DPM Gan Kim Yong at the Launch of CDC Vouchers Scheme 2025 (January)

各位居民大家早上好！先祝大家新年快乐。这个是我们新年以来第一次活动。非常高兴能够和大家一起来来到马林百列，发放另一轮的社理会邻里购物券（CDC Vouchers)。

虽然通货膨胀近几个月正在放缓，但是政府也了解生活费仍然是很多新加坡家庭所关注的课题，所以也因此采取了许多的措施来帮助新加坡人应对生活费的问题。

社理会邻里购物券计划就是其中一个非常重要的措施。

去年，我们分发了两轮的社理会邻里购物券，分别是1月份的500元和6月份的300元，总共是800元。

今天，我们将分发新一轮300元的邻里购物券。我们希望这能为国人在日常生活的开销中带来一些帮助，并且我们还会继续按着需要随时准备采取更多的措施，来缓解国人的忧虑。

在此，我也想致辞感谢我们的社区人士，特别是我们的年轻人和 我们的学生们, 帮助各户家庭通过数码方式领取社理会邻里购物券。我也要感谢我们的私人企业，例如超市、邻里商家、小贩和私人咖啡店等，对这项计划的支持，从而扩大家庭能使用邻里购物券的选项。

这种携手合作的精神是值得我们赞赏的。我希望今年在我们欢庆SG60, 我们建国60周年的时候，我们也能继续寻招新的机会，让我们一起来合作，携手带领新加坡向前迈进。

谢谢大家。

Minister Tan See Leng
Senior Minister of State, Ms Low Yen Ling,
Mayors Denise Phua, Desmond Choo, Alex Yam and Mohd Fahmi Aliman,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

Good morning. It is my pleasure to join all of you today at the launch of the CDC Vouchers Scheme 2025 (January). This is also one of the first events this year by the CDCs to kick off our SG60 celebrations.

Last year, we had announced that we would provide an additional $600 in CDC Vouchers, as part of the enhancements to the Assurance Package to help with the daily expenses for Singaporeans.

I launched the first tranche of these vouchers just six months ago; and today I am happy to launch the second tranche of another $300 worth of CDC Vouchers.

Supporting Singaporeans with Cost-of-Living Concerns

The CDC Vouchers is one of the key initiatives in the government’s efforts to help households manage cost of living challenges.

We introduced the CDC Vouchers scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic to show our appreciation to Singaporeans for their solidarity during those difficult times, and also to support our businesses.

After the pandemic, inflation had remained high due to a combination of factors, including pent-up demand for services, geopolitical crises such as the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict, and supply chain disruptions.

We therefore continued with the CDC Vouchers scheme to help Singaporeans cushion the impact of rising prices.

Last year, we distributed two tranches of CDC Vouchers – $500 in January 2024; and $300 in June. This is in addition to the $300 we are giving out today.

I am heartened to share that almost all Singaporean households have claimed and spent their 2024 CDC Vouchers.

Thankfully, inflation has cooled in recent months.

Core inflation last year is expected to average about 2.5% to 3.0%, down from over 4% in 2023.

And barring any unforeseen circumstances, core inflation is expected to ease further to 1.5% to 2.5% this year.

Even though prices may not be rising as fast, we understand that Singaporeans remain concerned about cost of living. We have taken several measures to address these concerns, and we stand ready to do more to support Singaporeans if necessary.

Our strong Singapore dollar enables us to mitigate increases in the costs of imported goods and services.

We work with businesses too to drive productivity and innovation, so that Singaporeans can continue to have good jobs with better wages.

We have also rolled out various measures to cushion the pace of price increases for individuals and households.

For example, as part of the Assurance Package, all adult Singaporeans would have received up to $600 in cash last month.

This month, eligible households will receive additional U-Save and S&CC rebates to help them with their utility bills, as well as their service and conservancy charges.

We are also grateful that the community and the private sector - including merchant and heartland associations, schools, and volunteers - have come forward to support our efforts, such as the CDC Vouchers scheme.

With their support, we have moved to digital vouchers with effect from December 2021.

Today, households can claim and spend the CDC Vouchers in under five minutes, by visiting the website (go.gov.sg/cdcv) and logging in with SingPass. Those who face difficulties claiming the vouchers digitally can simply approach the Community Centres.

The CDCs also work closely with their partners to expand the reach and coverage of the scheme.

Half of the vouchers, or $150, can be used at participating heartland merchants and hawkers; and the other $150 CDC Vouchers can be used at participating supermarkets.

So, whether it is at supermarkets, or heartland merchants and hawkers, you now have many options to use the vouchers.

Many of you will be aware that we have recently onboarded private coffee shop operators as participating merchants.

These onboarded coffeeshop operators have agreed to offer affordable budget meal options, enabling residents to use their vouchers to enjoy nutritious and value-for-money options at their neighbourhood coffeeshops.

To date, there are about 600 coffeeshop stalls that provide budget meal options and accept CDC Vouchers.

The positive impact of the CDC Vouchers scheme is a good showcase of what we can achieve by having the public and private sectors working together.

So as we celebrate SG60 this year, let us continue to find ways to work together - Government, community, and businesses - hand in hand to take Singapore forward in the next chapter of our Singapore story.

Thank you, and I wish all of you a happy, healthy and fruitful 2025 ahead!