|
Singapore (dpa) Faced with too few babies to replace the population, Singapore is turning to private industry for matchmaking, the government said on Friday.
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has injected 600,000 Singapore dollars (382,000 US) to initially spur on the private sector's efforts, replacing such longstanding matchmaking agencies as the government's Social Development Unit (SDU) which has been seeking to unite singles for decades.
The aim is to develop a dating industry comparable to those found in the United Kingdom and Japan.
An accreditation framework for the industry will enable singles to check on the status of agencies which must introduce genuine singles and make sure that the data supplied is kept confidential.
A survey commissioned by the SDU showed singles between 25 and 44 are happy to splurge on dating opportunities, spending 29 million Singapore dollars (18 million US) this year on wining and dining, matchmaking and speed dating.
The move to bolster the dating industry comes as figures show only a slight increase in births since an incentive package was introduced by the government in 2004.
The fertility rate remains at the record low set last year at 1.24, far from the replacement level of 2.1 last recorded 30 years ago.
``It is not realistic to expect fertility to significantly reverse in the near future, much less return to the replacement level,`` Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told parliament recently.
Undaunted, the government is still trying to boost the population of 4.4 million by promoting marriage and parenthood and encouraging more foreigners to become citizens and reproduce.
| 
