Economics
Singapore Adds S$5.1 Billion to Stimulus, Boosts Handouts
- Total stimulus is now almost S$60 billion, or 12% of GDP
- Support measures come as partial lockdown set to begin Tuesday
People sit on benches marked for safe distancing at a shopping mall in Singapore.
Photographer: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images
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Singapore increased its cash payout to individuals and announced additional steps to save jobs as the city-state prepares to go into a partial lockdown to contain a spike in coronavirus cases.
The third stimulus package in two months will cost S$5.1 billion ($3.6 billion), taking the nation’s total virus relief to almost S$60 billion, or 12% of gross domestic product, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said Monday in Parliament. The government will seek to draw an extra S$4 billion from past reserves, and will push up its budget deficit in the current fiscal year to 8.9% of GDP, he said.