Singapore’s property cycles are hard to foresee but the government will try every possible way to minimize the changing patterns in the real state market, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
“We will keep our eyes on the ball and use every tool at our disposal in a calibrated fashion to try to manage that cycle as best as we can,” said Mr. Tharman, addressing 80 business leaders during a forum held to gather comments on the Economic Strategies Committee. The Minister is leading the committee in looking for new ways for the country to grow.
The government will perhaps not use any “macro tools” to manage the property cycles, like the unstable exchange rates or interest rates because such rates will surely affect business operations as well, he said during his remarks at the forum.
However, there are still other options available, which include adjusting land supply, modifying rules on credit and in severe cases, amending the country’s tax policies, he added.
“We do want to manage the property cycle as best we can, prevent boom and bust,” said the Minister, adding that this move is “not easy” as it is hard to predict the property needs of Singapore four or five years in advance.