Do the Government Financial Statements include the size of our reserves?
The Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL) is part of the Government Financial Statements (GFS) that are submitted to Parliament at the end of each financial year in accordance with the Constitution.
The Government's total financial assets as reflected in the SAL do not represent the size of our national reserves. Assets and liabilities of statutory boards and government-owned companies are not included in this Statement. The Government's total financial assets in the SAL is thus not a proxy for the size of the reserves.
The SAL reflects how the cash and investment balances of the Government are accounted for in funds and deposit accounts that are established in accordance with the laws governing them.
The Government's total financial assets record the gross assets comprising cash and investments that are set aside in these funds and deposit accounts.
These assets include Government borrowings such as the Special Singapore Government Securities issued to the CPF Board.
Related questions
Why does the Government not disclose the overall size of our reserves?
Singapore has high levels of Government debt as reported in the CIA Public Debt Factbook. Do we have enough assets to cover our liabilities?
Is the Government borrowing too much? Isn't Singapores debt-to-GDP ratio already very high?
How are CPF monies invested? What does the Government do with the monies?
