Budget tackles problems of the future, says Grace Fu

Ms Grace Fu, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, has praised this year's Budget as being "far-sighted" in addressing long-term issues.

It is "getting us ready for the future... not just on the personal and social side, but also on the businesses side," she said yesterday.

The higher CPF contributions will be an added cost for businesses, but she was confident employers would find a sustainable level of wages "and hopefully there's good growth for our people".

The labour movement also welcomed the Budget. The National Trades Union Congress said it hopes companies will aggressively tap on the various schemes to improve productivity.