Changes will be made to COE quota system from August to reduce supply volatility: LTA
The supply of COEs for the August to October quarter will drop by about 11.5 per cent.
Traffic on an expressway in Singapore. (File photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
SINGAPORE: The method for computing the quota available for Certificate of Entitlement (COE) bidding will be adjusted to reduce volatility in supply, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Friday (Jul 22).
From August, supply will be based on a rolling average of vehicle deregistrations over two quarters instead of one.
This is to "reduce the quarter-on-quarter volatility of COE supply while being responsive in returning the COEs of deregistered vehicles to the bidding pool”, LTA said in a media release.
Under the current system, the quota of COEs available for bidding in each quarter is primarily based on the number of vehicles deregistered in the previous quarter, with a one-month lag time for processing and computation.
“With effect from Aug 1, the number of COEs available for bidding in each quarter will be based on a rolling average of deregistrations over the last two quarters,” LTA said.
“The start of each new COE quota bidding period will continue to be one month after the close of each calendar quarter.”
For example, the number of COEs for the upcoming August to October quarter will be half the number of vehicles deregistered from January to June.
The number of COEs for the following quarter, November to January, will then be half the number of vehicles deregistered from April to September.
Under the adjusted method, the COE quota for August to October will be 10,581, LTA said, adding that this translates to a monthly quota of 3,526 COEs for all categories combined.
The figure for the coming quarter is 11.5 per cent less than the 11,951 COEs that were available for bidding in the May to July period.
The next bidding exercise is scheduled to close on Aug 3.Â
The COE quota will consist of three components, including 50 per cent of the replacement COEs from vehicles deregistered between January and June.
It also takes into consideration a provision of 0.25 per cent per annum growth for Category C based on the category’s vehicle population as of Dec 30 last year.
Adjustments for changes in the taxi population, replacement of commercial vehicles under the Early Turnover Scheme and expired COEs are also factored in.
COE premiums have been on an upward trend in recent months, with Open Category prices hitting an all-time high of S$114,001 in the latest bidding exercise which closed on Jul 20.
Premiums for Category B also crossed the S$100,000 mark on Jun 8.
