Economy & business — Topics

1 Aug 2022

Comparing Inflation for Essential Items in Singapore with That in Other Developed Countries

Shawn Huang asked for a comparative table of essential item inflation in Singapore versus other developed countries over the past three years.
Gan Kim Yong explained that essential items differ by household and country, citing that food inflation was higher in the US, Eurozone, and South Korea than in Singapore between 2019 and 2022.
Healthcare price increases were also faster in the US, Eurozone, and South Korea compared to Singapore during the same period.
The government acknowledged concerns about rising inflation and noted providing targeted relief to lower-income households while continuing to monitor prices.

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1 Aug 2022

SMEs that Have Benefited from Green Financing Scheme

Since its launch in October 2021, 19 local enterprises have taken up nearly $60 million in loans under the Enterprise Financing Scheme Green (EFS-Green), with examples including Terrenus Energy for solar projects and Durapower Group for lithium-ion batteries.
The government is encouraging more SMEs to adopt EFS-Green and has implemented additional support measures such as the Enterprise Sustainability Programme, MAS' Green Loans Grant Scheme, and sector-specific training to build sustainability capabilities.
Despite the promising take-up, efforts are ongoing to address barriers to rapid adoption, including outreach and partnerships with trade associations to enhance awareness and knowledge of green financing opportunities.

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1 Aug 2022

Unlocking the Sports Hub's Full Potential for Singapore

The Minister explained that the Government will terminate the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL) and take over ownership and management of the Sports Hub on 9 December 2022, citing a need to better drive community participation and social outcomes, which the profit-driven consortium model could not sufficiently prioritize.
The decision to use a PPP model in 2010 was justified by the need for international expertise and to share risks, but the Minister stated the environment has since matured, with the local sports ecosystem now capable of managing the Hub independently, and the termination costs are financially comparable to continuing the PPP until 2035.
Post-takeover, the vision is to integrate the Sports Hub with the broader Kallang Alive precinct, making it more accessible for community events, school games, and family activities, while leveraging shared infrastructure and economies of scale to enhance sports and lifestyle offerings for Singaporeans.

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1 Aug 2022

Reviewing Qualifying Criteria So That Silver Support Scheme Benefits More Needy Seniors

The Silver Support Scheme provides quarterly cash supplements to seniors with lower lifetime wages, limited family support, and assessed housing type, and has been enhanced with higher payouts and expanded eligibility, increasing recipients to one in three seniors this year with annual payouts near $600 million.
Eligibility is automatically reviewed each year, with notifications sent in December via mail with infographics in four languages, and information is also disseminated through Community Centres and Silver Generation Ambassadors to ensure clear communication.
For seniors who lose eligibility, they are notified in advance and receive a two-quarter stepdown payment to ease the transition, and the CPF Board considers appeals if seniors face difficulties after support is withdrawn.

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1 Aug 2022

Impact of Monetary Authority of Singapore's $7.4 Billion Loss on Government Budget

MAS’s $7.4 billion net loss for FY2021/2022 was due to currency translation effects from a stronger Singapore dollar, not poor investment performance, and does not affect the monetary policy or the international purchasing power of Singapore’s reserves.
The Government’s budget is insulated from MAS’s short-term losses through the Net Investment Returns framework, which uses long-term expected returns, and a three-year smoothing formula for MAS’s annual contributions, ensuring stable funding.
MAS’s contributions to the government are based on a formula of 17% of net profit after accounting for cumulative losses, and despite the reported loss, the government will still receive $1.1 billion from prior-year profits.
Rising interest rates may increase MAS’s borrowing costs but are expected to boost investment income over the medium term, with MAS managing both effects sustainably.
The performance of Temasek and GIC is published separately, and the government’s budget planning relies on the long-term Net Investment Returns Contribution framework rather than short-term market fluctuations.

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1 Aug 2022

Causes of Time Lags in Data Used to Determine Eligibility for GSTV – U-Save Rebates

The time lag in determining eligibility for GSTV – U-Save rebates occurred because of delays in updating citizens' living status, such as death records, due to legal processing times, affecting about 3,100 households.
The Ministry of Finance has commenced recovery of rebates from ineligible households and is working with data agencies to tighten processes to use the latest data for future disbursements.
Eligibility is fixed at a cut-off date, and households that become eligible later will be included in subsequent rebates, with no system flaws found that would cause eligible households to miss out.
Some households may experience delays in rebate crediting for utility bills, and the Ministry encourages reporting such cases for investigation and resolution.
Steps are being taken to prevent recurrence, but sensitivity to families and practical constraints mean time lags may still occur, with recovery efforts ongoing as soon as possible.

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1 Aug 2022

Actions Taken by SkillsFuture Singapore in light of Lapses in Disbursement of Grants

SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) is recovering an estimated $4.22 million in overpaid grants due to inaccurate declarations and manual processing errors, and has implemented a new IT system to verify eligibility using government data to prevent recurrence.
SSG is addressing a $43 million variance in Skills Development Levy (SDL) collection from 2015-2020 through a risk-based approach, with plans to launch a new IT system by mid-next year and engage employers to reconcile and collect outstanding payments.
Accountability will be enforced, with individuals found negligent facing action, and SSG is reviewing business rules, the SDL Act, and contract terms with service providers, while working with GovTech to enhance systems and ensure grants for legitimate lifelong learning continue uninterrupted.

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5 Jul 2022

Clarification by Senior Minister of State for Finance

The Senior Minister of State for Finance addressed the Second Reading of the Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill on 5 July 2022.
He noted agreement among Members on the proposed changes and confirmed they would take effect from a specified date.
A factual correction was issued to change the effective date from 9 May to 10 May in the official record.

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5 Jul 2022

Plans to Ensure Affordability of HDB BTO and Resale Flats

Shawn Huang asked about the 10-year trend of median household income versus BTO and resale flat prices and long-term affordability plans.
Desmond Lee stated that HDB BTO flats come with subsidies and grants, while resale flat prices are market-agreed but supported by grants, and both have remained affordable as incomes outpaced flat prices.
Between 2012 and 2021, BTO and resale flat prices in non-mature estates increased modestly while incomes grew significantly, keeping housing costs below 25% of monthly income.
Most first-timers use CPF to service loans with little cash outlay, well below the international benchmark of 30-35% for housing costs.
The government plans to increase BTO supply, targeting up to 23,000 flats annually in 2022-2023 and up to 100,000 from 2021-2025, while monitoring demand and trends to ensure affordability.

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5 Jul 2022

Introducing Rent Control Legislation for Renting of Eating Houses in Mature Estates

Murali Pillai asked whether rent control legislation will be introduced for stallholders in eating houses at mature estates, especially as HDB now rents out new eating houses instead of selling them.
Desmond Lee highlighted that there are over 770 HDB coffee shops, with measures like ensuring a good supply, running some by social enterprises, and using Price-Quality tenders to keep rentals and food prices low.
The Government noted that introducing rent control could reduce incentives for owners to invest in improvements and is monitoring the market to address affordability concerns.
HDB has built and plans to build more coffee shops and hawker centres, and has not sold coffee shops since 1998, focusing on renting them out with quality and affordability measures.

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5 Jul 2022

HDB Selling Price for Coffee Shop Located at Blk 201 Tampines Street 21

Hazel Poa asked about the sale details of a coffee shop at Block 201 Tampines Street 21, which recently transacted at $41.68 million.
Desmond Lee confirmed HDB sold the coffee shop in October 1992 to the sitting tenant for $3.45 million, and this is its first resale transaction.
The coffee shop is part of a neighborhood center with sufficient supply, including four sold coffee shops and one rental coffee shop, to maintain competition.
HDB plans to continue ensuring a good supply of coffee shops, with 34 completed in the past four years and 30 more by 2025 to support affordable food prices.

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5 Jul 2022

Steps Taken to Professionalise Blue-collar Trades in Construction Industry for Singaporeans

The Government is leveraging the Construction Industry Transformation Map to reduce reliance on migrant workers and create higher-skilled jobs through technology like Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, which generates roles such as production managers and precision crane operators with competitive wages.
Existing programmes like the ITE Work-study Diploma and Career Conversion Programmes are being built upon to upskill students and mid-career entrants for these new technical roles in the construction sector.
The Building and Construction Authority is conducting a Jobs Transformation Map study for the Built Environment sector to identify in-demand jobs, redesign roles, and develop targeted interventions with industry partners, aiming for completion in the second half of the year.

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5 Jul 2022

Breakdown of Infant Care and Childcare Subsidies Received by Children in Last Three Years by Subsidy Category

In the last three years, the number of children receiving Basic Subsidies for infant and childcare rose from about 107,000 in 2019 to 126,000 in 2021, with around 95% going to families with working mothers.
The percentage of families receiving Additional Subsidies increased from about 35% in 2019 to around 60% in 2020 and 2021 after the income ceiling was raised to $12,000 per month.
In 2021, the median Additional Subsidy was $380 for full-day infant care and $260 for full-day childcare, with maximum amounts of up to $710 and $467 respectively.

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5 Jul 2022

Guidelines and Measures Against Unjustified Price Increases in Food and Private Hire Transport Fares

The Committee Against Profiteering (CAP) investigates feedback on unjustified price increases of essential goods and services but does not directly set prices or interfere with business pricing decisions.
The government is collaborating with industry partners, including major retailers, to ensure competitive and affordable prices for daily necessities and food items.
Initiatives like the Price Kaki price comparison app are being promoted to enhance price transparency and introduce competitive pressures in the market.
Measures are focused on addressing inflationary pressures from global supply disruptions while encouraging businesses to be transparent and not misrepresent reasons for price increases.

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5 Jul 2022

Rental Cost as a Percentage of Total Business Cost from 2000 to 2021

Hazel Poa asked if the Ministry tracks the share of rental costs in total business costs and requested the annual percentage from 2000 to 2021.
The Ministry confirmed that the Department of Statistics and Economic Development Board compile data on business costs for services and manufacturing sectors.
Data from 2000 to 2020 shows the share of rental costs in total business costs was relatively stable, averaging around 3.1% across both sectors.

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5 Jul 2022

Foreign Reserves Transferred to GIC To-date and Additional Reserves Accumulated since February 2022

Hazel Poa asked the Deputy Prime Minister how much official foreign reserves have been transferred to GIC to date and how much additional reserves MAS has accumulated since February 2022.
Lawrence Wong explained that since February 2022, MAS can subscribe to Reserves Management Government Securities to transfer surplus official foreign reserves to the Government for long-term management by GIC.
As of end-May 2022, the outstanding amount of RMGS was S$122.6 billion, net of redemptions.
MAS’s official foreign reserves decreased by S$105.9 billion from end-February to end-May 2022, primarily due to these transfers to align reserves with the optimal amount.
The decrease was partially offset by reserve accumulation through monetary operations and investment income.

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5 Jul 2022

Recent Interruption of Digital Banking Services and Affected Customers

Since July 2021, four major retail banks reported eight interruptions to digital banking services, mostly resolved within three hours and affecting an average of 12,000 customers, with the longest incident lasting 39 hours due to a malfunction in DBS Bank's access control servers.
The root causes were primarily internal to the banks, such as software misconfigurations and system errors, with one incident linked to a third-party cloud service provider outage.
MAS requires banks to recover critical services within four hours and limits unscheduled downtime to four hours per 12 months, taking supervisory action for breaches, as seen with DBS Bank being directed to appoint an independent expert and hold additional capital after its prolonged disruption.
MAS has issued new Business Continuity Management Guidelines and Technology Risk Management Guidelines to address IT resilience, third-party risks, and cloud dependencies, and is collaborating with industry and international bodies on best practices.
The incidents underscore the need for banks to enhance IT resilience through redundancy, swift recovery, and robust business continuity planning, with MAS committed to ongoing industry collaboration.

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5 Jul 2022

Households' Exposure to Unsecured Consumer Credit and Other Forms of Lending outside Purview of Financial Institutions Regulated by MAS

MAS estimates that financial institutions it regulates provide about 98% of household credit, with the remaining 2% from licensed moneylenders, hire-purchase agreements, and credit co-operatives, all subject to coordinated safeguards like borrowing caps.
The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework conservatively assesses borrowers' debt obligations by including all credit facilities, applying income haircuts, and using a higher interest rate buffer for mortgage calculations.
MAS conducts stress tests on household debt serviceability under adverse scenarios like sharp interest rate hikes and income losses, which indicate most households can manage but a small segment may face constraints.
Vulnerable borrowers are advised to approach lenders early for refinancing or repayment solutions, and households are reminded to exercise caution before taking on additional financial commitments.

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5 Jul 2022

Technology Industry's Impact on Singapore's Economy

The technology industry, particularly the Information and Communications (I&C) sector, is a significant contributor to Singapore's economy, accounting for 5.6% of GDP and employing about 170,000 workers, or 5% of total employment.
The I&C sector grew by 12.2% last year, outpacing many other sectors, but remains vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks and global challenges.
The Government acknowledges the impact of global layoffs in major tech companies and emphasizes building strong fundamentals and investing in people to maintain competitiveness and resilience in the digital economy.

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5 Jul 2022

Evaluations by Committee Against Profiteering for Legitimacy of Prices Set by Businesses

Mr Edward Chia asked how the Committee Against Profiteering evaluates the legitimacy of business prices and the details businesses must submit.
The Committee reviews feedback on unjustified price rises of essential items using the GST increase as an excuse, collaborating with agencies like CCCS, CASE, and the People’s Association.
If profiteering is suspected, the Committee engages businesses to understand price increase reasons and assesses their transparency.
Businesses are expected to be transparent about prices and not misrepresent increases, while the process balances consumer feedback ease with minimal regulatory burden on businesses.

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