S’pore Budget 2013

S’pore Budget 2013: The govt announced fresh curbs to slow the growth of its foreign workforce, in a bid to push businesses to restructure and boost wages. The aim is to achieve economic growth that is driven by sustained productivity improvement rather than manpower growth. As part of the effort, the govt will raise levies on foreign workers across all sectors in Jul 2014 and 2015, and selectively lower limits on the ratio of foreign workers that companies can hire as part of their total headcount. The measures will target business sectors with weak productivity growth and high expansion of foreign workforce. The construction, marine and services sectors will be affected more than others.