SINGAPORE - Over the last five years, the Housing Board did not increase rent for 97 per cent of the 374 coffee shops it owns when their tenancies were due for renewal.

But the other 402 privately owned coffee shop operators, and the stallholders who rent from them, must be allowed room to abide by market principles, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann told Parliament on Feb 7.

She was responding to Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) who asked whether the Ministry of National Development (MND) will consider taking further measures to help stallholders of coffee shops keep food prices affordable in the heartland.

Ms Sim said that over the last five years, the increase in the median rent of HDB rental coffee shops has been limited to 1.6 per cent at renewal, as part of efforts to help operators and stallholders in a rising cost environment.

HDB plays its part as a responsible landlord by keeping its rents stable and through the budget meal initiative, she added.

There are currently 776 coffee shops, fewer than half of which are owned by HDB. The remaining 402 are privately owned. Since 1998, HDB no longer sells coffee shops and only rents them out.

In recent years, some privately owned coffee shops made headlines after they changed hands for more than $40 million.

For privately owned coffee shops, Ms Sim said the HDB does not regulate stall rentals that owners charge, as these transactions are private commercial agreements between the coffee shop owners and the stall operators.

Coffee shops need to be operated by people in the trade, she added.

“We are also mindful that HDB is not itself directly in the business of cooked food provision, so we do need to allow room for the coffee shop operators as well as stallholders to abide by market principles and operate,” she said.

Responding to Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC), who asked if there are plans for the Government to reacquire these privately owned coffee shops, she said this is not a step that the Government would take lightly. 

While the Government is not in the business of providing cooked food or stipulating its prices, the best safeguard against runaway cooked food prices is ensuring its wide availability, she said.

This is done by ensuring there is a good spread of food and beverage premises across the island, including coffee shops in HDB estates, as well as other kinds of F&B outlets and hawker centres, she added.

The National Environment Agency manages the 119 markets and hawker centres islandwide. It regulates their tenancies and public health aspects. 

Ms Sim said: “In terms of how (the) Government generally deals with the private sector, I think it’s also important that we are clear about where the market is free to operate and where the Government comes in with interventions.”