Singapore posts budget surplus of 3.9bn SGD

Singapore is expected to run a budget surplus of 3.9 billion Singapore dollars (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) for the fiscal year 2013, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday. Delivering the budget speech in the parliament, Tharman said that the surplus is about 1.1 percent of the gross domestic product of Singapore. It is also higher than the budget surplus of 2.4 billion Singapore dollars a year ago. Tharman said the higher surplus was mainly attributable to factors including temporary delays in implementation of public infrastructure projects. Revenues were also boosted by higher vehicle quota premium collections. The stronger fiscal surplus was due mainly to cyclical factors, which would not last. Singapore should see a tighter budget position in the coming years, he said. The Singapore economy grew by 4.1 percent in 2013, compared with the growth of 1.9 percent for 2012. The Ministry of Trade and Industry said it expects the economy to grow by 2-4 percent in 2014. The global outlook is uncertain, with the advanced economies gradually recovering while the emerging economies slowing. But the odds are against a sharp slowdown in the global economy, he said.