Singapore’s economy performed better than expected in 2017 assisted by both a growing world economy as well as an improvement in domestic productivity.

At the same time the Prime Minister said last November that taxes are set to go up as Singapore government spending increases.

This year’s Budget is eagerly awaited and experts expect an announcement that the goods and services tax (GST), currently 7%, will be raised within the next few years.

Join us for a lunch briefing with Shanker Iyer, Founder and Chairman of Iyer Practice Advisers, and Irvin Seah, Executive Director for Economics and Currency Research, DBS Bank to discuss the outlook for Singapore and the regional economies and take a close look at the Government of Singapore's policy responses and specific tax and other changes introduced in the 2018 budget.

Shanker Iyer
Founder & Chairman
Iyer Practice

Shanker Iyer is the Founder and Chairman of Iyer Practice, a specialist advisory firm, with offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, and over 70 professional staff. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London and was a Partner of a leading accounting firm in the UK for over 10 years.

Shanker is currently Chairman of the International Fiscal Association, Singapore Branch, and is also Chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce’s Tax Policy Committee. He is a past Chairman of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, European Chamber of Commerce and British Chamber of Commerce.

With extensive experience spanning over four decades, Shanker has built an expertise in advising privately-held businesses, high net-worth individuals and family offices, on a wide range of international tax, regulatory, immigration and trust matters.

Irvin Seah
Executive Director for Economics and Currency Research
DBS Bank

Irvin Seah is the Executive Director for Economics and Currency Research at DBS Bank in Singapore. He joined DBS in 2006 and he is currently in charge of the macroeconomic coverage of Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. Apart from supporting the bank’s investment strategies and advising DBS clients on macro-economic issues, his opinions on the economy are often featured in the media.

Irvin began his career in the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, Economics Division, as a government economist under the Economist Service Scheme. In his career with the Ministry, Irvin was deeply involved in a wide range of government initiatives. He was also a trade economist as well as a trade negotiator in MTI. Apart from trade related research work, he was also involved in the WTO and several FTA negotiations.

Fluent in Mandarin, Irvin holds a Master of Business (Applied Economics) degree from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.