Singapore, Thailand and more hand out cash to ease inflation pain

SINGAPORE -- Southeast Asian countries are distributing more money directly to households to help them deal with rising prices, though skeptics have raised questions about their effectiveness as well as their impact on already tight public finances.

Singapore's fiscal 2024 budget announced Friday includes 600 Singapore dollars ($445) in shopping vouchers for each household, to be distributed across two rounds in June and next January, as part of a larger support package. This follows a SG$500 voucher handout last month.