What Heng Swee Keat’s 2021 Singapore budget has in store for the city state’s coronavirus recovery
- Heng Swee Keat will deliver the 2021 budget on Tuesday, after a record year of measures to stem the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic
- Analysts expect he will avoid another draw on reserves, focusing on targeted spending, reskilling workers, and tapered support schemes
“My wish for this year is one budget,” the minister quipped during an interview with The Straits Times in January, recalling how he had addressed parliament on spending plans an unprecedented six times last year.
On Tuesday, Heng will deliver the country’s budget for the new financial year starting April 1, and expectations among observers are that the 59-year-old, who also serves as deputy prime minister, will emphasise the government’s hopes of avoiding another extraordinary year of stimulus.
While there is no doubt that the current expansionary path of lifting Singapore out of its worst ever recession will continue, analysts said there will be considerable prudence as the government tries to spend within its means and not tap into its vast reserves.
To fund its blockbuster stimulus measures last year, approval was sought from President Halimah Yacob to draw up to S$52 billion (US$39 billion) from these reserves.
But this is unlikely to be repeated and the space for manoeuvre this year is also limited, with government revenue as of November down 25 per cent compared to a year earlier.
