An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
SINGAPORE: The Republic's Budget for Financial Year 2015 "shows the strength of the government’s institutional and governance effectiveness", and would keep Singapore's credit strong despite its ageing population, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P) said in a media release on Tuesday (Feb 24).
A day after the Budget was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the ratings agency issued a top AAA unsolicited rating on Singapore. The unsolicited rating should not be interpreted as a change to the country's Credit Rating or Rating, said S&P.
While the Government forecast a projected Budget deficit of S$6.7 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2016, S&P said it estimated that "the general government account will remain in surplus over the fiscal years ending March 2015 and March 2016", after accounting for revenue not reported as part of the Budget.
S&P noted that investments in the S$68.2 billion budget - including efforts to boost innovation, skills training, as well as funding to meet the needs of Singapore's ageing population - "significantly outsized" the S$705 million transferred to households. “These measures should help maintain Singapore's credit strengths even as the population ages at one of the fastest rates in Asia."
Added S&P credit analyst Yee Farn Phua: "The Singapore budget focuses on longer-term fiscal challenges even as it addresses the immediate capacity constraints in transport and health services, areas that will see significant increases in spending."
- CNA/ct
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24-02-2015, 09:30 PM
S&P gives PAP top AAA rating following Budget 2015 announcement
