21/07/2021

COVID-19: Singapore richer by over S$200B


Emerging stronger from COVID-19 crisis the focus of Budget 2021

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (Feb 16) laid out Singapore’s path of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in a Budget that will again draw on the nation’s past reserves.

Mr Heng said that as Singapore’s economy reopens, the focus of Budget 2021 will shift “from containment to restructuring”, but there will be targeted support for the hardest-hit sectors as the global battle against COVID-19 is far from over.

While the arrival of vaccines has given the world some hope, it’s not a “silver bullet”, he said, as immunising a large proportion of people takes time, and more infectious variants of the virus have emerged.

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GST hike to 9% will happen between next year and 2025
The planned hike, from 7 per cent to 9 per cent, was announced in Budget 2018. PHOTO: ST FILE

The planned goods and services tax (GST) hike will take place between next year and 2025 - sooner rather than later, and subject to the economic outlook, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (Feb 16).

The planned hike, from 7 per cent to 9 per cent, was announced in Budget 2018. Mr Heng had said in last year's Budget that the hike will not kick in this year, in view of the economic conditions then.

That remains the plan, he said in his annual Budget speech on Tuesday.


ST Forumer calls for more public discourse on how well has Temasek really been doing over the years

An ST Forumer who goes by the name Alfred Chan Hock Yuen recently submitted a letter to ST Forum, calling for more public discourse on how well has Singapore investment company Temasek fared over the years and how will it perform in the long run.

The letter, titled ‘How has Temasek done compared with others?‘ was published earlier on Saturday (17 July).

In his letter, Mr Chan cited an earlier report stating that Temasek recorded its highest one-year shareholder return since 2010.


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