A tale of two infections

CAN you contain Covid with cash? Or is it contained with better health measures? The United States and many Western countries seem to believe they have little to learn from China or Singapore so their response is that you can contain Covid with a trillion-dollar rescue package. Singapore believes Covid containment is achieved through strict contact tracing, isolation and quarantine measures and a rapid public health response.

Fiscal support is essential, but it works more effectively if it is combined with effective public health measures.

The economic consequences of these two approaches are vastly different and this shapes the investment decisions we need to make. It also has a substantial impact on the way markets recover. Covid is pushing us towards an isolated world with locked down borders so one of the collateral impacts is a severe reduction in international trade. That has particular economic consequences for Singapore as a logistics hub and for countries like China with a large export sector.