"$70,000 for somebody who is of high income is a nice bonus or sweetener. But I think for somebody who earns $$70,000 or maybe less, this is equivalent to one year's compensation, or two years, or even three years' compensation. And I think it's really quite game changing as a source of relief." - Jeremy Au
"I would say that the founder quality is on average at an all-time high because obviously those who are still plugging along are still committed, still pushing. The AI wave has really superpowered our ability to be creative and to also execute, and the problems that are in Southeast Asia... are still there. It's just a great time to attack those problems, but the funding to support them is really at an all-time low." - Jeremy Au
"I'm sort of of the mind that I think Singapore and Southeast Asia would be better off with 50 companies that were worth $50 million each instead of trying to swing and miss to have one unicorn." - Shiyan Koh
Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh take apart Singapore's new SG Child Support Package: almost $70,000 per Singaporean child paid out over 17 years, more childcare leave, and preschool fees heading towards $150 a month.
Jeremy on why the number only means anything relative to income. Shiyan on why the preschool change matters most. Whether the extra leave actually gets taken, or quietly costs you at work. And the change nobody articulated: every Singapore Citizen child now qualifies regardless of their parents' marital status.
Plus nuclear, transhipment, and their wishlist for the next budget.
00:00 Introduction
01:33 The $70,000 package, explained
03:26 Why preschool is the biggest piece
06:26 Cash today, or shares that compound to 18
09:03 Sweeping unused payouts into a nest egg
12:15 A voucher society, or a shareholder society
13:38 The pushback: SMEs and the colleagues covering
16:49 Reservist, and the cost of stepping away
21:38 Who qualifies: citizen children, foreign parents
25:34 What about single parents?
29:45 Nuclear: island mergers and a China pact
32:41 Vietnam, transhipment, Dockware and Portcast
36:20 Wishlist for the next budget
39:24 Fifty $50M companies beat one unicorn
43:10 Outro
Keywords: Singapore budget, total fertility rate, parental leave, startup ecosystem, NRF 2.0, venture capital, early-stage funding, Southeast Asia tech, AI startups, supply chain logistics, nuclear energy Singapore,
