Daily Briefing: Budget 2017 lacks incentives to attract foreign investors; More affordable resale HDBs for first-time applicants

And here are four tips for booking long haul flights at the best prices.

Singapore , a Southeast Asian city state whose early economic progress was closely tied to investments from foreign multinationals, presented a budget on Monday that has few incentives to draw more of such investors, one tax expert said. Speaking to CNBC's " Rundown " on Tuesday, PwC Singapore's tax leader Chris Woo said the absence of such big-bang tax measures could mean that Singapore is feeling comfortable with its position amid an increasingly competitive tax environment. "It's interesting to see there isn't anything spectacular that would grab the attention of the foreign investors. Last night in the U.S. time or European time, if someone was looking to invest in Singapore or was waiting for goodies in the budget, there weren't really any big goodies for these multinationals outside Singapore to attract them to Singapore," said Woo. Read the rest of the story here.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced, with immediate effect, in his Budget statement today that the CPF housing grant has been raised to $50,000 for first-timer couples buying four-room or smaller HDB flats from the resale market. For those who purchase five-room or bigger flats, the grant has been raised to $40,000. The CPF housing grant was previously capped at $30,000. First-timer couples can now receive up to $110,000 in subsidies, which includes the Additional CPF Housing Grant and Proximity Housing Grant. Get to know the full story here.

Do you have plans to travel somewhere far away from Singapore in the near future? While it is super awesome to travel the world for free, not everybody gets to do just that. To keep your travel expenditure as low as possible without sacrificing fun and well-deserved enjoyment, it is imperative that you employ hacks to find cheap hotels and cheap flights for your holiday. Click here to see the tops on how to help you shave your travel costs when you are booking long haul flights.

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