EXPORT CREDIT INSURANCE SCHEME (Shelving of)

Mr Hwang Soo Jin asked the Minister for Finance (a) whether the proposed Export Credit Insurance Scheme has been shelved; (b) the reasons for such action; and (c) why a decision was taken only after an official had been sent abroad for training and returned.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Sir, on the basis of a detailed study made by the Ministry of Finance, the Government decided against an Export Credit insurance Scheme. The result of the study showed that such a scheme could not be expected to be self-financing.

No official had been sent abroad for training in the running of an Export Credit Insurance Scheme before the decision was taken. An official had, however, visited Hong Kong where such a scheme was in operation to study the feasibility of introducing a similar scheme in Singapore.