SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums
for vehicles closed mostly higher at the close of the latest round
of bidding on Wednesday.
COE premiums for small cars closed at S$62,600, down
from S$64,201 in the previous bidding exercise on April
18.
COE for big cars rose to S$92,050, compared with
S$91,000 previously.
In the Open Category, which is mostly used for big cars, prices
ended at S$88,990, compared with S$92,010.
Premiums for goods vehicles and buses closed at S$58,553, going up
by S$964 from the previous bidding.
For motorcycles, the COE will cost S$2,021, compared with S$1,924
previously.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew had signalled on May 4 that plans
to cut the growth rate of vehicles may be delayed, amid concerns
over surging COE premiums caused by a supply crunch.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is studying if it can be more
flexible with two measures meant to manage vehicle population
growth.
The first is a possible delay in implementing a vehicle growth rate
cut to 0.5 per cent in August, from the current 1.5 per cent.
Secondly, it is examining if it can defer a claw-back of COEs to
counter previous oversupply due to over projections in vehicle
de-registrations between 2008 and 2009.
Vice-President of the Motor Traders Association, Michael Wong, felt
that the announcement has not made an impact on the bidding results
yet.
"This point in time, everything is just conjecture, until we know
what are the actual changes that are going to take place. I think
only then, you can see how much of an increase or decrease, what
the quota is going to be like for the next six months. From then
on, you'll probably know whether the price adjustments will go
through," he said.
-CNA/ac
