SINGAPORE – Budget 2024 will be put under the microscope at a round-table discussion on Feb 19 organised by The Straits Times and UOB.

The event will follow Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget speech on Feb 16.

The discussion will cover how Budget 2024’s initiatives can strengthen and unite Singaporean households, workers and businesses as the world grapples with geopolitical tensions and volatile inflation.

The panel will be moderated by ST associate editor and senior columnist Lee Su Shyan. The panellists are UOB’s Mr Alvin Liew, the Singapore Business Federation’s (SBF) Mr Kok Ping Soon, PwC Singapore’s Ms Irene Tai, and Associate Professor Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Mr Liew is senior economist and senior vice-president of UOB’s global economics and markets research team. He is responsible for research and analysis on developed economies – specifically, the United States and Japan. He has been working in the banking industry since 2000 and has experience in both the public and private sectors.

Mr Kok is SBF’s chief executive officer and former chief executive of the Government Technology Agency.

He has also held various positions in the Manpower Ministry, National Security Coordination Secretariat, Trade and Industry Ministry, Singapore Tourism Board, Economic Development Board (EDB) and Contact Singapore, an EDB division that advises entrepreneurs and business owners who are interested in relocating to and investing in Singapore. He spent six years in the US working for EDB and Contact Singapore.

Ms Tai is PwC Singapore’s tax leader for energy, utilities and resources, as well as transport and logistics. She is also responsible for driving the environmental, social and governance agenda for tax. She has 16 years of experience in providing corporate and international tax advisory services to multinational companies across various sectors.

Prof Theseira teaches economics at the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ School of Business. He has served as an economics research adviser for several government agencies, and is a board member of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore. He is also a former Nominated MP. 

• For more information on Budget 2024, visit straitstimes.com/Budget-2024.