SINGAPORE: Singapore said it will adopt an expansionary fiscal policy to boost growth, pledging support for companies that are facing labour constraints and an uneven global recovery.
The government will give bigger tax rebates and provide small and medium-sized companies with access to more than S$2bil (US$1.5bil) of loans, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his first budget speech to Parliament yesterday. It will defer levy increases for foreign workers in the marine sector, where rig builders are warning of more difficulties ahead amid low oil prices.