SG Budget 2017: FY2016 budget surplus of S$5.2b expected; FY2017 surplus seen at S$1.9b

SINGAPORE is expected to have a budget surplus of S$5.2 billion for FY2016, and this works out to 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This is higher than the S$3.4 billion surplus (0.8 per cent of GDP) that was budgeted a year ago, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday.

A basic deficit of S$5.6 billion (1.4 per cent of GDP) is expected after the government's top-ups to funds and Net Investment Returns Contribution from past reserves are excluded. As such, FY2016 was an expansionary budget, said Mr Heng.

For FY2017, the budget remains expansionary, with the ministries' expenditures likely to be higher than the previous year at S$3.7 billion. Overall, a smaller budget surplus of S$1.9 billion (0.4 per cent of GDP) is expected in FY2017.

"As we expect expenditures to continue rising in the long term, this budget position is prudent, while supporting firms and households in the midst of continued economic restructuring," said Mr Heng.