Singapore unveils $4bn coronavirus relief package

Amount dwarfs the $165m that the city committed to battling SARS in 2003

Singapore's economy is expected to fall somewhere between a 0.5% contraction to a 1.5% expansion this year. © AP

DYLAN LOH, Nikkei staff writer

February 18, 2020 22:34 JST

SINGAPORE -- The government here is doubling down on its war against the coronavirus outbreak, earmarking 5.6 billion Singapore dollars (US$4 billion) to help businesses and households as the epidemic threatens to throw the city-state's trade-dependent economy into reverse.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday announced a slew of tax rebates and other financial breaks to help companies and individuals cope with the outbreak's fallout.