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Government funds will be increasingly stretched.
It might not happen this year or in the next half-decade, but Singapore will eventually have no choice but raise its goods and services tax (GST) to meet increased social spending.
A report by PwC highlighted that Singapore needs increased tax revenue in the long run as income tax receipts fall in tandem with the ageing population.
Singapore needs to narrow its huge current account surplus further and the International Monetary Fund supports the government's plans to raise public spending on infrastructure and social services, the IMF said on Thursday.
"Singapore's external position appears to be stronger than warranted by fundamentals, suggesting the importance of further efforts to narrow the current account surplus over the medium term," the IMF said on Thursday in its annual review of economic developments and policies in the wealthy Southeast Asian city-state.
Singapore's central bank warned that rising global interest rates could weigh on household and corporate debt and pose risks for banks in the city-state.
A 3 percent increase in mortgage rates would boost the share of overly indebted households to as much as 15 percent from 10 percent now, the Monetary Authority of Singapore MAS said in its annual financial stability review today. Banks also need to guard against credit quality deterioration as rates increase after Singaporean companies’ median debt-to-equity ratio rose to 39 percent at the end of June, the authority said.
Change is likely to result in shift to jobs in services sector: JP Morgan exec
THE local economy is entering challenging times as it transits to one led by productivity and it's also a fallacy to think that the economy will benefit as much as previously from stronger growth of the developed markets.
People tend to compare Singapore with global cities but it actually has a developing market structure, only the cost of living is comparable to places such as New York and Hong Kong, said James Sullivan, JP Morgan head of Asean/Singapore equity research.
"All of us who live here know it is very expensive," said Mr Sullivan yesterday in a Singapore equities outlook presentation.
Not only is Singapore among the costliest cities in the world, its ranking continues to move higher.
SINGAPORE: Singapore has upgraded its economic growth forecast for the year, boosted by growth in the services and manufacturing sectors.
The economy is now expected to grow between 3.5 and 4 per cent, up from an earlier forecast of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.
Singapore's economic growth picked up pace between July and September.
Third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 5.8 per cent on-year. This is compared to the 4.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter, and higher than advance estimates of a 5.1 per cent growth.
