Singapore: Policy continuity expected under 4G leadership team
New prime minister on May 15, same policy under 4G leadership team.
Group Research - Econs, Chua Han Teng16 Apr 2024
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Singapore will have a new Prime Minister (PM) starting May 15, with Deputy PM and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong succeeding PM Lee Hsien Loong, as announced by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on April 15. May 15 will mark the end of nearly two decades of PM Lee serving as Singapore’s third PM. We expect policy continuity under the 4G leadership team, as highlighted in Singapore Outlook 2024: A Year of Renewal. The handover to DPM Wong and the 4G team in 2024 is widely expected, with PM Lee announcing his intention in November 2023 to step down as PM this year. According to the PMO’s statement, DPM Wong has the unanimous support of the People's Action Party (PAP) Members of Parliament (MPs). We note that the 4G leadership team has been increasingly setting the national agenda, for e.g. through the 16-month long Forward Singapore (Forward SG) exercise. The Forward SG report released on October 27, 2023 provides a new roadmap to chart Singapore’s future, and build a ‘Vibrant, Inclusive, Fair, Thriving, Resilient, and United Singapore’. Budget 2024 announced by DPM Wong in February 2024 kickstarts Singapore’s multi-year execution of long-term policies outlined in the Forward SG report, with aims of achieving an average of 2% to 3% economic growth per annum over the next decade, amid an increasingly challenging global environment (see Singapore Budget 2024: Support for the long haul). The leadership handover will be ahead of the next general elections, which have to be held by November 2025.

Chua Han Teng, CFA

Economist - Asean
[email protected]


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