TO MEET the surge in requests for assistance by low-income Chinese workers and families hit by the recession, the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) is projecting a $4 million deficit for this year.

This is the second straight year the self-help group will be in the red. And it will dig into past surpluses and investment income to finance the deficit, CDAC chairman Lim Swee Say said on Monday afternoon.

Mr Lim, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, was speaking to reporters after the group's annual general meeting. He said the CDAC expects to help at least 64,000 Chinese Singaporeans and permanent residents this year, up from 55,000 in 2008.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.