(Nov 6): Wealthy foreigners and car-rental firms are unlikely to have caused the surge in the cost of permits giving people the right to buy a car in Singapore, acting transport minister Chee Hong Tat said.

Data from the last three quarters shows the largest driver of demand for cars has been from Singapore residents, Chee told lawmakers on Monday.

The price of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) has also gone up “in a period where demand from car-leasing companies has come down, so it is unlikely that they are the main factor for the increase”, he said.

The Ministry of Transport will bring forward more of its future quota to fill the current troughs in the COE system, he said.

“With the increase in supply, we hope that COE prices would moderate. However, we know prices will also depend on market demand, and demand is not within the Government’s control,” he said.