market Entry Setup draws on the same S$100,000.
Most companies therefore sequence the work. The brand strategy and core identity are developed for the first target market, usually the market with the strongest overseas plan. Adaptation for the second and third markets follows in later grant years, as separate applications. The core is built once, and each market adds its own layer.
Prepare the application before any work starts
Enterprise Singapore asks for four items with an International Branding application: an outline of the overseas market strategy and expansion plan, the vendor’s proposal and quotation with its SS 680 certification, a projection of overseas sales for one year after the project, and a projection of new jobs. The company applies itself on the Business Grants Portal. A third party cannot apply on its behalf.
Grant terms can change. Confirm each activity’s current rules on Enterprise Singapore’s EDGE pages before committing to a plan. Our guide to branding grants in Singapore covers eligibility in detail, and our reading of what EDGE means for SME brand budgets covers the wider change.
Related Vantage insights
- Branding grants in Singapore: the scope of International Branding and its eligibility rules.
- What the EDGE grant means for SME branding: the shared cap and its effect on brand budgets.
- Brand naming for Southeast Asia: the five-gate check for names that cross languages and registries.
- Cultural and religious considerations in Southeast Asian branding: the fault lines to map before identity work begins.
- Why Southeast Asian brands struggle to scale: the case for one strategic core and adaptable expression.
About Vantage Branding
Vantage is a Singapore brand consultancy specialising in brand research, strategy, and identity design for ambitious organisations across Southeast Asia, with particular depth in healthcare, finance, government, and cultural-institution branding. Vantage builds brands that work as one system for established organisations, pairing research rigour with senior craft across strategy, identity, experience and activation. PMC-certified, with EDGE grant support for overseas expansion. For a conversation about how we could help your brand, get in touch.