OUR RESERVES ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

OUR RESERVES ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

During a question and answer session at the Straits Times Global Outlook Forum, Mr Heng was asked by Bank of Singapore chief economist Richard Jerram about the possibility of spending a higher proportion of the earnings on Singapore's "huge assets".

Mr Heng replied that the size of the Republic's reserves gives Singapore "the FIREPOWER" to deal with anyone who tries to attack the Singapore dollar.

It also provides LONG TERM STABILITY to Singapore's economy.

It also gives Singapore the means to "weather crisis in ways which many other countries cannot". 

The reserves are not to be taken for granted, Mr Heng stressed.

If he can, he would rather leave it for the future generations, he said.

Reiterating the extent of Singapore's rapidly ageing population, Mr Heng said: "If we don't prepare for that, I think we will come to regret it and I want to make sure that… I will do the responsible thing."

Mr Heng noted how earlier generations of leaders and finance ministers were very prudent, even during the years when Singapore's gross domestic product was growing 8 to 9 per cent annually.

"They did not take it upon themselves and say, 'Well, look, this is a great bonanza and for a government to be popular let's spend all that'." 

He also credited former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee for the creation of GIC. The sovereign wealth fund has, over the years, invested in a variety of assets and earned returns which Singapore has tapped on. 

"I will be very cautious about making statements about how big our reserves are… increasingly, in a world which is more uncertain, I think we better have more firepower than less," he said.