Singapore to adopt expansionary budget for 2009

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-09 14:03

SINGAPORE -- Singapore's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam Sunday said the world will not come out of the current economic decline soon and the city-state is planning a expansionary Budget of 2009 to survive its economy.

Speaking at a community event Sunday morning, Shanmugaratnam said, "it would be prudent to assume that the world will not come out of this encomic decline soon. Even if the Group Seven (G7) economies come out of recession after 2009, they are likely to see a weak recovery, not a firm rebound."

So the economic outlook for Singapore which has entered economic recession will be shaped by this as the city-state remains closely linked to those of the G7 economies, he added.

But he believes Singapore will "emerge stronger and fitter from this crisis, and better prepared for the eventual upturn in the global economy."

One of the approaches to dealing with the crisis is the coming Budget, due to be announced in Parliament in February next year.

The finance minister noted it will be guided by three basic considerations: First, it will aim primarily at supporting economic growth and jobs; Second, the government's key emphasis must be to help businesses remain strong and competitive; Third, the government should continue to build up strengths for the future and avoid taking the short view.

He said the government will keep up its expanded investments in education, skills upgrading and retraining for workers, research and development (R&D) and business innovations and infrastructure.

He stressed the country's fundamental approach to helping Singaporeans should not change.

"The best way we can help is not through unconditional handouts, but by helping Singaporeans stay employed, and supporting everyone to get retrained and upgraded," he said.