Dutch to invest 20b euros in economy through long-delayed fund

[AMSTERDAM] The Netherlands is set to invest billions of euros in its economy, carrying out a plan announced several months before the coronavirus outbreak worsened the outlook.

The government plans to spend 20 billion euros (S$32.3 billion) over five years to improve its infrastructure and spur research and development, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement Monday. This money, which will be allocated by a national investment fund, will help the country address its aging population, climate change and low productivity growth, the ministry said.

The move, which the government outlined a year ago, is another step away from an era of austerity in the Netherlands. To soften the impact of the pandemic, the government has helped prop up companies including Air France-KLM and by the end of July, it had earmarked 37 billion euros for this year to finance emergency measures.

New national elections will be held in the Netherlands in March 2021.

BLOOMBERG