Iggy’s Journal: MAS Extends Car Loan Limits to Individuals Who Buy Cars for Private-Hire DrivingFriday 30 Oct 2026 | Mor…

Iggy’s Journal: MAS Extends Car Loan Limits to Individuals Who Buy Cars for Private-Hire Driving

Friday 30 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

STI: Thursday’s close was 5,396.03, down 1.88 points or 0.03%, per Singapore Business Review citing SGX board data.

Wall Street on Thursday, in a session that ran after SGX had closed: the Dow finished at 52,342.56, down 132.54 points or 0.25%. The S&P 500 finished at 7,720.39, down 23.59 points or 0.30%. The Nasdaq finished at 26,184.72, down 365.13 points or 1.38%. The Associated Press tied the fall to Alphabet’s stock after the company reported weaker summer revenue growth than expected, and noted that the S&P 500’s three-day winning streak ended.

Oil: December Brent settled at US$114.88 a barrel, down US$0.44 or 0.38% (Dow Jones Market Data).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on 29 October that motor vehicle financing restrictions extend to individuals who buy cars for point-to-point passenger transport, from 30 October. Loans are limited to 70% of value for cars with an Open Market Value (OMV) of S$20,000 or less, and 60% above that, with a maximum tenure of seven years.

Business Times headlines: “Keppel posts 20% rise in Q3 net profit; New Keppel earnings up 15%”. “Hong Leong, TID place top bid of S$181.86 million or S$1,755 psf ppr for Orchard plot”. “DBS denies rumours of Indonesia unit merging with Bank Central Asia”.

My Personal Take

The MAS rule comes down to two numbers for a driver buying a car: the remaining 30% or 40% of its value has to come from their own pocket, and the loan has to be repaid within seven years. Which of the two applies depends on which side of the S$20,000 OMV line the car falls. Happy Friday.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.