DEVELOPMENT LOAN BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.20 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Lim Kim San): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Development Loan (Local) Ordinance, No. 50 of 1959, and the Development Loan Ordinance, No. 7 of 1961, together authorise a sum of $500 million to be raised by way of loan for the purposes of the Development Fund. To date, a total of $477 million has been raised under these two Ordinances, leaving a balance of $23 million still available for issue.

Members are no doubt aware that besides external sources such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, it is necessary to mobilise funds from internal sources to finance our development programme. The Bill which is now before us is necessary since the previous legislation, which I mentioned earlier, cannot be suitably amended to increase the amount of loans that can be raised.

One feature of the Bill is a provision in clause 18 that any instrument or written law which empowers any person to invest shall be deemed to give that person the power to make advance deposits as well. In this Bill the scope of investment for the Sinking Fund is wider as compared with that in the Development Loan Ordinance, 1961. Clause 13 (3) of the Bill authorises investment in securities of or securities guaranteed by any government or international financial institution as may be determined by the President under section 7 (3) (d) of the Financial Procedure Act, 1966.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Lim Kim San].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

3.23 p.m.

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: No notice of amendment has been received. There is one alteration necessary as a result of our passage from 1966 to 1967. The citation of the Bill has to be changed from "Development Loan Act, 1966" to "Development Loan Act, 1967". This will be done.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 to 18 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

The Schedule ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.