Temasek to become bigger contributor to S'pore government's income

The amendment to make Singapore- based investment company Temasek Holdings as a bigger contributor to the government's income was passed, reported Channel NewsAsia on Monday.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told the parliament that including Temasek in the Net Investment Returns (NIR) framework will provide the government with additional fiscal resources, as the country seeks to make investments in healthcare, human capital and transport infrastructure in the coming years.

Deputy PM Tharman said the constitutional change will increase the total NIR contribution to the budget from about 2 percent of GDP under the framework to about 3 percent on average over the next five years under the enhanced framework.

During the parliament debate, several Members of Parliament ( MPs) asked whether the inclusion under the NIR framework would influence Temasek's investment strategy, and how Singapore government has been increasing its spending.

Tharman responded that the NIR framework does not set target rates of return and entities have their own investment mandates. He reiterated the values of fiscal conservatism, saying the aim of Singapore government is to spend wisely "for today and tomorrow" and to "guard against an inexorable amount of spending". Endi