Singapore prepares 2nd package to help firms amid COVID-19 fight
The Singaporean government will soon roll out a second package to help businesses tide over the acute respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreak.
People stroll in a street in Singapore (Illustrative photo: www.straitstimes.com)
Singapore (VNA) – The Singaporeangovernment will soon roll out a second package to help businesses tide over theacute respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreak.
The country has just launched the first oneworth 4 billion SGD (2.88 billion USD).
Speaking at an annual post-budget forum organisedby the daily Lianhe Zaobao on March 9, Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister HengSwee Keat said the government is studying the impact of the outbreak and themost effective support measures.
According to a budget report revealed inFebruary, Singapore will launch a 4-billion-USD Stabilisation and SupportPackage to help businesses maintain fundamental operations and carry out skilltraining programmes.
Another 8.3 billion SGD has been set asideover three years to spur enterprises and the economy to transform and grow.
The Singaporean Deputy PM noted that theCOVID-19 outbreak can evolve into three possible scenarios for Singapore.
It could become more serious, or it couldfollow the same trajectory that was seen in the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak,where the threat of the virus eroded over time and Singapore's economyrebounded within a relatively fast period, he said.
It could also become a situation where thevirus spreads slowly, but is able to be contained with government measures.
In any case, Singapore will continue tocooperate with other countries, including China, to strengthen response to theoutbreak, he affirmed./.
Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing outlined five measures in which the government will help firms seize opportunities abroad, while addressing the parliament on March 3.
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Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing has stressed the need for the country to be mentally prepared for a possible spike in the number of COVID-19 cases and increase supplies of necessities amid complicated developments of the disease around the world.
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People stroll in a street in Singapore (Illustrative photo: www.straitstimes.com) 
