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Singapore issued top AAA unsolicited rating

Xinhua, February 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) issued a top AAA unsolicited rating on Singapore, a day after Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced the budget for Financial Year 2015, according to media release by the rating agency on Tuesday.

S&P said Singapore's Budget for FY 2015 "shows the strength of the government's institutional and governance effectiveness," and would keep Singapore's credit strong despite its ageing population.

The rating agency added that the unsolicited rating should not be interpreted as a change to the country's Credit Rating or Rating.

While Singapore government forecast a projected budget deficit of 6.7 billion Singapore dollars (4.92 billion U.S. dollars) in the fiscal year ending March 2016, S&P estimated that "the general government account will remain in surplus over the fiscal years ending March 2015 and March 2016," after accounting for revenue not reported as part of the Budget.

Singapore's Budget for FY 2015 includes efforts to boost innovation, skills training, as well as a "significantly outsized" funding to meet the needs of the city state's ageing population. According to the budget, 705 million Singapore dollars (518 million U.S. dollars) will be transferred to households.

S&P noted that these measures should help maintain Singapore's credit strength even as the countries' population ages at one of the fastest rates in Asia. Endi