S'pore businesses concerned about rising costs as Malaysia cuts fuel subsidies

S'pore businesses concerned about rising costs as Malaysia cuts fuel subsidies

    POSTED: 04 Sep 2013 12:24 AM

Some Singapore businesses have said they are worried that higher fuel prices in Malaysia would result in higher operating costs.

SINGAPORE: Some Singapore businesses have said they are worried that higher fuel prices in Malaysia would result in higher operating costs.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday announced that he would cut fuel subsidies to shore up public finances.

Singapore imports about 160,000 live poultry from Malaysia daily -- mostly from Malacca and Perak -- and they are transported by lorries.

Singapore's Poultry Merchants' Association is worried that Malaysian farms may increase the price of live poultry.

Meanwhile, tour bus operators said the fuel price hike could add up to a significant increase in costs due to the long distances buses need to travel.

Tan Boon Huat, general manager of Grassland Express and Tours, said: "It's going to cost about 60 ringgit more per trip to Genting and about 100 ringgit more to Penang.

"So this means an increase in cost of about 4,000 to 5,000 ringgit a day. It adds up to over 100,000 ringgit a month."

But there could be a respite.

The strong Singapore dollar against the ringgit may temporarily help to soften the impact of higher fuel prices in Malaysia.

Chris Tay, deputy general manager of Five Stars Tours, said: "Currently, it's also the low travel season for Malaysia, so we do not intend to increase the price as at now, but we will monitor the whole situation and review it in two to three weeks' time.

"We need to do a calculation of our costs before we're able to conclude whether we'll increase the package price."

- CNA/al

- wong chee tat :)