Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Singapore Heng Swee Keat (Photo: Reuters) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s government has allocated another 8 billion Singapore dollars (5.8 billion USD) to support workers and businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said.
In a nationally-televised update on August 17, he noted that Singapore saw the lowest growth rate in the second quarter of 2020.
Data showed the Singapore economy contracting 6.7 percent in the first half of the year, with a record quarterly slump in the second quarter.
With some of the existing support measures ending soon, it is time to advance strategies in three areas, he added.
They include continuing support for jobs and creating new ones, providing further support for hardest-hit sectors, and positioning Singapore to seize growth opportunities in a post-pandemic world.
To continue protecting jobs, the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), which was introduced at the first budget in February, will be extended by seven months to cover wages paid up to March 2021, the minister announced.
The scheme has so far disbursed over 16 billion SGD in payouts, helping more than 2 million local workers employed by over 150,000 companies.
Heng also announced the launch of a 1-billion-SGD Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) that will support Singapore’s efforts to create new jobs, with a special focus on mature workers, will help firms to increase their local worker headcount over the next six months, he said.
Singapore has earmarked a total 100.9 billion SGD to support its economy which is under the pressure of the pandemic and trade tensions. Heng said his government intends to fund these measures “by reallocating monies from other areas that were delayed due to COVID-19”./.
