Live Blog: Singapore Budget 2017

UPDATED 5:15pm, Feb 20, to reflect that the Budget Statement was delivered.

Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered his second Budget Statement in Parliament Monday (20 Feb) at 3:30pm.

The budget for fiscal year 2017, which starts from April to March, was going to address the country’s immediate needs and long-term needs, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last month.

Economists expected that Singapore’s 2017 budget would deliver a modest fiscal push to an economy that’s facing a gloomy trade outlook.

On what people hope to hear, a survey by Blackbox Research showed that some two-thirds of Singaporeans felt that the 2017 Budget should place priority on the economy and employment opportunities.

The poll also revealed that Singaporeans are now increasingly worried about future job prospects for older professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).

In the fourth quarter of last year, Singapore’s jobless rate hit a six-year high as economic growth slowed down.

Data released last week shows that the economy grew faster in the fourth quarter than initially thought amid a surge in manufacturing, but the government warned the outlook remained hostage to policy and protectionist risks in the United States.