Singapore might ease up on restructuring to combat slowing growth: analysts

Foreign worker levy hikes will be tweaked.

Singapore might ease up on its unyielding restructuring drive as economic growth stalls, according to a report by BMI Research.

According to BMI Research, such a move will help ease the pain of sluggish external demand, particularly if the government delays or adjusts foreign worker levy hikes.

“Such a shift would likely be borne out in the FY2016/17 budget, which is due to be released in February, and could take the form of a delay or adjustment to levy hikes at the lower skill levels or related dependency ratios,” BMI Research said. 

“Meanwhile, the government is also increasingly likely to extend or enhance its measures aimed at supporting productivity, including tax incentives for firms which invest in productivity enhancing technologies as well as funding for up-skilling existing Singaporean or permanent resident employees,” the report added.