Singapore unveils US$4.5b package to tackle virus outbreak

Singapore has already cut its 2020 growth forecasts due to an expected economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak and has flagged the chance of a recession this year.

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Tuesday announced financial packages worth around US$4.5bil to help contain the coronavirus outbreak in the city-state and weather its economic impact.

Delivering his annual budget speech, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat also said a planned hike in the goods and services tax would not take place in 2021 given the current state of the economy which recorded its lowest growth in a decade last year.