ettore canaveral: TEXT-S&P says Singapore budget surplus supports AAA credit rating

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

SINGAPORE, Feb 26 (Reuters) - (The following statement was

released by the rating agency)

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that

Singapore's projected budget surpluses for the next two fiscal

years continue to support the sovereign's creditworthiness

(unsolicited ratings AAA/Stable/A-1+; axAAA/ax-1+).

The government estimates a surplus of Singapore dollars (S$)

3.9 billion (1.1% of GDP) for the fiscal year ended March 31,

2013. That amount would be significantly higher than the

government's initial projections. The stronger surplus is

attributable to higher-than-expected stamp duties on property

transactions and vehicle-related taxes.

Singapore excludes government land sales and a substantial

portion of fiscal reserve investment returns from its reported

revenue. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mr. Tharman

Shanmugaratnam said on Monday the government is budgeting for an

overall surplus of S$2.4 billion, or 0.7% of GDP, in the next

fiscal year.

We expect Singapore to achieve balanced budgets over the

next three to five years despite the government announcement of

increases in transfers and spending on various support schemes.

Many of the new spending initiatives are either one-off or have

limited lifespans. Consequently, they have limited structural

impact on the budgetary position. We continue to view

Singapore's budgetary position as supportive of the 'AAA'

sovereign credit ratings.

** To read Reuters stories on the Singapore budget, click

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