Singapore braces for economic impact from spread of Wuhan virus

Singapore

THE Singapore economy will likely be hit by the spread of the Wuhan virus, especially the tourism-related sectors, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Monday morning.

"We certainly expect there to be an impact on our economy, business and consumer confidence this year, especially as the situation is expected to persist for some time. Of immediate concern would be the tourism-related sectors - this includes our travel agents, hospitality industry, F&B, retail and air transport," he said.

Mr Chan was speaking at a press conference by the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on the Wuhan Coronavirus. The taskforce is co-chaired by Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong and Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, with other ministers, including Mr Chan, as members.

MTI is now working with the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and various trade associations to develop support measures to "mitigate the fallout and support the workers affected to preserve their livelihoods", Mr Chan said.

"As with the previous episodes like SARS, our measures to help our businesses and enterprises can include reducing the business costs, alleviating their cash flows and the retention of their workers," he said in reference to the 2003 outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus.

When asked if this year's Budget will include such support measures, Mr Wong declined to "pre-empt" the contents of the Budget, but said that the government will monitor sectors that "feel a greater impact when the travel restrictions start to bite".

He added: "(If) need be, we will certainly respond, be it in the Budget or as an off-Budget package. We will make sure we have resources available to support our businesses, vulnerable groups as well as the economy."

Some early signs of pain are surfacing. Samson Tan, chairman of the inbound committee at the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas), told BT that tour groups from China and even other countries like Indonesia are cancelling their Singapore tour packages, given fears over the Wuhan virus.

"There's uncertainty; people don't know what's going to happen next. We need about five to seven days to see how the situation is, whether it worsens. I don't see (agencies) panicking, but taking a wait-and-see approach," said Mr Tan, who is also CEO of tour agency GTMC Travel.

Likewise, Margaret Heng, executive director of the Singapore Hotels Association (SHA), sees some cancellations rolling in, mostly from China. SHA plans to work with the Singapore Tourism Board to deal with this in the near term, she said.

But she is optimistic that the sector can ride out the soft sentiment. "This confidence is also because hotels have developed Standard Operating Procedures based on their SARS experience and as such the sector is better prepared," Ms Heng said.

Amid the uncertainty, some companies are stepping forward to help. On Monday, ComfortDelGro announced that it will waive the rental for any of its cabbies who are placed under quarantine by MOH due to the Wuhan virus. It will also extend financial aid from its Cabby Hardship Fund where needed.

CapitaLand has set up a 10 million renminbi (S$2 million) healthcare fund to support relief efforts in China, via its philanthropic arm. The first phase of the fund will be used to purchase medical supplies for Wuhan hospitals.

The Wuhan virus situation is "escalating" globally, Mr Gan acknowledged. "Given the high volume of international travel to and through Singapore, we expect to see more suspected and confirmed cases in time to come," he said.

As part of precautionary measures, the government is also strengthening the supply chain of medical supplies and facial masks, according to Mr Chan. When asked about the supply of masks, in particular, he said that Enterprise Singapore, NTUC FairPrice and other government agencies are working closely with suppliers beyond China.

"At this point in time, I do want to emphasise, we do have the necessary stockpile for the coming weeks and months, provided that our people all work together and do not hoard the supplies," he said.

Besides flagging the Wuhan virus' economic impact, the multi-ministry taskforce on Monday also unveiled a slew of measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

The Republic has expanded its travel advisory for Singaporeans to defer all non-essential travel to mainland China. Singapore had earlier issued an advisory on Jan 23 to defer all travel to Hubei province.

The Ministry of Education will also implement a two-week leave of absence (LOA) for students and staff in MOE schools, including MOE Kindergartens and Special Education Schools, who return from mainland China from Jan 15 onwards. The LOA will also apply to polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students and staff who return on Jan 14 or later.

"All in all, we are looking at five students who have visited the Hubei province in the past 14 days and a total of 892 students and staff who have visited China. This is a manageable number," said Minister of Education Ong Ye Kung, noting that the sum translates to about two to three students per school.

In the healthcare sector, the LOA will apply to all staff with recent travel history to mainland China. Visitors with a travel history to mainland China in the last two weeks will also be kept away from institution premises. These measures will also apply to relevant social service organisations.

Separately, temperature screening will be extended to all incoming flights by Jan 29, while the ICA will check on passengers with Chinese passports issued in Hubei province.

There have been no new confirmed cases of the Wuhan virus in Singapore. The MOH has been notified of 92 suspected cases in total, of which four have tested positive and 46 have tested negative for the virus. Test results for the other 42 cases are pending.

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