Singapore economy

Prior to this, the lowest point for core inflation was -0.5% in January 2010.

While optimism builds in Singapore on declining numbers of Covid-19 infection, investors should stick with defensives. This is because the global Covid-19 situation remains “fluid”, with cases of resurgence in some countries, says RHB.

Pay cheques of some 224,800 workers across 6,300 companies in Singapore took a hit from cost-cutting measures over the last five months.

On Aug 17, the government announced another $8 billion package to battle the bug, as cracks in Singapore’s economy deteriorate.

Singapore’s domestic wholesale sales plunged 40.6% year-on-year in 2Q2020 ended June, following lower petroleum sales

“Seven more months of JSS is quite generous and will help tide distressed companies during these challenging times,” observes Selena Ling, who heads the treasury and strategy department of OCBC Bank.

Heng announced that the Singapore government will provide further support for these sectors, “to retain core capabilities and position them for an eventual recovery”.

For these firms, Heng says the government will co-pay up to 25% of salaries of all new Singaporean hires for one year. The co-payment will be subject to a salary limit.

The DPM also reiterated that the government will “continue to protect jobs and create new opportunities” for workers in Singapore.

Official figures released by trade agency Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on August 17 pointed to a 6.0% growth in July, narrowing from the 13.9% expansion logged in June.