Heng Swee Keat comes in second in regional finance minister rankings

SINGAPORE — Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat has come in second in a Hong Kong-based publication’s rankings of finance ministers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Heng, who rose from sixth position last year, was behind Indonesia’s Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati who came out tops for the second consecutive year in the Finance Minister of the Year award by FinanceAsia.

In its citation, FinanceAsia noted that Mr Heng “faces a delicate balancing act”. “He has demonstrated a desire to increase Singapore’s general sales tax to offset higher spending on healthcare and support for the country’s elderly, yet he must also decide how to help keep the Lion City competitive in the long run,” the publication said.

Mr Heng, who is among the frontrunners to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, announced during the Budget statement in February that the Goods and Services Tax will be raised from 7 to 9 per cent some time between 2021 and 2025.

FinanceAsia added that timing the tax hike “could prove to be a tough call”. It noted that the Singapore economy is benefitting from the fact that the world economy is expanding “in a synchronised fashion for the first time since the global financial crisis”. However, the Singapore government is “facing a political test as it looks to raise taxes and future-proof the economy”.

It noted: “While many of Asia’s finance ministers have struggled to take advantage of a favourable global and regional economic climate, (Mr Heng) has positioned his country well, while also making headway on the challenge of preparing for an ageing population.”

Mr Heng was the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore before he entered politics in 2011. After helming the education ministry, he took over the finance portfolio from Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in September 2015.

He had a major health scare in May 2016, when he collapsed from a stroke and was hospitalised for six weeks. Following a remarkable recovery, he resumed his ministerial and MP duties just three months after the scare.

This is not the first time that a Singapore Finance Minister has been recognised internationally. In 2013, Mr Tharman received the Finance Minister of the Year award handed out by Euromoney magazine.

On its winner this year, FinanceAsia lauded Dr Sri Mulyani’s “laser-like focus” on increasing tax revenue, which distinguished her from her counterparts across Asia. Her bid to increase tax revenue seeks to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on commodity sales which often fluctuate depending on global prices.