Liang Eng Hwa
Singapore
“Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I would like to thank IMDA for its flexibility in allowing the filming of "Dear You" in the Teochew dialect, and for approving additional screenings to meet public demand.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. Sir, we hope that there will be peaceful resolution to the Middle East conflict soon and that the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open.”
“Sir, I believe the political office holders have not replied or responded to my cut on traffic congestion, so can I perhaps ask the Minister, whether is it because he disagrees with me that the traffic congestion has worsened or that there is no non-pricing solutions to traffic congestion, which I had asked for.”
“Sir, Minister Chee, in his speech mentioned that this year we will be launching 19,600 new BTO flats. So, I would like to ask, how he sees the trajectory in the next two, three years.”
“Also, flexible work arrangements, through inter-agency coordination, could also help flatten peak demand. Sir, road pricing remains important, of course, but it must be a multi-pronged approach to manage congestions. And all these suggestions that I have made, I hope would also help to reduce congestions.”
“Thank you, Speaker. Sir, there are Singaporeans who felt strongly that the founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew's original wish to have the house demolished should be respected. It is not just because this is his personal wish but also the values that he espouse, which is not to have personal monuments.”
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“We should not see the reserves as an ATM to be drawn on whenever we need money. Reserves should only be used as a last resort such as during a devastating crisis like the one we are in today. They are our last line of defence and we really want a solid defence. Each draw on our reserves also means divesting a part of our financial investments and so we will lose out on the returns from these investments and their contribution to NIRC. Given these considerations and the current budgetary constraints, I would agree that the next best option would be to borrow for such expenditures – but with strict conditions. I note the list of qualifying criteria to borrow under SINGA such as the minimal useful life of 50 years and that the projects should support national productivity and achieve economic, environmental and social sustainability goals. Similar to the Government Securities Act (GSA) and the Local Treasury Bills Act (LTBA), we need to also hardcode the necessary prudential safeguards so that borrowings are indeed selective and controlled. The overall gross borrowing limit of $90 billion ensures that the Government will not run into an excessive debt situation and that we will have the ability to service and repay the debt. It is also important to impose an annual interest threshold to avoid overly onerous financing costs on future generations, although, in my view, the $5 billion threshold in the Bill appears to be on the high side. And the reason is because besides the interest cost, there is also the depreciation charge. Under the SINGA framework, we need to capitalise the expenditure and these items – both the interest cost as well as the depreciation charge – will henceforth be an additional recurring expense item in our annual Budget.”
“Will these borrowings burden our future generations with high interest costs and large bullet repayments? Or is it indeed timely to now be open to long-term debt financing so that we can achieve the optimal outcome for Singapore given the current circumstance? Let us first look at the realities before us. First reality: we do have significant infrastructure expenditures in the immediate future and these are not small spending items. Projects like the Cross Island Line, Jurong Rail Line as well as the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System are not only super big-ticket outlays, their constructions may stretch more than a decade with benefits accruing across generations. Second reality: even if we were not in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, financing such huge expenditures using current revenue or accumulated surpluses would still pose a significant strain to the annual Budget allocation. Our recurrent expenditures are already growing each year while our revenue outlook looks increasingly uncertain. The massive pandemic-related relief spending has also exacerbated the strain on our books. To fund such mega long-term projects under current Budget cycles, we may have to either cut other spending or raise tax revenues – neither of which are suitable under the current environment. So, we are indeed facing a situation of tighter fiscal headroom going forward. Should we delay these critical projects because of current budget constraints? Well, these infrastructures are necessary to enhance our capabilities and to improve our quality of life. We should get these projects going soonest. Should we then just draw on our reserves to pay for these projects? If this is indeed the instinctive mindset, then we would really be going down a slippery slope.”
“Besides these institutional safeguards, it is also vital to have alignment at the political stewardship level. We are fortunate to have successive Ministers for Finance who are committed to the values of prudence and discipline. Some would say that our Ministers for Finance tended to be conservative in managing the Budget. Well, they should be. For a small island state like Singapore, a higher safety buffer is always wise and will always serve us well. We must always expect a major storm around the corner that could hit us and when it does, we can take comfort that we have the resources to decisively tackle and overcome the crisis. Our prudent and disciplined management over the years has allowed Singapore to build a strong balance sheet with net zero debt and attain the highest international sovereign ratings of AAA by global rating agencies. As a result, whenever the Government taps the debt market, it is able to borrow at a risk-free rate or at zero credit costs. This opens another avenue of inexpensive funding for the Government. Sir, the basic question then is whether this differentiated financing strategy where we can now borrow over a long term to fund large-scale capital expenditures signals an increasingly less prudent management of our finances? In all fairness, the Government did borrow in the 1970s and 1980s to pay for the construction of Changi Airport and our MRT lines. However, since the 1990s, we have used the annual budget and the accumulated surpluses to pay for major infrastructure projects. Under this SINGA framework, lumpy infrastructure costs greater than $4 billion can be financed using long-term debt. I have been pondering this topic since it was first raised in 2018; should we be concerned with this new approach and where it could lead us to?”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will speak on two aspects related to this Bill: firstly, on fiscal prudence and financial discipline, whether that has been undermined with the SINGA Bill; and secondly, on intergenerational equity, a somewhat new perspective that increasingly deserves our attention. I will also briefly touch on the other tactical considerations with regards to the Government's long-term borrowing strategy, namely interest rate levels and credit costs, servicing and repayments of the Government's borrowings as well as the development of the Singapore debt capital market. First, on fiscal prudence and financial discipline. Since Independence, the overarching guiding values of our fiscal management have been to spend within our means and to maintain a balanced Budget. We saved whenever we could for rainy days and refrained from borrowing to pay for our expenditures. Whenever we had surpluses at the end of the term of government, we would either redistribute or endow it for specific uses such as the Pioneer Generation Fund, the Rail Infrastructure Fund, the Special Employment Credit Fund and so on. Otherwise, we would convert the surpluses to reserves so as to grow the base, to invest and to a generate larger returns contribution in the future. These values of prudence and discipline are also enshrined in our Constitution. The Government of the day must balance the Budget during the term of government. The President holds the second key in the use of reserves and only up to 50% of the NIRC can be used to fund the current annual Budget spending. There are also gross borrowing caps set by the Parliament on the issuance of Government debt securities where the proceeds can only be used for investments.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. Sir, we understand the severe commercial challenges faced by SPH Media as a standalone entity as a listed company and would require Government funding to put them on a more sustainable path. I have two clarifications for the Minister. Firstly, how did the Government arrive at the decision that the CLG structure is the best option. The second clarification is, has the Government consider other options such as privatising SPH so that the media unit is not subject to the market returns pressure, very much like SMRT, or even like the Mediacorp approach where the Government support the company with annual public service broadcasting grants?”
“As an international financial centre and a global trade node, Singapore's interest is best served when there are financial stabilities, stronger monetary cooperation amongst countries and sustainable economic growth. I can imagine that as a result of the pandemic. IMF would have been inundated with more requests for assistance, especially from the low-income countries. Not withstanding my support, can I ask the Minister a couple of questions? Firstly, what are the considerations in deciding whether Singapore should contribute to this requested round of funding by the IMF? Secondly, do we have visibility as to how IMF will utilise this funding? Sir, Singapore is a highly open economy and we have a strong stake in ensuring that the world contains the pandemic, restore people's connectivity and movements, and support global economic recovery. By contributing to these three funds, we will play our part as responsible stakeholders of these international communities. So with that, I support the three Motions.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, in a crisis of this magnitude and scale, every country should play our part to combat this global pandemic. COVID-19 respect no borders or jurisdictions and all countries, big or small, strong or vulnerable, do get impacted in one way or another and we are in this together. In particular, countries in a better position should do our part to help those that face difficulties during the crisis, including the economic fall-out from the pandemic. In the thick of the pandemic last year, Singapore stepped up to contribute diagnostic test kits, PCR machines, protective gears, thermal scanners to neighbouring countries. Singapore is also an early supporter of the COVAX facility with a US$5 million contribution to help ensure equitable access of vaccines for all countries. Mr Deputy Speaker, besides the fight on the healthcare front, it is also in our interest to support the global economy recovery efforts and to do our humble bid to improve the well-being of the global community, especially in the developing countries. I support the three Motions to approve US$20.57 million to support the three specific initiatives alongside other member countries' contribution in response to the request by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is all part of the collective global action to help the most vulnerable countries during this major humanitarian crisis. The IMF is the most suitable international agency to carry out these efforts given its multilateral platforms as well as expertise, organisation and their suite of programmes available. The IMF has always been among the key financing agencies to ensure stability of the international monetary system such as assisting countries with the balance of payments difficulty.”
“Sir, I thank the Minister for her clarifications. Just one further related question. Under the Constitution, the Government is required to balance the Budget over the term of government. And so, I wanted to ask the Minister whether this requirement, does it lead to the Government typically being more conservative in the Budget during the early parts of the term, and then, distribute and spend a bit more in the later part of the term? Do we have that phenomenon because of that Constitution requirements? Secondly, what is the Government's policy or the policy approach or principles in the way we distribute our accumulated surplus, accumulated during the term of government?”
“Other than HDB blocks, can I ask the Minister what are the examples of untapped spaces that the Government intends to deploy solar, and how is the Government leveraging innovation to do so? Besides solar, can I also seek an update from the Minister on the key efforts and initiatives that the Government is working on with the private sector? Last year, the Government announced plans to import 100 megawatts of electricity from Malaysia for two years. This is part of the plan to strengthen the regional grid architecture and allow countries to share clean energy sources. Can I ask the Minister how will this impact electricity prices and what are the considerations the Government will take into account to manage price volatility? How can consumers play a part in this transition, and how does the Government intend to support them? Singapore's Climate Goal”
“Singapore has to play our part to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to the impact of climate change. We have deep interest in the global efforts to fight the deteriorating effects of climate change and Singapore has been an active player and strong supporter of multilateral approaches to tackle climate challenges. In 2015, in line with the Paris Agreement, Singapore made further commitment to reduce our emission intensity by 36% from 2005 levels by 2030 and to stabilise our greenhouse emissions aiming to peak at around 230. Given our limited access to renewable energy, our pledge towards the Paris Agreement is indeed an ambitious one. However, I understand that countries like US, European Union, Japan, South Korea and China and among others have set even more ambitious targets and have declared that they would reach net zero emission or carbon neutrality by 2050 or 2060. In the light of these developments, can I ask would Singapore be raising its climate change ambitions further? How we gear up our economy and the society towards carbon neutrality and how long would it take realistically? Energy Reset My second cut. Singapore has set an ambitious solar target of "2 gigawatt-peak by 2030", which will provide enough power for over 300,000 homes. This would make solar energy as one of the "Four Energy Switches" for Singapore. The Government has accelerated efforts to harness solar energy via increased deployment of solar panels and energy storage solutions. We are also gearing up industry players to scale up capabilities and to stay abreast of the latest solar technological developments. In Singapore context, the key limitations to solar being one of our major sources of energy are our lack of vast spaces and the fluctuating cloud cover due to our weather.”
“Mdm Chairman, can I have your permission to take my two cuts together, a total of three minutes.”
“Such an extended programme is not unprecedented elsewhere. Sweden's Job Security Councils, for instance, receive not just standard unemployment benefits, but also financial compensation to assist in the job transition. The system seeks to provide security for a job, just not necessarily the job that you are originally trained for. Denmark's Flexisecurity encourages low-cost, flexible hiring and firing, but displaced workers receive unemployment support alongside re-training and re-education programmes. And Germany recently re-fashioned its National Unemployment Agency to become more of a job matching entity that issues not only career advice but also vouchers to finance re-training costs. The underlying principle behind these efforts is clear. There is a natural end-to-end complementarity between unemployment insurance on one hand, and retraining and reintegration into the workforce on another. Of course, they are perennial concerns that have to do with cost, but redundancy insurance can be made a self-financing system heavily supported by workers' own contributions and, perhaps, by some Government top-up with a recurring revenue. Singapore already has most of the elements of an end-to-end job safety net in place, including the functional equivalent of unemployment insurance, which was widely deployed over the course of the COVID-19 crisis via a number of relief schemes and support grants. All that is lacking is a willingness to institutionalise this approach and ensure that the system is cohesive so that Singaporeans unfortunate enough to be displaced from the jobs that they are previously prepared for, also receive the support and guidance they need in a tough labour market.”
“In a world where changing technology, continued globalisation and environmental considerations mean that job displacement and structural unemployment are liable to become more pervasive, co-funded PCPs of this nature will take on an increasing importance in helping our economy evolve into the competitive landscape of the future. Yet, while we have some anecdotal evidence of the programmes' benefits – a resident employer I know shares, for example, of a number of successful placements. We have less systematic evidence that there is proactive re-employment of recentlydisplaced workers. Currently, the JGI is applicable for up to one year for hires commencing in September 2020 onwards. This sort of certainty for both employer and employee is critical. From the employer's perspective, it is effectively co-insurance for a risky hire since the potential employee's ability to adapt and perform in a new role is largely unknown. From the employee's perspective, it is insurance of a different kind. The promise of a job, even if it is only guaranteed for a year, is a solid incentive to be willing to undergo uncertain and often painful re-training. Given the inherent complementarities between the PCP and JGI, I wonder whether co-funding support can be made more permanent. I would even go as far as to venture that the PCP be had not just with co-funding but to suggest that the programme become a natural extension of a more holistic unemployment insurance programme, which commences from the point of redundancy. The Workers' Party had previously suggested the contours of such a redundancy insurance system, which I will not repeat here. However, I am making the case to further incorporate unemployment insurance, given how it is a natural complement to the PCP and JGI programme.”
“In Budget 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Heng listed three key enablers for our economy to emerge stronger, one of which is to develop our people and enabling Singaporeans to have good jobs and job opportunities. He also referred to SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package as a key pillar to enable Singaporeans to learn and thrive and to seize opportunities in the new growth areas. The Government will commit another $5.2 billion to fund this effort. With the package now expanded to support emerging stronger initiatives, can the Minister share the details as to how JGI can support the hiring of 200,000 locals this year and the 35,000 traineeships and training opportunities as mentioned in the Budget Statement. How would these hiring and training opportunities support as well as ride on the Emerging Stronger Together effort? Under the earlier phase of the JGI, 100,000 local jobseekers and 76,000 traineeships were placed. Some of these are short-term in nature. How can JGI and MOM agencies help these Singaporeans transit and access new opportunities, as envisaged in the Emerging Stronger Together plans? Re-skilling and the Promise of Re-employment Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Chairman, currently, WSG offers a Professional Conversion Programme, or PCP, that seeks to enable mid-career PMETs to undergo skills conversion into new occupations or sectors; as well as SkillsFuture credits for all Singaporeans to prepare themselves for potential career transitions. SkillsFuture and the PCP received a further boost under the Jobs Growth Incentive announced in August 2020 where the Government committed to co-pay a quarter – half for those aged over 40 – of the salaries.”
“Sir, in reply to my Parliamentary Question last week on the employment market situation, Manpower Minister shared that the overall employment in 2020 declined by 172,000, reflecting the significant impact of COVID-19 on the labour market. However, it is noteworthy that this sharp reduction in employment is mostly borne by foreign workers. In fact, non-resident employment fell sharply in 2020; contracted by 181,500 or 16% year-on-year decrease. This is more than the drop in total employment. On the other hand, resident employment, mostly locals, actually grew; albeit just a modest increase of 9,300, as the various Government support measures helped push local hiring. In a way, having a foreign workforce served as a buffer and helped cushion our resident workers during an economic downturn. In better times, the foreign workforce helps businesses grow so that companies can find the workers to do the jobs that Singaporeans would not want to do. But in a downturn, non-resident employment tends to bear the brunt as companies release their foreign workers and/or the foreign manpower restrictions start to tighten. This has been a similar experience in previous economic downturns, such as during the Global Financial Crisis. As a result, it has kept our unemployment rate low, even during recessionary years. The various schemes under the Jobs Growth Incentive, or JGI, have helped to stave off massive local unemployment and also created new job openings and placements. A novel scheme that I particularly like is the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, which was intended to tackle the anticipated fallout from the pandemic. With the support from the tripartite partners, 76,000 Singaporeans have been placed into various jobs and skills opportunities under the scheme.”
“Sir, the business of keeping Singaporeans informed and engaged has changed drastically. In addition to the traditional offline channels, online and digital channels have seen increasing utilisation in Government communications and the share of use are expected to increase exponentially in the years to come. At the same time, our lives have also become complex and fast changing, requiring new approaches and more effective ways of reaching out to Singaporeans. We are also to be mindful of the diverse needs among us and, hence, the need to maintain multiple strategies. Can I seek an update on the transformation of Government communications to groups with different needs?”
“Sir, the Government ended SingPost's monopoly in the basic mail services market in 2007, but IMDA continued to designate SingPost as a public postal licensee. SingPost is required to perform a set of universal service obligation as determined by IMDA. Can I ask how does the Government ensure that SingPost will continue to deliver good postal services and fulfil its obligations to serve the public well? How will the consumers' interests and the mail integrity and security be protected? The postal sector landscape has changed significantly in the recent years. Can I seek the Minister's update on the current landscape and what is MCI's plan to transform the postal sector to meet changing consumers' needs? Singapore Postal Sector”
“Sir, in the annual Budget of recent years, digitalisation is among the foremost priorities and items and have received significant budgetary allocation to drive this effort. I took a browse at the IMDA website and found that there is indeed a long list of schemes and support with the very specific purpose to help SMEs. COVID-19 has given this unexpected boost to the adoption of digitalisation by businesses as well as consumers, who are using it more than before. Can I seek an update on the progress so far? How far more do we have to go and what are the further support and assistance in store? 5G Deployment”
“Sir, I thank Minister Chan, Minister Tan See Leng, Minister of State Low Yen Ling and Minister of State Alvin Tan for responding to our cuts. I also want to thank the MTI team as well as the economy agencies for reaching out to our businesses during this very difficult period and helping those they are severely impacted by the crisis. We wish Minister Chan and the MTI team continued success as we position Singapore for the next mile of growth. So, with that, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $2,139,026,800 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $8,955,686,100 for Head V ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Sir, two clarifications for the Minister. Firstly, on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The United States was the original member of the partnership agreement but has since withdrawn under the previous administration. I just want to ask the Minister how does he see the prospect of the United States rejoining the agreement now that they have a new administration. My second clarification: the Minister spoke about the substance of our recovery. He mentioned that, quantitatively, we may have shown some growth year-on-year but, qualitatively, we have some way to go and may not be out of the woods yet. Can I ask the Minister how would the Government help companies not only to chase top-line growth but also to grow qualitatively or to transform qualitatively? Does it necessitate a different approach in the way we support companies and businesses, going forward?”
“Some of the risk-sharing arrangements with market providers of capital includes the Venture Debt Programme for high-growth enterprises, co-funding the transformation of mature enterprises under the Emerging Technology Programme or the Local Enterprises Funding Platform where the Government and Temasek Holdings will co-invest $500 million each. Can I ask for an update from the Minister as to how are we growing our local champions and how are we revving up the pace of transformation to achieve size and scale? Also, has COVID-19 set us back on our internationalisation momentum? Given the various structural shifts as described in the Budget Statement, how will Singapore operate in the new global and regional landscape and stay competitive and relevant? One particular structural shift is in the reconfigured global supply chain. How can Singapore companies seize these opportunities in the reordering and reorganisation of the global supply chain and be plugged into the critical parts of the global networks? Sir, our economic response to this crisis has to go beyond just counter-cyclical measures. We need to take bold steps to seize new opportunities, invest in new capabilities and be well positioned for the next bound of growth. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] 12.30 pm Business Hub of Asia”
“Other exciting and value-creating investments brought in last year include the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center, Siemens' Advance Manufacturing Transformation Center, Tata's Digital Acceleration Centre, and others. EBD was able to sell Singapore as an open, trusted and connected hub that comes with a skilled talent pool, well-endowed capital, and a vibrant and innovative enterprise eco-system. Together with our vibrant local enterprises and Singapore being a premiere financial centre, these new investments all add up to strengthening our position as a global-Asia node. We must build non-substitutable or sticky connectivity so as to maintain our competitive edge as a critical node. So, beside best-in-class physical connectivity, we also need to develop and enhance other centres-of-excellence such as digital connectivity, trade connectivity—even regulatory connectivity. Can I ask the Minister for an update as to how we are enhancing Singapore's connectivity to the world. Sir, while attracting FDIs and enhancing our position as a global-Asia node helps generate growth, the other important engine of growth is in the development of our enterprises. In almost every Budget, there will be focuses and sizeable allocations targeted at helping businesses to transform, to build capabilities and to innovate. In more recent Budgets, we have also seen increased support in areas such as digitalisation and in developing sustainability as a competitive advantage. We need to grow our local large enterprises (LLEs) into industry champions and also help promising medium-size companies grow to become LLEs. Catalysing a wide range of capital to help businesses transform and to scale is also one of the key enablers laid out in Budget 2021.”
“During the most turbulent period of the crisis, I know that the ESG and MTI teams have gone out of the way to tap on their global networks to secure food items and other essential supplies. These are real operations and I can imagine the responsibilities and pressure on the shoulders of the MTI and ESG officers during that period of time. This pandemic underscores the importance of resilience and diversification for our sources of essential supplies and the need for a robust stockpile policy. COVID-19 also reminded us that we will still need to maintain a small but substantial part of manufacturing capabilities locally, which can be quickly scaled up in times of need. These may well be low value-add production during peacetime but can suddenly become important critical resources in an unexpected crisis. Of course, all these resilience-related contingent provisions would add further costs to Government. It will also have structural implications to the overall economy and the cost of doing businesses here. I hope that MTI can monitor this closely and look at how we can holistically optimise the overall costs. Sir, the other economic agency that has risen up to the occasion is EDB. In 2020, despite being the year of the global pandemic, EDB was able to attract investment commitments of $17.2 billion, which, when these projects are fully implemented, will create 19,000 new jobs. This is against a backdrop of falling global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. A case in point is Singapore's continued ability to attract foreign tech giants to set up here in 2020—such as the likes of ByteDance, Amazon, Twitter, Zoom, Tencent, among others.”
“Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head V of the Estimates be reduced by $100". Our economic agencies have risen up to the occasion during this pandemic crisis. Besides the daunting healthcare challenges, we were also faced with multiple stresses on the economic front and also to ensure that supplies continue to flow into Singapore, especially essential items and necessities. For a small country with limited local resources, it is no small feat that we can continue to secure the adequate supplies needed, especially during the intense months when borders were closed and many countries restricted exports. The economy went into a nose dive with the steepest contraction recorded in the second quarter of 2020 at -12.6% and an overall contraction of -5.4% for the whole of 2020. Armed with strong fiscal support and moratorium measures, the economic agencies went into overdrive mode to swiftly get these measures out to the businesses. It was timely enough to save many businesses and jobs and, importantly, prevent economic scarring. Sir, here, I would like to commend the great work by the officers from Enterprise Singapore (ESG)—much of what they have done may not be visible to the public. I remember sending many emails to them, appeals and requests for assistance from our residents who were deeply impacted by the crisis. The ESG officers were always sympathetic and helpful to each of these requests and would duly close the loop with the residents and businesses with support, help and advice. I would like to mention a few names, actually, of some of the ESG officers who have helped me: Joyce Khoo, Ms Ong Wee Yang, Lynette Liu, Johnny Teo, to name a few, and of course, the hardworking Assistant CE, Ms Chew Mok Lee, among others.”
“What opportunities are there for Singaporean businesses in China, especially at the provincial and at the city levels? Consular Assistance and Foreign Policy”
“Mr Chairman, Singaporean businesses have internationalised well in the China market and with many great success stories. This is to a large extent due to the substantive and multi-faceted relations that the two countries have built and enjoyed over the decades. Economic ties between the two countries are robust and continually being improved upon with regular enhancements to bilateral free trade agreements and new cooperation initiatives. The series of government-to-government projects like the latest China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative demonstrate strong state-level relations and have helped add further impetus to the economic relations at both the strategic and the business levels. For Singaporean businesses, the annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meetings, co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Heng and China's Vice Premier Han Zheng, are often highly anticipated events where businesses look out for announcements in new areas of cooperation or for better mutual accesses to each other's markets. The recent conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would hopefully further invigorate Singapore-China trade. China is a massive and diverse market, with each region and province offering varying business opportunities and investment potential. It is not possible for Singaporean businesses to be in every part of China. It makes sense for Singaporean businesses to operate, where possible, in areas where we have consular and economic agencies' support. Can I ask the Minister how would MFA shape Singapore-China relations in the new global landscape and what would be the new focuses in the area of economic, trade and investment relations?”
“Thank you, Sir. In the last 12 months, we have quite a series of Budgets. And I am sure behind each of these extensive series of well-structured and thoughtful Budget measures, there were a lot of hard work put in by the officers, the brain-crunching, the deliberations. Sir, I want to thank the MOF team for the great work and tenacity, I am sure the long hours as well, over Chinese New Year, over Valentine's Day. I think no amount of Auntie Mei Jok's porridge can make up for it. I want to also thank Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister Indranee for responding to our cuts; and, finally, to the Deputy Prime Minister, really thank him for the solid and steady steer of the Government's fiscal response during these very difficult circumstances, challenging circumstances we are in, and getting us into the safe zone. I certainly share the Deputy Prime Minister's wish and hope that this FY will be a one-Budget FY, and that we will soon get back to a balanced Budget in the next few years. With that, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment. [(proc text) Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $3,869,833,800 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates. (proc text)] [(proc text) The sum of $139,715,100 for Head M ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates. (proc text)]”
“Thank you, Sir. Last year, we had an extraordinary year. As we battled the COVID-19 crisis and the public sector had to respond almost on the move and to make time critical decisions, and probably with no SOP manual to reference from, whether it is to set up the massive community isolation facilities or with the under urgency of time for the foreign workers. These are all unprecedented things that the public sector did last year. So, can I ask the Minister. We know that MOF does have very strict procurement policies and processes. I read a lot of this in the AGO reports where the lapses were picked up and so on. So, in the situation such as this, with the urgency and the exigencies, needs, how has our procurement process been able to allow for such situations to be managed? And then, whether there is the provision of waivers and so on for such acts?”
“In rendering support and relief to our businesses, families and workers, it would require the Government and agencies to work with decisiveness, speed and with empowerment. Assistance and relief support need to be timely and thoughtful to be meaningful, and to serve its purpose. How has MOF exercised agility and flexibility to flow assistance to businesses and citizens more expeditiously at the outset of the crisis and during the circuit breaker? IRAS, ACRA and Customs are key interfacing agencies for businesses and citizens. From time to time, I do receive feedback and appeal requests from my constituents to expedite approvals and to seek waivers from these agencies that come under MOF. How is MOF working together with the businesses to develop innovative solutions and enhance productivity? How has MOF increased partnership and co-creation with the community in delivering solutions? Sir, over the last one year, we have experienced unprecedented change in our way of life. Working from home and flexi-work arrangements become suddenly workable. Digital transactions, QR code, Zoom meeting, among others, is now the way to go for businesses and for individuals. It has implications in Public Service and would require enhancements as to how public sector can serve and deliver services. How is the public sector gearing up for greater adoption of digitalisation among our businesses and society? In the case of MOF, what has the Ministry done to build capabilities in areas such as finance, procurement, grants management, shared services and internal audit? [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Fiscal Accountability”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head M of the Estimates be reduced by $100". As the key Ministry responsible for managing fiscal policies and financial sustainability, MOF plays a pivotal role to ensure prudent and efficient allocation of resources across the whole-of-Government. During this period where our fiscal situation is a lot more constrained and yet our spending needs continue to rise sharply, we need to be even more judicious in managing how we spend and whether we achieve the intended outcomes. The Government is, of course, a massive entity and it may not always be possible to have full visibility as to whether we achieve value-for-money in what we spend. At the same time, we must be mindful to strike a balance between the speed of responses versus ensuring governance and checks. Can I ask the Minister how does MOF ensure effective allocation and productive use of resources so that we maintain fiscal accountability and sustainability, even as we are faced with the increasingly complex challenges that cut across Ministry lines, for example, cybersecurity, or even the setting up of our community isolation facilities? These are multi-agency tasks. [Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair] How are we ensuring that the Government spends prudently and appropriately on big-ticket items such as our infrastructure where we are expecting more spending to come? What are MOF’s efforts to drive accountability for outcomes of spending, especially for significant spending in response to the COVID-19 crisis? Sir, Singaporeans must be at the heart of what we do, especially during an extraordinary crisis of this scale.”
“Otherwise, it will be terrible. So, let us keep thinking long term, continue to build new frontiers of growth opportunities, continue to strengthen our position of strength and to emerge stronger together from this crisis. Sir, I support the Budget.”
“Under the Package, each adult Singaporean will receive an average of $700 to $1,600 in cash rebates over five years. For example, a family of four with a gross household income of about $6,000 will receive nearly $7,000 in cash rebates. Hence, most households will receive rebates to offset the impact of a GST hike over the next five years. Lower income households will receive more rebates to offset the additional GST cost over the next 10 years. (In English): Sir, in conclusion, the last one year has been most challenging times in our fiscal management. We set new precedents in many areas: the largest budget deficit in our history, the largest draw on our reserves for two consecutive years and, of course, five Budgets and two Ministerial Statements all in one year to fight COVID-19. This Budget also sets in place the framework to fund our long-term infrastructure with long-term borrowings to avoid situations of extremely large outlays in each Budget year and to achieve better inter-generation equity. This is a shift from our past approaches where we tend to cash fund all our expenditure with current budget allocations or using accumulated surpluses. We have to move with times in the way we manage our Government finances, just like how we have evolved the NIRC framework about a decade ago. But it is important to remain steadfast to the values of prudence and discipline, and to ensure that we operate on a balanced budget basis and also to jealously safeguard our reserves so as to continue growing it for our future generations; just like how the past generations have saved it for us. Sir, we are fortunate to be able to confront and tackle this "crisis of a generation" in a position of strength. It is always a good position to be there, to be in a position of strength.”
“For example, those living in 1- to 3-room HDB flats will receive offsets worth about 10 years of increases. Sir, in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] What I am most concerned about in this Budget is whether the GST hike would affect the cost of living of the lower and middle income Singaporeans and the elderly. In the past few years, Government spending has indeed been growing rapidly especially in the area of healthcare. Ten years ago, healthcare spending was $2.2 billion, now it has increased more than five times to $12 billion and will continue to rise. On one hand, we need to constantly plan and provide more healthcare amenities. On the other hand, we need to ensure that there are sufficient, sustainable and diversified tax revenue to cope with these rising cost. We need to balance this expenditure and income, so that Singaporeans, especially older Singaporeans, will have a greater peace of mind and a sense of reassurance in healthcare. This is what a responsible Government should do, and we do not want the Government to cut spending on healthcare and social welfare because of fiscal imbalances. Personally, I still hope that the Government will continue to build more clinics, hospitals and nursing homes. I also hope that the Government will give Singaporeans more subsidies in healthcare, housing, education and transport, all of which require financial resources. All these expenses and subsidies need to have financial resources. Deputy Prime Minister also reiterated that once the GST is raised, the Government will use the $6 billion Assurance Package set aside to help lower and middle income families to offset or mitigate the impact.”
“Well, similarly, Members of Parliament would not like to debate such issues as well. We all like to talk about how much we can spend, where we can spend. We have debated intensely the justifications during the last three Annual Budget Statement debates. I agreed with the Government’s fiscal principle that recurrent expenditure should be funded by recurrent revenue. This is sound, prudent and sustainable. And, in particular, in the healthcare spending, we must ensure that it is adequately and sustainably funded to give Singaporeans the peace of mind that their long-term healthcare needs will be well taken care of and with certainty. Last year, I asked the Deputy Prime Minister as to who pays the biggest share of the GST based on past collections. He shared that foreigners residing in Singapore, tourists and the top 20% of resident households account for 60% of the net GST borne by all households and individuals. This is significant. We do want to collect more taxes from the top 20% households and the foreigners. The unique critical feature of our GST system is that it comes stapled with a series of permanent GST offsets to mitigate the impact to our low- and middle income households. As a result, the top income groups and foreigners contribute the main bulk of the GST while the low- to middle income group pay no or lower GST on a net basis. In this Budget, Deputy Prime Minister reiterated the Government's assurance that should GST be raised, the $6 billion Assurance Package, which have already been set aside in the GSTV Fund, will kick in and help cushion the impact for the low- and middle-income households. The majority of households will receive offsets to cover at least five years’ worth of increases, while the lower income Singaporeans will receive even much more.”
“Deputy Prime Minister Heng mentioned in his speech that he has briefed the President on the potential draw in the next few years, if we are unable to generate sufficient revenue to pay for these investments. Sir, while we should keep that option open, we could also consider other alternatives. We have already drawn on our reserves in the last two Financial Years in a row and we should only consider this as a last resort. Reserves are our emergency backstop and we need to hold or grow the base amount to ensure a growing, if not a steady, NIRC. Each time when we draw on our past reserves, it also means divesting a part of our financial investments and, hence, we will lose out on the returns from these investments over the long term. If the fiscal condition remains tight in this term of Government, and these are indeed time critical and worthy investments for the future, I submit that we can justify funding this emerging stronger-related investments through a special purpose borrowing. This could be a once-off bond issuance earmarked to specifically fund these economic investments. That way, we also take advantage of our very strong balance sheet and our high credit ratings where we can enjoy borrowing at zero credit cost as well as to take advantage of the low long-term interest rates. As a prudent safeguard, we should also still set strict caps on such borrowings and it should be still subjected to the approval and the consent of the President and to Parliament's scrutiny. Sir, finally, I want to talk about the more difficult part of the Budget, which is the increase of the GST; likely to be between 2022 and 2025. The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned that no finance minister likes to talk about tax increases.”
“In all, the Government will allocate $24 billion to invest in these three strategic enablers over the next three years. I will speak further on these enablers during the COS debate for MOF, MTI and MOM. But just to state, these are exciting developments that will give our economy that pivotal lift and we should be among the early movers. But for now, for this speech, I would focus on the funding for these $24 billion investments to emerge stronger. The Deputy Prime Minister indicated in his speech that he expects the economy to recover, and the revenue projected will be able to support these expenditures for the investments. However, he also caveats that this is subject to the global health situation and economic outlook. And to use the Deputy Prime Minister’s words, there is still a "wide cone of uncertainty". There is also the potential downside risk to our revenues with regard to the on-going discussion to revise international tax rules under the Base Erosion Profit Shifting or BEPS 2.0 project. Notwithstanding, the Deputy Prime Minister said that even if the economic and fiscal conditions turn out to be worse than expected, we must still press on to invest in these areas and to ride on the opportunities presented by these structural changes. I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that we must move now. Delaying or deferring these investments until our finances are back in good shape is an option but that will mean passing on the opportunities to provide an early boost to our capabilities and to stay ahead of the curve, while other economies are still grappling and coping with the crisis. The question then is should we draw on past reserves to support these additional spending?”
“The $90 billion borrowing cap is a necessary safeguard in addition to the scrutiny from the President's office and Parliament. Also, having a wider variety of high-quality assets like SINGA and green bonds also helps develop our capital markets and facilitate better liquidity management among our financial institutions. Sir, the other exciting area in Budget 2021 is the $24 billion action plan to invest strategically for new growth and to emerge stronger. Even as we tackle the immediate challenges, we must not lose sight of our medium to longer term economic imperatives. COVID-19, while it has caused havoc to the global economy and our lives, has also triggered structural shifts on many fronts. Coupled with the accelerated technological changes and geopolitical shifts, the current forces at play actually open up interesting opportunities for Singapore. The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted a few areas, such as the how we can plug ourselves into the critical parts of the reconfigured global supply chain network – an interesting area to be in – rapid digitalisations where we can build new frontiers in digital connectivity or making available of capital tools to co-fund transformation and help our companies transform and grow, among others. Singapore needs to quickly adapt to the changed world and to be in the position to seize these opportunities and to build new competitive edges, and to do it among the early phrases of these new structural shifts. As the Deputy Prime Minister has elaborated, we need to decisively build three enablers: firstly, a vibrant business eco-system; secondly, make available a wide range of capital sources; and, thirdly, to develop our own future-ready human capital and talents.”
“Sir, I support the draw on the reserves to fund the COVID-19 Resilience Package, given the still grim circumstances where COVID-19 related expenditures continue to be very high and necessary; while revenues may take some while to recover and to return. Sir, besides the on-going preoccupation with the pandemic, Budget 2021 steered our focus definitively to the future and to our longer term challenges. As the Deputy Prime Minister said, we must never stop thinking of the future. This is indeed the hallmark of our nation's success and what makes us an exceptional nation. We have ambitious plans to continually expand and strengthen our overall infrastructure and to build a sustainable home for all; under the Singapore Green Plan 2030. In charting our next future trajectory, we not only talk about the "whats" but the "hows" as well, including critically, how we can fund those investments at a time where our fiscal space is at the most constrained period. The Deputy Prime Minister announced the Government's decision to issue infrastructural bonds, the SINGA Bonds, to fund lumpy capital expenditure items such as rail lines and infrastructures to protect against rising sea levels and others. If these items are funded under the Annual Budget cycles, which is on a cash flow basis, it will put significant strains on our other Budget to other allocations. As these long-term infrastructures benefit current and future generations of Singaporeans, it is more equitable to distribute these fiscal responsibilities across generations, by way of a longer term financing structure. So, I support to partly fund these massive outlays through long-term borrowings via the SINGA Bonds; and especially during this current low interest rates environment.”
“But I can say that the strong and decisive interventions by the Government have made a significant difference in saving lives and livelihoods during this "crisis of a generation". Into 2021, the battle against the onslaught of COVID-19 continues on both the healthcare and non-healthcare fronts; and continues to require considerable amounts of financial resources to safeguard Singaporeans, families and businesses. Among the key highlights for Budget 2021 are the $11 billion COVID-19 Resilience Package and the $900 million Household Support Package, among others. These are necessary measures to tackle the on-going crisis and to strengthen social safety nets. Overall, Budget 2021 remains highly expansionary with total expenditures projected to grow by 8.8% from FY2020, which is a high-spending year, and 35% above pre-COVID-19 FY2019 spending level. Among the big-ticket items continue to be the COVID-19 related costs such as vaccination which amounts to $1 billion; testing, clinical management and tracing, which is likely to cost another $3.1 billion. Compared to the broad-based approach in last year's Budget, in this year's Budget we heard a lot more words like "targeted" and "differentiated". And with many businesses resuming either most or all of their activities, it is timely and prudent to start tapering down the assistances so as to manage down the overall costs of the support packages. However, the overall expenditure remains very high and notably higher than the revenue projected for the year; and hence, we would still have to count on our past reserves to fund the gap, albeit a much smaller amount this time.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, in these troubling times, Budget Statement speeches are really a source of reassurance. Deputy Prime Minister Heng mentioned last year that he addressed the House nine times over five Budgets and two Ministerial Statements. Well, we certainly needed that many doses of reassurances, support and interventions last year. Otherwise, the fall-out and impact from the pandemic would have been even more devastating for our businesses and for Singaporeans. We have put to good use the war chest and firepower that we have built up over the decades, and by any measures, we have achieved the intended outcomes. Interim assessment by MOF and MAS determined that the relief measures from the five Budgets have helped avert a deeper economic recession. The economy contracted by 5.4% in 2020, instead of contracting an estimated 12.4% without the Government's support. The hefty $22.6 billion of JSS coupled with the $17 billion worth of financing schemes helped keep many businesses afloat and prevented massive job losses. Under the JGI, 110,000 jobseekers were hired and another 76,000 Singaporeans were placed under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Households were also supported with various packages such as CSP, SIRS, CSG and TRF. These measures help mitigate the inequality during this difficult year. On average, each household received $2,000 while the lower income households received up to $2,800. On the public healthcare front, a total of $13.8 billion was committed to protect and save lives. Singaporeans felt safe and our fatality rate from COVID-19 is still among the lowest in the world at 29. Many schemes are still on-going and their effects are still working through the system and economy.”
“Because these 30-year-old flats are going to be around for another 30 years, the next 30-year life cycle. We need to help fix those problems so that they do not face this problem the next 30 years. Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Certainly, we will look at how we can improve rectifying; and also help other organisations, even the contractors. We are looking at the building industry, how we can use research and technology to repair and to produce materials and products which are long-lasting and able to rectify such seepages and other kind of defects. So, this is something that we will take note of. As the cases that the Member has raised may be specific to certain types of construction method, I will take it back and see how we can address the situation together.”
“Thank you, Sir. Sir, the Minister of State mentioned about not having data other than from HDB sources. Just to let him know that I have received more than hundred feedback over the last two, three months. And some very serious cases where water flows out like a tap from the wall. So, here is the frustrating situation. The Town Council contractors will always be called upon to do the repair and they will use a trial-and-error method because they cannot really identify where the source of the seepage is. And it may not be fixed in one day, they will come another day; and sometimes, it takes multiple sessions to get it done. It causes a lot of frustrations to residents and also the resources of the contractors as well. Can I ask and appeal to MND and HDB to intervene in this situation because this is really a basic liveability issue, especially first thing for those that are perennial cases, where HDB should step in? Because some of these are due to certain batches of HDB flats that were built using a particular technique, prefabrication techniques and so on. Therefore, the water seepage has been there for many years. I hope the HDB can come in for those cases to help identify the root cause of the problem, use technology like the Minister of State mentioned, use the research that HDB has. It does help to assist the contractors to tackle the problem as well. This is actually for the good of construction productivity because the contractors will then know how to tackle this problem as well. I hope that HDB sees some ownership in this problem as well. Secondly, can I also request when the flats go through the Home Improvement Programme, can HDB also incorporate the repair of the seepages and rectifications as part of the suite of offering?”
“Thank you, Sir. While I appreciate the efforts by NEA over the years, there are obviously no visible improvements in the estate that we can see and have been monitoring. Items continue to be thrown out of windows, such as cigarette butts, and it is frequently still happening. Many Members have raised this in this House for many years. So, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State whether this is a case where the deterrent effect is not working and the litterbugs think they can get away with it. If that is the case, then are surveillance and enforcement working to achieve that? Secondly, I would like to ask whether NEA is seeing this littering problem as a steady state problem or is NEA committed to improving the situation to move the needle and using and harnessing technologies and a community effort to reduce high-rise littering?”
“Would the Government also consider newer variations of issuances, such infrastructure bonds, green bonds or social bonds, for special purpose funding? My final question relates to the negative interest rates that we have seen around the world. Many developed economies and their government securities are currently experiencing interest rates in negative territory. I would like to ask the Minister what would be the implications for Singapore if our Government Securities also yield negative interest rates and what would be the impact on savings in Singapore?”
“It also enables banks and institutional players to use the Government Securities as collaterals to manage their balance sheets as well as facilitate the development and growth of repurchase agreements and derivative products. Notwithstanding, it is also important to periodically review and restate our policy position on the purpose and the use of Government Securities – whether it still remains relevant in the evolving landscape. So, I have a few questions for the Minister. Firstly, can I ask the Minister as to how the Government decides when to issue the securities, what amount and which tenure? We know that this issuance and the funds raised are unrelated to the country's fiscal position. So, what are the basis and the considerations for lifting the debt issuance ceilings? Why are debt issuances by Government Statutory Boards not covered under the overall borrowing limits in this Act? Secondly, as the proceeds from these issuances would need to be invested, how would the Government balance between investment risks versus taking advantage of the low interest cost due our AAA sovereign rating to issue more debt? Also, given the flushed liquidity situation and increasingly more investible dollars chasing for limited quality investments, would our investment agencies like GIC and Temasek be able to find investment opportunities with acceptable risk-return trade-offs? Thirdly, given our challenging fiscal position in the years ahead and that the Government is contemplating using borrowings to fund very large and long-term infrastructure projects, would the Government be considering using a certain portion of the SGS to finance such projects? I think it is important to ascertain that again.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, first and foremost, I wish to declare my interest that I work in a financial institution which does trade and transact in securities, including Government Securities. Madam, unlike many countries around the world, Government Securities issued by the Singapore Government cannot be used to fund Budget spending. Under the Government Securities Act, these borrowings can only be used for investments and the proceeds are safeguarded in the Government Securities Fund. This is to ensure that the government of the day operate on a balanced budget basis, funding its expenditures with revenues received during the term of Government, which would also include the Net Investment Returns. This instills discipline and fiscal prudence. If the current Government runs into an end-of-term deficit, it has to either cut spending, increase revenue by raising taxes or seek consent from the President to draw on past reserves. Why then does the Government need to issue Government Securities and Treasury Bills, other than the Special SGS and Saving Bonds? As I can hear from the Second Minister for Finance, the primary purpose is to help develop the domestic debt capital markets where, among the necessary ingredients, is to have a domestic risk-free Singapore dollar bond yield curve so that the other institutional and corporate debt issuers can benchmark upon to price their cost of borrowings. Having a tradable and liquid bond market – both SGS and Treasury Bills – is also key to strengthening Singapore's position as a premier financial centre as it draws in institutional investors and other eco-system players into the Singapore markets.”
“Sir, the Workfare Income Supplement scheme is indeed a commendable scheme. It uplifted the low-wage workers' income and yet not compromising on the employability. A big credit to the Government for this scheme. I just want to focus on the 32,000 or now, the Minister of State mentioned, it is 30,000 low-wage workers that earn $1,300 and below per month. Can I find out from the Minister of State, what is the profile of the 32,000 or 30,000 low-wage workers and more importantly, what is the Government doing to support this group of workers here?”
“Sir, MediShield Life is a national scheme administered by CPF. I suppose the most obvious reason is because if we offer this to the private sector, there will be no takers, given the terms where, amongst others, it covers seniors, those with pre-existing conditions and also at a premium that is affordable to the lower income groups. So, I wanted to ask the Senior Minister of State whether he has the data to give us a sense of how are the MediShield premiums compared to the levels of other countries with similarly-run national schemes; whether are we priced at the level that is affordable to our lower income groups?”
“I am glad that he has also raised the bar by highlighting that we are not going for growth just for growth's sake but actually focusing on inclusive and resilient growth. What it means is that the economic growth that we pursue must bring about opportunities for fellow Singaporeans, including continued wage progression and supporting the vulnerable. The Deputy Prime Minister also mentioned how we achieved resilience through a diversified economic structure, where no one industry accounts for more than 20% of our GDP. Here, I would like to suggest that another area of resilience that we should look into is the sources of our foreign labour, especially in the low-wage sector. How we can we reduce this dependence and reliance over the medium to long term? Sir, the underpinning fundamentals and values that made us a vibrant, strong and sustainable economy have not change. The Government still has to do what is right and what is in the long-term good for the country and for Singaporeans. As a small and open island state, we have to remain open and competitive. Fostering social harmony continues to be an important nation-building imperative and a necessary condition for sustained growth. We continue to need a capable political leadership and stability to steer us through the storm that will come time and again, and to chart an exciting future ahead. Sir, this crisis has hurt us as a country. But we should also capitalise on this crisis to write another exceptional chapter of the Singapore story. Sir, I support the Third Supplementary Estimates.”
“We do not want austerity budgets as it will actually aggravate the situation; both economically and socially. We cannot keep tapping on our reserves in an unlimited way; as that will undermine our long-term viability; including possibly weakening our international credit ratings and weakening our Singapore dollar. Hence, the sound and sustainable path ahead is really to grow the economy. We grow our economy; so that we could, firstly, generate the revenue to pay for the expenditures and, secondly, to create good jobs for Singaporeans. Without new economic growth, not only are our well-being at risk, our survival as a Nation is at stake. I am heartened that our economic Ministries and agencies are going all out to drive new growth and attract new investments; even as we battle the pandemic crisis. We are pressing on with economic transformation, developing capabilities in our companies to digitalise, innovate, internationalise and raise productivity; sector by sector, thanks to the stewardship by the Deputy Prime Minister. MTI and EDB continued to draw in quality investments in recent months like the new Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre, Siemens Advance Manufacturing Competence Centre, Tata Consultancy’s Digital Acceleration Centre and others. This crisis actually presents an opportunity for us to seize new growth opportunities if we can quickly respond to the new realities and develop new competitive edges. The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned in his speech about the works by the Emerging Stronger Task Force, the various progress made through the Alliances for Action and remaking Singapore as a global-Asia node by enhancing both physical and digital connectivity.”