SEE:MAS to continue accommodative monetary policy in 2021: Fitch Solutions
Such a targeted scheme will cover the wage bills of some 22% of Singapore’s workforce, estimate Chua and Lee. They predict that the scheme, if extended for nine months, could cost around $2 billion. For comparison, the duo estimate that the JSS – which is slated to run between April 2020 till March, has cost some $30 billion. As part of this, the government has been co-paying the wage bills of 1.9 million Singaporeans working across 140,000 companies. Meanwhile, Chua and Lee expect the upcoming Budget to support a “smooth recovery” while preparing for a “post-pandemic normal”. The way they see it, the focus will be on: creating jobs, reskilling the workforce, supporting digital transformation and home-based education, developing agri-tech and enhancing food security. Chua and Lee also expect public construction to pick up with infrastructure projects such as the Cross Island MRT Line, Downtown Line extension to Sungei Kadut and the recently-announced JB-Singapore Rapid Transit System line. Collectively, these measures are slated to help Singapore come out of its worst recession in history. Chua and Lee have penciled a GDP growth of 4.5% for the republic this year, in line with the 4% to 6% growth range forecast by the government.
SEE:Singapore's consumer price index declines across all household groups in 2H2020
Lower fiscal deficit