DOWNWARD REVISION OF CHARGES FOR REPORTS GENERATED FROM STATLINK

Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry if the Trade Development Board will consider a downward revision of its current charges for each report generated from Statlink.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Before the launch of Statlink (Statlink is a trade statistics information service provided by the Trade Development Board to the business community.) in August 1995, the Trade Development Board (TDB) charged $15 for each trade statistics report. With Statlink, TDB has reduced the price to $5 or $10 per report depending on its contents. Statlink reports can also contain 10 times more information than before, as subscribers are now allowed to select up to 10 products to be presented in one report compared to one product in one report previously.

Given the timeliness, coverage and convenience of the Statlink service, the price charged for the reports is reasonable. The amount charged covers the expenses for maintaining this service.