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The reserves of the Government of Singapore is a collection of assets, after subtracting for liabilities, owned by the Government of Singapore and the entities listed in the fifth schedule of the Constitution, such as the Central Provident Fund (CPF), Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Temasek Holdings amongst others. This also includes the Official Foreign Reserves (OFR) accumulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the assets managed by GIC Private Limited (GIC). Liabilities held by the Government include MAS-issued bonds such as Singapore Government Securities (SGS) and Government-issued Special Singapore Government Securities (SSGS) that are exclusively purchased by CPF with monies from CPF account holders.
Regarding the relationship between the President and Government, the past reserves refers to a portion of the reserves that were not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office. The president’s discretion to withhold assent to any transaction proposed by the Government or a fifth schedule entity that is likely to lead to a draw on the past reserves has been referred to as a “second key” and is meant to be an independent safeguard against a potential profligate and rogue government wanting to recklessly squander the country’s hard-earned reserves.
As of 2023, the total size of the reserves has been conservatively estimated to be at least S$2.5 trillion (2024) (US$1.87 trillion), based on publicly available data from GIC, Temasek, MAS, and CPF, among others. It is generally assumed that Singapore’s reserves are bigger, far-reaching and significant than publicly acknowledged. However, the Government has consistently maintained that it is not in the national interest of the country to publish the full size of the reserves as doing so “will make it easier for markets to mount speculative attacks on the Singapore dollar during periods of vulnerability.”