At a post-Budget forum organised by the Economic Society of Singapore on February 25, SMU Professor of Quantitative Finance and Director of the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics David Lee, who is also the Vice President of the Economic Society of Singapore, said that the focus of this year’s Budget measures on productivity points to an increased emphasis on encouraging innovation and building the future. The productivity trend in Singapore in recent years has illustrated the limitation of raising productivity without innovation. As such, with the increased focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and innovation in the Budget, this could mean that the Government will be helping SMEs with innovation and globalisation, as an important step in Singapore’s economic development.