Preparing firms, workers for future even as Singapore's coffers take a beating

If there were fears that "zombie" firms would be kept alive by a drip-feed of state aid, or that certain segments of Singaporeans would be left behind in the future economy, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat put them to rest in his ministerial statement yesterday.

There was always the risk that blanket Covid-19 support by governments around the world would merely prop up the corporate undead - especially in sectors where consumer habits have shifted for good.