Constitution of the Republic of Singapore - Singapore Statutes Online

Interpretation of this Part

142.—(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Development Fund” means the Development Fund established by the Development Fund Act (Cap. 80);

“financial year” means a period of 12 months ending on 31st March in any year.

(1A) Notwithstanding clauses (1C) and (2), where —

(a)	before the start of any financial year, the President, acting in his discretion, concurs with the advice of the Minister responsible for finance on the long-term real rates of return which are expected to be earned on the respective components of the relevant assets (referred to in this Article as the expected long-term real rates of return); and
(b)	the Minister responsible for finance thereafter certifies under his hand to the President the spending limit for that financial year, specifying an amount which shall not be more than 50% of the total of all amounts ascertained by applying the expected long-term real rates of return so agreed under paragraph (a) for that financial year on the respective components of the relevant assets,

any reference in this Part to the reserves not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office shall exclude those reserves equal to the amount so certified.

(1B) Any provisional certificate on the spending limit for a financial year issued by the Minister responsible for finance under clause (1A)(b) at any time during the financial year shall have the same effect as if it is a final certificate on the spending limit for the financial year until it is superseded by the issue of the final certificate on the spending limit for that same financial year.

(1C) In addition to clause (2), the net investment income and realised capital gains that are —

(a)	directly attributable to the relevant assets; and
(b)	received by the Government during a financial year in any current term of office of the Government,

shall for the purposes of this Part accrete and be deemed to form part of the past reserves of the Government with effect from the date of the receipt thereof.

(2) For the purposes of this Part, where any net investment income is received during a financial year in any current term of office of the Government —

(a)	such amount of the net investment income of the financial year that is derived from the past reserves of the Government as is certified under clause (3); or
(b)	if no certificate under clause (3) is made, 50% of the net investment income of the financial year that is derived from the past reserves of the Government not comprised in the relevant assets,

shall accrete and be deemed to form part of the past reserves of the Government with effect from the date of the certificate relating to that financial year made under clause (3) or, if no such certificate is made or earlier made, from the date the accounts and statements referred to in Article 147(5) for that financial year are presented to the President.

(3) The Minister responsible for finance shall, as soon as practicable after the end of FY 2000 and every subsequent financial year, certify to the President in a certificate relating to that financial year, the amount (not being less than 50%) of the net investment income of that financial year derived from the past reserves of the Government not comprised in the relevant assets which is to accrete and be deemed to form part of the past reserves of the Government; and such certificate shall be final and conclusive evidence of the amount.

(4) In this Article —

“FY 2000” means the financial year beginning on 1st April 2000 and ending on 31st March 2001;

“net investment income”, in relation to a financial year, means the balance of —

(a)	the dividends, interest and other income received by the Government during the financial year from investing the reserves of the Government; and
(b)	the interest received by the Government during the financial year from loans (whenever given) by the Government,

after deducting all expenses arising from or incidental to investing and managing those reserves (other than costs of purchasing or disposing of or converting investments) and any interest, sinking fund charges and borrowing charges, but excludes any such income or interest on loans received before the beginning of FY 2000;

“net investment income of a financial year that is derived from the past reserves” means the share of the net investment income of the financial year that is attributable to the past reserves;

“past reserves of the Government” means the reserves not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office, including accretions thereto deemed under clauses (1C) and (2) to be part thereof, but less such amount that is certified under clause (1A)(b) or such amount adjusted pro-rata based on the period a financial year falls partially within any current term of office of the Government;

“real rate of return” means an annual percentage of return on investment of relevant assets of the Government adjusted for changes in prices due to inflation or deflation and after deducting all expenses arising from or incidental to investing and managing the relevant assets;

“realised capital gains”, in relation to any relevant assets, means all proceeds realised from the disposition of the relevant assets less all costs and expenses arising from or incidental to the disposition, purchase or conversion of the relevant assets, and includes any realised capital losses;

“relevant assets” means all of the following:

(a)	the total net assets managed by the GIC Pte. Ltd. and all its wholly-owned subsidiaries (including those with registered offices outside Singapore) as fund managers for the Government, for any company wholly-owned by the Government and for all the wholly-owned subsidiaries of such a Government company; [Act 39 of 2014 wef 01/01/2015]
(b)	such moneys of the Government as the Monetary Authority of Singapore receives from the Government as banker to the Government; and
(c)	the excess of the assets of the Monetary Authority of Singapore over its liabilities, being assets and liabilities not directly attributable to the Government, and being not already comprised in paragraph (b),

less the following liabilities:

(i)	the total liabilities of the Government that is attributable to its borrowings under the Government Securities Act (Cap. 121A) and the Local Treasury Bills Act (Cap. 167); and
(ii)	the total liabilities of the Government that is represented by any Government Fund (other than a Government Fund required by written law to be held, managed and administered separately from other Government funds) established by a public Act for special purposes and not already comprised in paragraph (i).

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