Budget surplus $3.9b or $29b?

February 22, 2014

I refer to the article “Singapore’s creative Budget accounting” (TR Emeritus, Feb 22).

IMF fiscal reporting guidelines?

It states that ” If the budget complies with the standards of the International Monetary Fund it would show a SURPLUS of well over $10 billion (2.5% of GDP).”

2012 surplus no longer in report?

In this connection, since the surplus of $36.1 billion in 2012 can no longer be found in the Monthly Digest of Statistics January 2014 which only shows the data for 2010, 2011 and July to December 2013 – I thought I would add up the surplus (according to IMF fiscal reporting guidelines?) for the 12 months from January to December, to get the surplus for the whole calendar year of 2013.

All the reports cannot find?

However, I don’t seem to be able to find online any of the Monthly Digest of Statistics in 2013.

Try to estimate the whole calendar year’s surplus?

So, the only thing that I can do, is to take the surplus for the 6 months from July to December 2013, in order to get an estimate for the whole year.

$29b surplus?

So, in so doing, the estimate is about $29 billion ($14.6002 billion times 2).

Leong Sze Hian

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About the Author

Leong
Leong Sze Hian has served as the president of 4 professional bodies, honorary consul of 2 countries, an alumnus of Harvard University, authored 4 books, quoted over 1500 times in the media , has been a radio talkshow host, a newspaper daily columnist, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow, columnist for theonlinecitizen and Malaysiakini, executive producer of Ilo Ilo (40 international awards), Hotel Mumbai (associate producer), invited to speak more than 200 times in about 40 countries, CIFA advisory board member, founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of 2 countries. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional  qualifications.