Indranee Rajah on proceeds from sale of state land

There is no net increase in the reserves when state land is first sold and the sale proceeds are transferred to the financial assets. It is just a conversion of one asset form to another. There is no net increase in the reserves when the land returns to the state after the lease expires as the value of the lease did not include the value of the reversionary interest. There is again no increase in the reserves when the land which was returned to the Government is sold again as that is merely a conversion of one form of asset to another. But there is an increase in the reserves when the Government invests and grows the financial assets. This is the outcome of careful and prudent management of the reserves by the Government and should not be taken for granted, said Second Minister for Finance and National Development Indranee Rajah. Replying to Parliamentary questions on Monday (Nov 7), she also said the Government does not profit from the sale of state land developed into public housing. She said the total amount that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) collects from the sale of flats is less than the cost of its building programme and the housing grants it disburses each year. It incurs a net deficit in the development and sale of new flats. For the Financial Year 2021 to 2022, HDB recorded a deficit of S$3.85 billion in its home ownership programme. The average deficit incurred by HDB in the last three years was about S$2.68 billion a year, she said.