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Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens 1 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has received appeals from Singaporeans for help and subsidies to pay medical fees for their non-Singaporean relatives or foreign spouses in the past five years and if so, how many such cases there have been; and (b) whether the Ministry can work with ICA to consider implementing a policy requiring such foreign relatives or spouses visiting Singapore on long term visit pass to purchase medical insurance during their visit.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens 2 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the citizen-level subsidies for maternity fees accorded to foreign mothers giving birth to Singapore Citizens apply to all items incurred during a typical maternity hospitalisation or only to specified items; (b) if only for specified items, what are the specific items; and (c) whether a review will be done to equalise or reduce the disparity in the total bill size for all foreign mothers giving birth to Singapore Citizens.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Mr Speaker, may I seek your permission to answer Question Nos 1 and 2 together, please?
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Please proceed.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Ms Sylvia Lim asked about maternity hospitalisation subsidies accorded to foreign mothers giving birth to Singapore Citizens. The majority of foreign spouses with Singapore Citizen children are Permanent Residents (PRs) or holders of Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus (LTVP+). Therefore, they are eligible for healthcare subsidies in public healthcare institutions. In particular, mothers with permanent residency or LTVP+ who are married to Singapore Citizens receive the same level of subsidies as Singapore Citizens for all items and treatments incurred for the entire delivery episode, from admission for childbirth to discharge after delivery.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens On Mr Gan’s question about help and subsidies for non-Singaporean relatives and spouses, the Ministry and our public healthcare institutions do receive appeals regarding financing for healthcare costs incurred by foreign spouses or relatives of Singapore Citizens. We assess them on a case-by-case basis based on individual circumstances and do not specifically track the number of appeals.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Ultimately, as healthcare subsidies are borne by all Singaporeans, any extension of these benefits to foreigners must be assessed carefully. Foreigners facing financial difficulties with their healthcare bills may approach our medical social workers for assistance.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Healthcare insurance is another way to help protect families with foreigner members on LTVP or Dependant’s Pass from large hospital bills. Today, such individuals may buy plans offered by Integrated Shield Plan insurers and pay premiums in cash or using their Singapore Citizen/PR family members’ MediSave. They may also be covered by employer medical benefits.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens However, making healthcare insurance mandatory for all long-staying foreigners will have to be carefully considered, as this may in turn pose a financial burden on their Singapore Citizen family members. We will continue to study the feasibility of this.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Ms Sylvia Lim.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Thank you, Speaker. I have three supplementary questions for the Minister of State.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens First, I have asked for the figures from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the answer to this, so I do not know, but does the Ministry of Health (MOH) also acknowledge that there is a significant number of Singaporean children being born to foreign mothers who are not holders of PR or LTVP+ but LTVP itself or less. So, does MOH acknowledge that fact?
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Secondly, it is a national priority for us to increase our total fertility rate (TFR). So, if we look at the cost differential for foreign mothers giving birth to Singapore Citizens who are not holders of PR or LTVP+, does MOH not find that the total bill size is significantly higher than that for LTVP+ or PR mothers, in the sense that it works against our aim to increase our TFR, because the cost is just too high?
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens And finally, if we were to consider extending further support to this group of foreign mothers who are not PRs or LTVP+ holders, I think we are looking at probably a limited number of people and these delivery episodes are once in a lifetime, maybe twice. So, are we not able to afford to look into this?
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens I thank the Member for her interest. Firstly, on the numbers, I will leave MHA to respond to her queries. But based on the indications that we have in respect of delivery episodes in 2024, actually, in terms of the other Pass types – LTVP and others – the numbers are really a smaller percentage; I would say less than 10%. So, the majority of those who are foreign spouses, they are PRs or LTVP+ holders.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens I would just highlight a couple of things to address the other questions that the Member has raised. I understand. The concern is really the Singapore child and you are helping a Singaporean with this situation. As I have mentioned earlier, firstly, the majority of the foreign spouses that we see are PRs or LTVP+ holders, which means that they are entitled to Singapore Citizen rates for the whole delivery episode. It means that from the time they are admitted for delivery to the discharge of the mother after birth, it is fully covered at Singaporean rates. In that sense, the issue of the Singaporean child not being supported, does not exist because for any mother who is delivering a Singaporean child and if they are a PR or LTVP+ holder, the whole episode of delivery is covered.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Also, it can be applied retrospectively. So, if the mother is in the process of applying for her LTVP+ and it has not yet been approved, and she then got admitted but there is a process or an application pending, she can actually apply for the rates to be applicable to her as well. This is also something that addresses those concerns.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens There are two other points I wanted to make. If it is outside the episode of delivery, LTVP+ foreign spouses of Singapore Citizens are also eligible for healthcare benefits, such as subsidies for in-patient services at the restructured hospitals and this is at the same level as PRs. So, in that sense, they are also covered for some of their other expenses. In any case, if there are any difficulties, the foreign spouses may also seek help from medical social workers.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens So, actually, a large part of the concerns that the Member has are already addressed with the existing policies. But we will continue to look at all gaps. We always review our financing policies regularly to see if there are emerging trends or needs that we need to address.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Ms Lim.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens Thank you, Sir. One more supplementary question for the Minister of State. She mentioned in her answer that the number of foreign mothers giving birth to Singaporean children who are not already PRs or LTVP+ holders is small, less than 10%. I think as she correctly acknowledged, we are all in this together. Every Singaporean child born is precious to us. So, given that the numbers are not large, according to what the Ministry has just said, then I think there is scope for us to review, to see how we can better support, financially at least, the delivery episodes of these mothers who are holders of LTVP or less Passes.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens As I mentioned, we will continue to assess this situation. But the Member may want to consider for those situations where the mother comes in, what they can do is to apply for LTVP+ and if she satisfies that requirement, she will then be entitled to Singapore Citizen rates.
Subsidies on Maternity Fees and Other Medical Bills for Foreigners who are Mothers or Relatives of Singapore Citizens In the meantime, we will continue to assess and to see where we can continue supporting the mothers who have difficulties with the delivery costs.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues 3 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many cases of complex water seepage cases has the Housing and Development Board (HDB) received on a weekly basis in the past 12 months; and (b) what is the current staff strength and number of engineers within HDB who are responsible for assisting with rectification of complex water seepage issues.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues 4 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current expected operating timeline for Housing and Development Board (HDB) engineers to respond and conduct joint visits to residents' homes to get accurate diagnosis of complex water seepage cases; and (b) what measures or technological enhancements will HDB be adopting to enhance the capability and capacity of its engineers to work more effectively with Town Councils to resolve these cases.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues 5 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether there has been a surge in the number of reported external water seepage incidents that occur in HDB flats during the recent March monsoon raining season; and (b) whether HDB is monitoring and rendering assistance to the Town Councils that are attending to such cases.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues 6 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether there is an update on the implementation of the improved diagnosis methods using better scanning technology to accurately pinpoint the root causes of external wall seepages; (b) if so, what are the results of the initial trials conducted by HDB; and (c) whether implementation of the improved methods can be expedited to help Town Councils rectify external wall seepage cases.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to give a combined reply to Question Nos 3 through 6 in today’s Order Paper?
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Go ahead.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues In 2024, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) assisted Town Councils (TCs) and flat owners with a total of 859 complex water seepage cases. Such cases include water seepage from various sources, such as from the external wall or from the flat above.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues TCs are responsible for the maintenance of the external walls of HDB flats as they are part of common property. Residents who encounter water seepage from external walls in their flat typically report it to the TC managing their estate. Where residents report such cases to HDB, HDB will refer these cases to the respective TC for follow-up. Based on the number of cases that HDB received, it did not observe a surge in March 2025. Notwithstanding, HDB has received feedback from some TCs that the number of external water seepage cases typically increases during the monsoon season. HDB will continue to support TCs in resolving these cases.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues For complex cases involving external wall seepage, each HDB Zone’s dedicated team for handling repairs management will support TCs by conducting joint inspections and providing technical advice so that TCs can identify the root causes and carry out repairs expeditiously. This is typically within one week after the TC approaches HDB, subject to the availability of the flat owner and TC staff.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues It is important for TCs to build up expertise in dealing with external wall seepage. To support this, HDB has been conducting regular training for TCs and has made available a training video on the diagnosis and repair of external wall seepage to further level up TC staff’s technical competency.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Flat owners are responsible for the maintenance of the interior of their flats, including the repair of leaks in the shared structure between units. HDB assists flat owners in resolving ceiling leaks through the Goodwill Repair Assistance scheme, where HDB pays 50% of the ceiling leak repair cost, while the remaining 50% is shared equally between the upper- and lower-floor flat owners.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues HDB is constantly on the look-out for better and more effective maintenance methods and equipment. For example, HDB is working with industry partners and research institutes to develop better ways to address maintenance issues, especially those encountered in our older estates. This includes an ongoing trial at 70 flats island-wide on the use of better scanning technology which has the capability to scan through concrete to detect causes of seepage. Similar to an x-ray machine, this allows the inspection team to see beneath the surface and trace the root cause of the seepage. HDB will then monitor and assess if the technology can be scaled up for widespread use, including use by TCs to more effectively diagnose and resolve more complex water seepage cases upfront. If the trial is successful, HDB will share more details on the plans to scale up.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Ms Carrie Tan.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. I would just like to check if there is any internal standard operating procedure and timeline for turnaround for the HDB engineers who are tasked to provide technical advice to TCs?
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Also, while the delineation of duties between the TC in managing external wall seepages versus the inter-floor leakage where HDB steps in to facilitate in terms of resident arrangements, there are often difficulties to diagnose seepages that are not very clear – whether it is external wall or inside. What we have experienced in Nee Soon and to the frustration of many residents is that they often have to wait many months for a resolution. So, does the Ministry of National Development (MND) have any plans to invest further in the technical expertise or in the research and development technologies to find out and to have more accurate diagnosis of the sources of water seepages in a more timely manner to reduce the timeframe that it takes to have full resolution of the issues?
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues In response to Ms Carrie Tan's question, there are two parts to the issue that we are trying to resolve here, when it comes to wall seepage. The first is the accurate diagnosis. Secondly, because HDB, as well as the TC responsible for the estate would have different areas of jurisdiction. So, sometimes when the diagnosis moves from one possible cause to another, there would be a need to hand over the case from the TC to HDB, or from HDB back to the TC. And we have found from experience that this process can take time, because the diagnosis process would not only require the personnel associated with either the TC or HDB to be available and present, but the presence and consent of the homeowner are also necessary.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues So, first, there is the technical issue of diagnosis, but then there is also the human coordination involved. We will try to move things along as quickly as possible every time a TC approaches us for help.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Sir, often, in a prolonged rainy season, such as as the last month or so, we will receive a large number of reports on cases of seepages, especially for the older, vintage flats. I hope that MND and HDB understand this is really a frustrating experience for residents having to deal with water seepage coming into their homes.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues So, I want to ask the Senior Minister of State two questions. Firstly, I am glad that there is this technology, that works by x-ray, to look at where the root cause of the seepage is coming from. That should help because one of the pain points is not being able to know where the seepages are coming from, where is the source of the leaks. So, can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether our current seepage contractors that the TCs hire, do they have the expertise to deal with this in a way that will resolve the problem in a lasting way and not to keep having this recurring situation.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues And secondly, for those more complex long-standing cases, can I also ask if HDB follows up continuously? As long as there is no resolution, does HDB follow through until we see a resolution to this seepage problem?
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Sir, in our experience, contractors are generally equipped with the capability to resolve wall seepage cases. But if the TC is in doubt about the capability of any particular contractor, we welcome the TC to also consult with HDB. What HDB has been doing aside from leaning forward to assist TCs where there are long-standing or difficult-to-resolve cases, is we have also been introducing methods that have been tested and proven to be effective in dealing with wall seepage cases, such as the Corrosion Resistant Repair method.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues We understand the frustration of residents that Mr Liang and also Ms Carrie Tan have alluded to, and this is why we are committed to continue working together with TCs and to lean forward to help, especially for the difficult-to-resolve cases.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Mr Gerald Giam.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues I have two supplementary questions for the Senior Minister of State. Given that TCs rely primarily on waterproofing contractors to identify and resolve water seepage issues, what is the Ministry doing to uplift the baseline industry capabilities so that more contractors possess the diagnostic expertise needed to accurately detect seepage sources, without repeated trial and error?
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues And secondly, can HDB look into providing more funding to TCs to engage contractors to conduct re-roofing programmes more frequently than is currently prescribed, so that water seepage problems can be pre-empted or resolved more comprehensively?
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues In terms of the methods or the initiatives that HDB is doing to help TCs resolve wall seepage, first of all, there are regular meetings between TC representatives as well as HDB. And I do believe that technical issues, such as wall seepage can be discussed and have been discussed at these settings.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues I also mentioned earlier that we have a training video. This is to help TC staff better understand what are some of the possible causes of water seepage and we also hope that this would equip them with more information when making a decision on which contractors to engage.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues And as for the issue of re-roofing, to date, our experience with TCs across the board is that they have been able to continue to do re-roofing based on the funding support that they have received from the Government, but also from the service and conservancy charges (S&CCs) that they have been collecting from residents. And Mr Giam will also recall that, not that long ago, all TCs underwent a revision of S&CCs and there has also been Government support for that. So, if there is a need to further increase funding, this is something that we can take up separately, if the TCs have a specific request.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Ms Sylvia Lim.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues Sir, I have one clarification for the Senior Minister of State and it is about roof seepage cases. Some of the recent cases that we have encountered appear to be linked to HDB's project to install solar panels on the roofs. So, I wonder whether the Senior Minister of State is aware of this and whether she can comment on what HDB is doing, going forward, to try to minimise this sort of problems.
Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues If the TCs are of the view that solar panels deployed on the rooftops of HDB blocks could possibly affect insulation and therefore, affect seepage, then this is something which, in our experience, the contractors that have been responsible for installing the solar panels would work very closely with TC and also with HDB, if necessary, to resolve the issue.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing 7 Mr Mark Lee asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how does MAS ensure that financial technology platforms and non-bank financial institutions offering high-yield investment products maintain sufficient liquidity and manage fund withdrawal risks; (b) whether MAS is considering additional safeguards to enhance consumer protection for retail investors engaging with such platforms, given recent liquidity challenges faced by fintech firms; and (c) what measures are in place to ensure that the public fully understands the risks of using financial services from non-bank entities, particularly fintech platforms offering investment-linked products.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing 8 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what steps is MAS taking to ensure financial institutions and fintech companies (FIFCs) provide clear, accurate and timely communication regarding changes to their products and services; (b) what measures are in place to encourage FIFCs to adopt responsible marketing strategies, avoid overpromising on returns or benefits and avoid offering overly attractive promotional offers to customers; and (c) how does MAS ensure that fintech companies adhere to the same standards of risk management and consumer communications as banks.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Mr Speaker, with your permission, may I take Question Nos 7 and 8 together please, as they touch on similar issues.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Please go ahead.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Mr Speaker, investment platforms operating as digital advisers that manage investment portfolios on behalf of customers are licensed as Capital Markets Services Licensees (CMSLs) under the Securities and Futures Act. They offer portfolios which are invested into funds managed by other licensed fund management companies. These investment platforms are required by regulation to keep customers' assets legally separate and safekept by licensed custodians.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing The recent incident involving a surge in withdrawals from an investment platform illustrate that the safeguards worked as intended. Customers' assets were properly segregated from the platform and requests for withdrawal were redeemed in an orderly manner, within the standard fund redemption timeframe of three to six working days. Customers received the market value of their investments within the typical three to six days.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing In the specific case I mentioned above, the investment platform offered two unique features, which they marketed prominently to customers. First, it offered instant withdrawals for customers, up to a limit per account. Second, it allowed customers to spend on a debit card that was linked to the value of their underlying investments. The platform stopped both these features when the high usage of both these features became unsustainable for it to support.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing The conditions and limitations of these features, including the ability of the investment platform to vary or stop these features, were disclosed in the product terms and conditions. However, these disclosures may not have been effective in providing customers a full understanding of the product.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing While product features do not always require regulatory approval, there are regulatory requirements in place for robust risk management and clear disclosures, especially where they impact a firm's operations. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is reviewing this particular case against these requirements, as well as, more generally, how to ensure investment platforms implement these requirements effectively.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing At the same time, we urge customers to fully understand the features, including key terms and conditions, and risks of a financial product, before deciding to invest in it. Customers should also seek professional financial advice on the suitability of a product if they are unclear of its features. We also encourage customers to refer to our MoneySENSE website to learn more about what to look out for in an investment.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Mr Mark Lee.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing I thank the Minister of State Alvin Tan for the detailed reply and MAS' ongoing efforts to uphold trust while supporting innovation in our financial ecosystem. I think the recent fintech incident illustrates that even when a platform is MAS-licensed, many retail users may not clearly understand the regulatory boundaries or even the product risk, particularly in relation to liquidity and withdrawal expectations.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing It is not necessarily a regulatory lapse, but I think a communication and perception challenge. And like what the Minister of State Alvin Tan has said, the provider did include disclaimers, but retail users still conflated the offering with bank-like products. And I understand, like what the Minister of State Alvin Tan has said, MAS has worked through initiatives, like MoneySENSE, to promote financial literacy.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing But as fintech products evolve and marketing strategies become more sophisticated, some consumers may be drawn in by branding promotional hooks or platform design despite the presence of legally accurate disclosure. To address this, can I suggest the Ministry consider the following: first, requiring a mandatory plain language risk summary before investors proceed and with the user's acknowledgement; second, strengthening public education on such products; and third, encouraging perhaps tighter industry-led codes of conduct on marketing and promotions?
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Sir, I thank Mr Mark Lee for his supplementary question. I think he made a really good point about the need to continue to foster trust and also to uphold innovation – and that is what we are trying to do with the fintech sector.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing I think this particular episode has shown, in fact, that it is important for companies, and in fact, there are regulatory requirements, as I mentioned in my original reply for companies: first, to put in place these robust risk management practices; and second, to properly disclose their products and the features of their products as they impact the firm's operations.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing So, we will do that. We will review this particular case in detail and work with platforms, work with the industry to ensure how to better implement these within these requirements that we have set out earlier on.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing The additional part is also with regard to financial understanding of these products. And I think as more products are being introduced to the market, it is equally important for customers to be savvy about these. And we will continue to work with different platforms to promote the understanding of these products; but at the first base, to work with firms like the ones that I mentioned, the broader industry, to say, I think you need to make your disclosure just a little bit clearer and upfront. It is already there, but I think they can do more.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Mr Saktiandi Supaat.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Thank you, Mr Speaker. I just have two supplementary questions to add to what Member Mr Mark Lee has spoken about. I thank the Minister of State and also Member Mark Lee for highlighting the innovation that we want to encourage in Singapore in the financial sector and the trust element.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing The first supplementary question is, what more can MAS do to strengthen consumer financial literacy, which was highlighted just now by the Minister of State. But I think my question is, there is going to be more of these going forward as we push towards innovation in the financial sector, so whether we can streamline the complaints channel for retail investors and especially for fintech-related grievances. Because this is going to get a bit more complex as we allow some innovation space.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Second, in terms of the increasing use of digital platforms and artificial intelligence (AI)-based marketing by financial institutions and fintech companies, is there a way that MAS can share how it can enhance its oversight to ensure such technologies are not used to exploit consumer biases or obscure risks going forward? I think it is going to get a bit more complex. The Minister of State shared it somewhat just now, but I think with AI-based marketing, especially on the fintech side, how can we enhance our oversight?
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Sir, we will do, I think, all of the above. Primarily, I think, consumer education is one. For customer complaints, I encourage the consumers and customers, if you do have complaints, to please raise them with MAS. MAS looks into these complaints holistically.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Second, we work very closely with the industry, for example, the fintech firms and the Singapore FinTech Association. I think there is scope for us to work closely with them to see how we can encourage these platforms, as I mentioned in my early reply to Member Mark Lee, to raise the standards and also to better disclose these product features.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing Thirdly, I think with regard to more implementation of technology, I think we need to balance between financial innovation as well as regulatory conduct. And I think what is also important is one particular safeguard in this space. If you look at some of the safeguards for this particular case, this particular firm had a CMSL licence for fund management. Consumers can also look into the financial institutions directory to look at which firms and which financial institutions are regulated, and also, consult the Investor Alert List.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing But with regard to this particular firm and the CMSL licence, if you look at it carefully, there is a requirement for the segregation of customer funds. So, a segregation of customer funds from the company's money. And that means that there is a segregation where customers' investments are safeguarded. And that is why when customers are requesting for withdrawal, there is an orderly withdrawal because these customer funds are placed under independent custody. They must remain intact – it is a requirement under the CMSL licence – and they cannot be used to meet the firm's liability at any point of time.
Protection for Consumers of Fintech Platforms and Non-bank Institutions, and Regulations on Liquidity Levels and Responsible Marketing So, we have education, we have a good regulatory framework and also implementation. I think these will help us to foster a vibrant fintech ecosystem while making sure that we protect consumers' interests.
Number and Causes of Passenger Fatalities onboard Buses 9 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many bus passenger fatalities have there been in each year of the past 10 years; (b) what are the main causes of the fatalities; (c) whether the recent death of an 80-year-old man who lost his balance and fell on board an SBS Transit bus will expedite the planned implementation of the Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce’s recommendations; and (d) what other measures are being considered to ensure the safety of our elderly on public buses.
Number and Causes of Passenger Fatalities onboard Buses Sir, over the past 10 years, there were five bus passenger fatalities. Four of these fatalities involved elderly commuters falling onboard, while the remaining case was the result of a serious collision.
Number and Causes of Passenger Fatalities onboard Buses The Land Transport Authority (LTA) works closely with the public bus operators to maintain and improve bus safety. Public buses in Singapore are equipped with features such as dedicated priority seats, non-slip flooring materials, bus kneeling function at bus stops, and grab bars at exit doors to facilitate boarding and alighting. Bus captains are also trained to ensure that elderly commuters are safely seated before moving off and to avoid harsh acceleration, braking or jerky movement.