Economy & business

Anthea Ong criticized the budget for neglecting mental health despite rising prevalence and called for parity in healthcare limits, improved access, and quality of care. She urged a paradigm shift toward prevention and total well-being, advocating for mental health to be a national priority. Miss Cheng Li Hui supported the budget, praising its generosity and resilience amid challenges like COVID-19, and highlighted community solidarity in Tampines. She also suggested better communication of budget schemes to reach targeted groups like seniors and small enterprises.

• The government proposed a $106 billion Unity Budget to address the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 through a $4 billion Stabilisation and Support Package, which includes wage support, rental waivers, and loans for affected businesses and workers, while also delaying the GST increase to 2022 and providing a $6 billion Assurance Package to offset future hikes.

• Emphasis was placed on long-term economic transformation and workforce resilience, with investments in SkillsFuture initiatives, a Mid-Career Support Package for workers aged 40-60, and the creation of a Job Security Council to facilitate job matching and re-skilling amid structural shifts and technological changes.

• Parliament members stressed the need for unity, tripartite cooperation, and support for vulnerable groups, including mid-career PMETs, self-employed persons, and seniors, while urging faster implementation of relief measures and further assistance for sectors indirectly affected by the crisis.

• The Supplementary Supply (FY 2019) Bill was introduced to meet additional expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, with the President's recommendation signified.
• The bill was presented by the Second Minister for Finance on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, and was read for the first time.
• The bill is scheduled for a second reading after the conclusion of proceedings on the Estimates of Expenditure for FY 2020/21 and will be printed.

• The Supply Bill authorizes the issuance of funds from the Consolidated and Development Funds to cover government expenditure for the financial year from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
• The Bill was presented by the Second Minister for Finance on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, following the President’s recommendation.
• It received its First Reading and is scheduled for a Second Reading after the conclusion of the Estimates of Expenditure proceedings for FY2020/21.

• BCA has launched the Super Low Energy Programme and developed a Technology Roadmap with 60 strategies to help building owners achieve energy efficiency, with 18 buildings certified as of December 2019.
• The government has enhanced the Green Buildings Innovation Cluster with a $20 million top-up to fund research, development, and prototyping of energy-efficient building solutions.
• BCA established the Super Low Energy Building Smart Hub, an open database with energy data and advisory tools to support knowledge exchange and customized retrofitting plans.
• The Technology Roadmap is publicly available, with examples of implemented technologies like LED lighting with smart controls and hybrid cooling systems in buildings such as SMU-X and NUS School of Design and Environment Building 4.
• The Ministry continues to collaborate with industry stakeholders to encourage private sector companies to pursue the BCA Green Mark for Super Low Energy certification.

• Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Trade and Industry for details on the $15.2 billion in fixed asset investments in 2019, including the dollar cost of grants and incentives, the number of net new jobs created, and how much investment would have occurred without government support.
• Minister Chan Chun Sing explained that incentives are compliant with international rules, represent a small fraction of total investment, and are often notional or reimbursement-based, ensuring they do not erode existing tax bases or pay out without actual expenditure.
• He noted that job counts reflect new roles from committed projects and emphasized that estimating investments without incentives is impractical due to global competition, underscoring the need for strong fundamentals like rule of law and connectivity to remain competitive.

• The Minister outlined existing financial protections including the Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC) and the Special Needs Saving Scheme (SNSS) for long-term care planning.
• Caregivers can access insurance and savings tools like the Dependants’ Protection Scheme, CareShield Life, and MediShield Life to build financial safety nets.
• Additional support is available through the Home Caregiving Grant, government subsidies for essential services, and employment assistance via SG Enable for persons with disabilities.

• The government announced a $4 billion Stabilisation and Support Package and a $1.6 billion Care and Support Package to address the immediate economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, including wage support for businesses and cash payouts for households.
• A $6 billion Assurance Package was set aside to cushion the impact of a future GST increase, which will be delayed from 2021 to no later than 2025, while permanent GST Voucher schemes will be enhanced for lower-income groups.
• The budget outlined a $8.3 billion Transformation and Growth strategy over three years to support enterprise capability deepening, workforce upskilling through SkillsFuture, and stronger domestic and international partnerships.
• To tackle long-term challenges, a $5 billion Coastal and Flood Protection Fund was established for climate change adaptation, and a goal to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 was announced, alongside incentives for electric vehicles.
• The overall budget deficit for FY2020 is projected at $10.9 billion (2.1% of GDP), funded by accumulated surpluses without drawing on past reserves, while maintaining fiscal sustainability and the triple-A credit rating.

• Sectors like information and communications, built environment, professional services, and manufacturing have difficulty hiring Singaporean PMETs, and the Growth Sectors Initiative and Adapt and Grow programme have successfully placed tens of thousands of locals into these roles.
• The government tracks skills transfer through indicators like graduate employment rates and the increasing share of locals in PMET jobs, noting progress such as more mature workers holding PMET positions.
• Initiatives like Professional Conversion Programmes have high retention and salary gains for participants, with the government emphasizing sustained upskilling and fair hiring over displacing foreigners to avoid negative economic impacts.

• The Senior Minister of State for Law clarified that under the Moneylenders Act, any entity offering loans must be licensed, exempted, or excluded, and noted that Grab's Upfront Cash Programme for drivers has been discontinued.
• Nominated Member Assoc Prof Walter Theseira suggested reviewing regulations for consumer lending by non-financial institutions, highlighting potential risks for vulnerable borrowers in areas like hire purchase.
• The Ministry of Law acknowledged that the nature of each transaction must be assessed individually and committed to working with agencies to identify and address regulatory gaps in consumer lending.

• The Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry outlined that COVID-19 has adversely impacted Singapore's economy through reduced tourist arrivals, lower domestic consumption, and disruptions to export-oriented sectors and supply chains, leading to a downgrade in GDP growth forecast from 0.5–2.5% to -0.5–1.5% for 2020.
• No unusual declines in short-term capital inflows were observed, and while long-term job creation from new investments is not expected to be affected, near-term impacts on companies and workers, especially in tourism and transport, are anticipated, with government support measures to be detailed in the Budget Statement.
• Members raised concerns about support for affected workers, potential delays in new investments, inflationary pressures from Singapore dollar easing, impacts on Singapore companies in China, and worker retention issues, with responses emphasizing diversified supply chains, market resilience, and ongoing tripartite collaboration to mitigate the crisis.

• Louis Ng asked for the absolute and percentage change in total carbon emissions for facilities that paid the carbon tax in 2019 compared to 2017 and 2018, and when this data would be published.
• Masagos Zulkifli explained that while facilities must submit verified 2019 emissions reports by June 2020, the government cannot disclose facility-specific data due to confidentiality under the Carbon Pricing Act.
• The ministry publishes Singapore’s total greenhouse gases annually in the Key Environmental Statistics and detailed reports under UNFCCC guidelines, with the next report due by December 2020.

• The Government spent approximately $35.5 million on The Bicentennial Experience at Fort Canning, with an additional $1.5 million for conferences and publications, while leveraging existing annual events to feature bicentennial themes.
• Over 250 events were held in 2019, attracting more than 9 million visitors, with strong participation from community partners, volunteers, students, and NSFs, and over 96% of visitors rated The Bicentennial Experience positively.
• The commemoration achieved social and cultural outcomes by increasing public knowledge of Singapore’s history, providing a platform for community engagement, and creating accessible content to enrich archives for future generations.

• From 2010 to 2018, the number of Singaporeans declared bankrupt remained stable at around 1,400 per year, with an average time to exit bankruptcy of 9.7 years.
• The government has introduced measures like the Debt Repayment Scheme (with an upcoming increase in the debt cap) and the Differentiated Discharge Framework to help individuals avoid bankruptcy and shorten discharge times for first-time bankrupts.
• Bankrupts seeking employment can access support from agencies like Workforce Singapore and NTUC’s e2i, and travel for job-related purposes may be allowed subject to the Official Assignee’s discretion.

• The Minister explained that Singapore’s strategy requires a balance of local and foreign talent to grow the economy and create high-quality jobs, using a Lego model to show how foreign complement allows Singaporeans to move into higher-paying roles over time.
• He argued that a zero-foreign workforce growth policy is impractical due to Singapore’s near-full employment and peak local labour force, as it would prevent economic upgrading and risk losing investments and future job opportunities.
• The government emphasized continuous upskilling of Singaporeans, managing foreign manpower levels to balance economic needs with social acceptance, and enforcing fair treatment through the Fair Consideration Framework.
• Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked why Singapore cannot aim for zero-foreign manpower growth, while Mr Pritam Singh raised a clarification on the Workers’ Party’s 2013 position and called for a future debate on population policy.
• The Minister and officials highlighted that immigration and workforce growth are complex, with societal and economic trade-offs, and stressed the need for shared understanding and careful navigation in the coming decade.

• The Minister acknowledged that climate change poses significant financial risks to institutions supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and that MAS is actively working to integrate climate risk into its stress tests, though methodologies are still developing.
• MAS has already begun testing for climate risks, such as extreme flooding in the 2018 stress test for insurers, and plans to issue new environmental risk management guidelines while developing broader climate scenarios for future industry-wide tests.
• The Minister noted that while financial institutions are not yet required to report on financed emissions, there is growing commercial and stakeholder pressure for disclosure, which aligns environmental and financial interests.
• The government is prioritizing the collection of basic climate data and developing taxonomies before expanding stress testing, with potential future consultations with civil society experts once these foundations are established.

• Christopher de Souza proposed expanding exceptions to levy concessions for foreign domestic workers to assist caregivers when a disabled family member requires two workers for daily activities.
• The Ministry of Manpower currently allows up to two FDWs per care recipient but limits the $60 concessionary levy to only one FDW per recipient to ensure fairness across varying caregiving needs.
• Additional support includes the Home Caregiving Grant offering $200 monthly cash payouts and a $200 annual Caregivers Training Grant to help defray caregiving costs, including FDW expenses.
• The government plans to continue reviewing and enhancing home-based support measures for persons with disabilities and their caregivers.

• Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked whether the Ministry and SLA would investigate NUS Business School researchers' findings that property developers exchanged information on Government Land Sales, leading to imputed losses of hundreds of millions from lower winning tender bids.
• Lawrence Wong stated that the GLS tender process is open and transparent, with the NUS researchers withdrawing insider trading claims and noting no evidence of such activity, while MND's review of 103 tenders showed multiple bids per site and awards aligned with market value.
• The Government affirmed it will take action, such as closing a tender without award or enforcing the law, if there is suspicion of collusion or freak results in the tender process.

• Gan Thiam Poh asked if there have been fraudulent divorces by HDB flat lessees in the past five years to circumvent the Minimum Occupation Period or avoid buyers' stamp duties.
• Lawrence Wong stated that the courts require valid statutory grounds for divorce and there is no known case of divorces solely for circumventing MOP or avoiding stamp duties.
• After a divorce, HDB rules still apply to the matrimonial flat, and parties must meet eligibility conditions to retain or sell it.
• If the MOP is unfulfilled and neither party is eligible, the flat must be surrendered to HDB, though special exemptions may be considered for early sale.

• Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Trade and Industry for the total value of consumer prepayments lost due to business failures over the last three years, broken down by motor cars, beauty, contractors, and other significant industries, and whether mandatory escrow could be implemented for higher-risk prepayments.
• Chan Chun Sing responded that reported prepayment losses from 2017 to 2019 were mainly in motor cars, renovation services, and beauty services, with details provided in a table, and noted that escrow is already used in some sectors but may not suit all businesses due to cash flow needs.
• The government highlighted that CASE works with industry associations on accreditation schemes that require businesses to protect prepayments through insurance or bonds, and will monitor the situation to consider additional sector-specific protections while weighing costs to businesses and consumers.