SINGAPORE’s overall debt situation remains manageable thus far, with both individual bankruptcy and corporate winding-up orders below pre-pandemic levels, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 7).

He was responding to Member of Parliament Yip Hon Weng, who asked if the government was concerned about individual bankruptcy applications reaching an 18-year high, and increased corporate insolvencies in 2023.

Tan highlighted that not all applications result in orders, adding: “The trend of bankruptcy orders has been largely stable over the recent years, and it’s also below pre-Covid levels.”

Similarly, while compulsory winding-up applications picked up in 2023, actual winding-up numbers were lower and also below pre-Covid levels.

Bankruptcy applications rose in 2023 amid a challenging macroeconomic and financial environment, while higher global interest rates also caused domestic interest rates to rise sharply, said Tan.

“Nevertheless, most corporates and households were able to weather the increases in borrowing costs and continued to service their loans.”

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There has not been any significant uptick in non-performing loans from banks, for either corporates or households, he said.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s stress tests also show that most corporates and household borrowers have adequate buffers to manage shocks to income and financing costs, he added.