PM Lee Hsien Loong says economic impact is already worse than during the SARS pandemic. FMTNews Singapore
SINGAPORE: Singapore is set to deliver a strong budget this week to offset the damage to the economy from the coronavirus, with analysts predicting the biggest deficit in almost two decades.
Singapore was already planning support for businesses hit by the trade war when the coronavirus broke out early this year. The city-state, which has more than 60 cases of virus infections, is losing as many as 20,000 tourists a day amid travel curbs. The coronavirus could shave off 0.5-1% from GDP growth this year depending on how severe the epidemic is, she said.
That’s what Singapore is likely to deliver, with Minister Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the government’s task force on the virus response, saying in a Feb 12 interview that a “strong” economic package is coming in the budget. With a possible early election this year, the government may also seek to target other industries with support.
Some of the budget proposals outlined by the SME committee of the Singapore Business Federation are more research & development spending to connect SMEs with higher-learning and research institutions, and help for SMEs on cybersecurity through training and expert advice.OCBC’s Ling is among those looking for an offset package to further mitigate effects on parts of the population when the government raises the goods-and-services tax by a planned 2% to 9% sometime between 2021 and 2025.
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