Government working on 2nd stimulus package in face of Covid-19: Heng Swee Keat

SINCE about 10 days ago, the Singapore government has started working on the need for a second stimulus package in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Wednesday, at a roundtable held by The Business Times and The Straits Times.

Just on Tuesday, he had a discussion with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the additional measures needed, Mr Heng added.

He was speaking at the ST-BT Budget Roundtable 2020, of which OCBC Bank is the presenting sponsor.

In the few weeks since his Budget speech, the global economy and the novel coronavirus outbreak have both taken a turn for the worse, he noted.

While the second package will mainly offer aid for businesses affected by the virus outbreak - akin to the original S$4 billion Stabilisation and Support Package in the Budget - there will also be elements relating to the broader need to transform and grow, he added.

The priority is supporting workers, with another major aim of helping small and medium-sized enterprises take the downtime to strengthen their capabilities while tiding over this period.

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The government is looking at how it can provide some support to self-employed workers as well, such as to protect them during downturns, and how the workers can prepare themselves for the upturn through training and other moves.

And even as efforts focus on preserving jobs, the second package will include help for workers who are retrenched.

Asked by other panellists if the additional help would be for specific affected sectors, Mr Heng replied: "We'll take both a targeted and a broad-based approach."

Furthermore, the economy is very inter-linked - if workers can keep their jobs, then they will continue to consume, which would benefit related sectors, he added. Even government measures such as SG Clean, to improve public hygiene, can boost consumer confidence and thus spending.