Singapore: Government spending to hit historical record
The Singaporean Government’s spending in fiscal year 2016 will rise to a record high of 73.4 billion SGD (53.6 billion USD), up 7.3 percent from the previous year.
The Singaporean Government’s spending in fiscal year 2016 will rise to a record high of 73.4 billion SGD (Photo: AFP/VNA)Singapore (VNA) –The Singaporean Government’s spending in fiscal year 2016 will rise to a record high of 73.4 billion SGD (53.6 billion USD), up 7.3 percent from the previous year, according to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.
In his inaugural Budget Statement on March 24, he highlighted that flexible financial policies will be implemented in the year to address cyclical economic weakness.
Of the total spending, 4.5 billion SGD (3.28 billion USD) will be set aside for the Industry Transformation Programme, aiming to promote initiatives to transform key industrial sectors through innovation and enterprises, he said.
In addition, Singaporeans will access jobs more easily thanks to the Government’s social support schemes, which include vocational programmes and new skills training in developing sectors.
The Finance Minister also stated that the Government will splash out 12.8 billion SGD (9.3 billion USD) for education and training, 11 billion SGD (8.03 billion USD) for healthcare and 10.1 billion SGD (7.37 billion USD) for transport.
Even more money is set to be spent in this fiscal year, but the Government still expects to achieve a 3.4 billion SGD (2.48 billion USD) budget surplus, buoyed by contributions from investment company Temasek Holdings, according to the Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.
Although the spending hikes are there to meet demands of its people, GDP growth will slow down due to an aging workforce, the minister said.-VNA
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