Singapore’s authorities, often called the “country of the future”, stated that the Asian state came the moment of truth capable of determining what its economy will be in the next few years, during which the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic will be felt, Bloomberg writes.
The reason for such statements became new limitations introduced against the background of the frequent cases of morbidity. In particular, they imply a ban on entering many categories of people, including foreign workers.
At the same time, some sectors of the Singapore economy are faced with an acute lack of labor and cannot fill it in the present conditions. Among them are the construction, manufacturing and maritime transportation.
According to the Minister of the Government of Singapore and the co-worker of the Profile Commission of the Cabinet of Ministers, responsible for the fight against Coronavirus, Lawrence Vong, many companies that make up the entry permits for foreign workers, will now be forced to wait for their approval for several months to half a year. Exceptions are made only for Australian citizens, New Zealand, Brunei, China, as well as two of its special administrative districts, Hong Kong and Macau.
“Now we are on the tip of the knife. If companies continue to face difficulties, many of them are waiting for closure, and Singapore’s economy is an increase in unemployment,” the official said. At the same time, he stressed that the authorities still have the opportunity to take the situation with the incidence of control.