Budget 2020

SINGAPORE (Feb 21): Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat had to shape Budget 2020 under difficult circumstances. The Covid-19 crisis was a black swan event that no one could have foreseen. It forced policy-makers to sharply rethink their basic assumptions for

SINGAPORE (Feb 21): Singapore will be allocating some $1 billion into cybersecurity over the next three years to boost the government’s cyber and data security capabilities, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Feb 18. This was to “safeguard c

Election budget, coronavirus budget -- or both?

“Even as our enterprises compete to differentiate themselves, they must come together to solve common challenges,” says DPM Heng.

This comes amid a series of packages unveiled Tuesday to help Singaporeans and businesses cope with the global economic slowdown, which has been exacerbated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The city state will have all vehicles run on cleaner energy – such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs) – by 2040.

“With our declining local labour force growth, foreign workers are a necessary complement, but we must calibrate the inflow carefully, in a way that creates opportunities for Singaporeans," says DPM Heng. #budget2020

The stabilisation and support package consists of two parts: a new Jobs Support Scheme worth $1.3 billion, and improvements to the existing Wage Credit Scheme.

Deputy prime minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat said that the GST increase which was announced last year to be increased to 9% by 2021, will be delayed.

The way economists see it, the coronavirus outbreak is not unlike a kick in the knees for Singapore, which had been just about showing signs of regaining its footing.