Watch: Grant for Taylor Swift more like a ‘thank you’ for coming here and not deal breaker: Ho Ching…

The reported millions of dollars in government grants is not to ensure that Singapore is the only stop in Southeast Asia for Taylor Swift’s tour, Ho Ching said on Tuesday (March 12).

But rather, it is “more like a thank you honorarium” to “celebrate” her decision to come here, she added.

In a Facebook post yesterday, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the grant – reportedly to be between $2 and $4 million for all six shows – would not have been enough to impose such “impose onerous conditions” such as an exclusivity clause.

The amount, Ho said, would not have been enough to swing the deal one way or other.

“Being good civil servants, the Singapore Tourism Board must have cracked their heads to find an internal rationale for giving her the grant,” Ho said.

“They can’t call it a welcome gift for a daughter or granddaughter of two well-established Singapore residents from early years.”

Ho said that the government could not call the millions of dollars a “thank you gift” or “donation in exchange for providing lowest price tickets at $88 each”.

“And so in the typical civil service speak, it can only be a grant. That is also done during budget time too,” she said.

Ho shared that as Asean economies grow, there will be much more purchasing power in and outside of Singapore to persuade more top end artists to make a stop somewhere in Southeast Asia.

“So it is not a given Singapore will be a preferred choice, or anywhere else in Southeast Asia for that matter,” she said.

“Let Taylor Swift and the various artists decide for themselves where they think it makes sense for them. So chill, man, chill!”