Coronavirus: what Singapore’s US$65 billion in pandemic stimulus will be spent on

The city state on Tuesday unveiled its fourth set of financial measures this year for businesses and households hit by the coronavirus pandemic

A sum equalling one-fifth of GDP has now been committed to economic stimulus, with the government drawing down S$52 billion from fiscal reserves

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A general view of Singapore’s financial district on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:28pm, 26 May 2020Updated: 7:28pm, 26 May 2020

Singapore unveiled a new S$33 billion (US$23.25 billion) stimulus package on Tuesday with a specific focus on saving jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This is its fourth set of financial measures this year for businesses and households whose livelihoods have been affected by border closures globally and a partial lockdown in the city state.

It means the government’s total fiscal injection will be a staggering S$92.9 billion – almost one-fifth of the country’s S$500 billion economy. Only Germany and Japan are ahead of Singapore when it comes to pandemic stimulus packages as a percentage of GDP, at 31.6 per cent and 19.6 per cent, respectively.

The government has so far drawn down S$52 billion from Singapore’s fiscal reserves, estimated to be worth well over S$1 trillion, to fund the packages.

Here’s where the funds are going:

February 18: ‘Unity Budget’ S$6.4 billion

S$800 million health care package
S$4 billion for businesses and workers, including a Job Support Scheme to offset 8 per cent of the first S$3,600 of workers’ monthly wages until?
S$1.6 billion for households to tide them over, including a cash payout to adult Singaporeans ranging from S$100 to S$300
Cabinet ministers as well as political office holders pledged to take a one-month wage reduction