President Tharman Explains How S’pore Govt Decides To Spend Reserves, System Ensures Every Generation Benefits

President Tharman Explains Importance Of Returns From Reserves In Singapore’s Finances

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam has long been known for his ability to explain seemingly complex concepts in layman’s terms. Now that he’s the President of Singapore, it seems that skill remains one of his strongest assets.

In a recent Facebook post, Mr Tharman expounded on the concept of return from reserves, or Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC).

Even though the financial jargon might appear daunting to most, Mr Tharman broke the concept down in a digestible manner and explained how it benefits Singaporeans.

President Tharman explains importance of returns from reserves

On Monday (8 Jan), Mr Tharman penned a Facebook post explaining NIRC and how it benefits Singapore.

For context, he shared that he had attended a meeting regarding Singapore’s returns from reserves that morning.

The team that briefed him comprised Finance Minister Lawrence Wong and officials from other investment entities.

To help Singaporeans understand the subject of their discussion, Mr Tharman explained that the NIRC is a significant amount of money Singapore gets from its reserves annually.

But for the Government to spend the sum, they have to seek the President’s agreement — which was likely the reason for their meeting earlier in the day.

Explaining the importance of such a revenue stream, Mr Tharman said that about 20% of Singapore’s spending comes from the country’s reserves.

The President added that Singapore’s system is designed to ensure that every generation of Singaporeans benefits from this source of revenue.

This is in contrast to other countries plagued by rising debts. Mr Tharman noted that such countries have to increasingly use more and more tax dollars to pay for their debts.

Singaporeans thank Mr Tharman for simple layman’s explanation

Singaporeans were impressed by Mr Tharman’s attempt to educate the public, which came on top of his duty as guardian of Singapore’s reserves.

This Facebook user thanked the President for his candid sharing, shedding more light on the management of the reserves.

Another commenter found the simple and uncomplicated manner of Mr Tharman’s explanation to be the most impressive.

In addition to his duties as guardian of Singapore’s reserves, it seems Mr Tharman is also wearing the hat of an educator. Whatever the case, we hope Singaporeans learned a thing or two about this important source of revenue through his post.

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Featured image by MS News and adapted from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.