HOW’S THE ECONOMY DOING?

It’s understandable that money matters are the biggest concern on most people’s minds. In November last year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that although there was a 7 per cent gain in gross domestic product growth in 2021, it will slow to between 3 and 5 per cent this year amid an uneven recovery at home and lingering uncertainty over global growth. This is on top of the plan to increase the goods and services tax from 7 to 9 per cent between now and 2025. However, there are measures taken to alleviate the eventual inflation.

“Similar to historic precedence, the government will likely introduce offsetting measures, such as U-save vouchers and S&CC rebates to help cushion the adverse impact, in particular on low-income households,” says Yun Liu, an economist at HSBC Global Research.