LTA to consider increasing number of COEs
After months of escalating Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices, some respite may soon be in sight.
To address the tight supply of COEs, which leads to their soaring prices, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew has asked the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to consider stalling initial plans to cut the vehicle growth rate from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent by August this year, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
The latest bidding round alone saw COE prices reaching record levels. Prices for big cars went past the S$90,000 mark, while those for smaller cars breached the S$60,000 mark.
Another suggestion the minister made is to defer the claw-back of COEs which has been underway since April 2010. The claw-back is to counter an oversupply of COEs due to over-projections in vehicle de-registrations between 2008 and 2009.
If implemented, these measures are expected to cool the red-hot COE market, although industry players quoted in the CNA report do not expect a significant reduction in COE prices.
LTA will be studying the proposal and is expected to reach a decision by the end of the month.
The news was welcomed by aspiring car owners. Said 29-year-old Timmy Siow: "With the increasing number of COEs, it will definitely be easier on my pocket for me to consider buying a car."
However, management executive Yvonne Tan questioned whether the decision will really benefit motorists.
"It's a good sign that the government is thinking of ways to increase the number of COEs made available to Singaporeans, but what about the prices [of COEs]? If it remains the same, I don't think anything will change," she said.
