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Business - News
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News Snippets
2008
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Bank guard foils robbery attempt at UOB in City Plaza |
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On 10 Nov 08 at about 3.30pm, Security
Officer Lance Corporal (LCP) Rosli Bin Mohd Sa’ad was on duty at a bank
at a shopping centre along Geylang Rd when he spotted a Malay man
behaving suspiciously in the banking hall. |
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Sensing that something was amiss, LCP Rosli
decided to conduct a check on the subject. When confronted, the subject
became agitated and a scuffle ensued that attracted the attention of
some of the bank staff, who came forward to assist in subduing the Malay
man. |
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Singapore’s economy is strong |
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This downturn is just beginning. No one can
say how long it will last and how deep the downturn will be. Recovery
will come when the property market in America reaches bottom and begins
to rise. That may not be for many months or even years. |
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Fortunately, in Singapore, having
learned from the 1997/98 financial crisis, we have not allowed a
speculative rise in residential property prices. Few citizens have
bought homes that they cannot afford to service their instalments on
their mortgages. High price condominiums and office properties have
declined in prices... |
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More..... |
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Employment Situation in Third Quarter 2008 |
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Preliminary estimates show that employment
grew by 57,800 in the third quarter this year. This was lower than the
gains of 71,400 in the preceding quarter and 58,600 in the third quarter
of 2007... |
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Preliminary estimates show that 2,000
workers were retrenched in the third quarter of 2008, up from 1,798
in the previous quarter and 1,827 in the third quarter of 2007... |
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More..... |
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Advance GDP estimates for 4th quarter 2007 |
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Growth of the Singapore economy moderated in
the fourth quarter of 2007. Advance estimates[1] show that real gross
domestic product (GDP) rose by 6.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in
the fourth quarter, following a 9.0 per cent gain in the previous
quarter... |
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More..... |
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2007
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PrimaDeli allowed to resume factory operations |
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The outbreak of Salmonellosis linked to the
Prima Deli factory has ceased. There have been no new cases with
reported onset of illness following the factory closure on 4 Dec 07... |
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AVA will allow the company to resume its
factory operations in two stages under supervision. |
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With immediate effect, Prima Deli will
be allowed to produce food products that undergo high heat treatment
such as baked products and frozen dough to be baked in the outlets.
If there is no operational hygiene deficiency, full factory
operation may be resumed to produce the other products containing
ingredients not subjected to heat treatment such as cakes with
toppings... |
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More..... |
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Singapore fund management industry has done well in
last few years |
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The trading of OTC commodity derivatives has
also flourished over the years. Last year, total trading volume amounted
to approximately US$600 billion, accounting for almost 8% of global
trades. |
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Singapore is also home to the largest REIT
market in Asia ex-Japan with a total market capitalization in the region
of USD$20 billion. |
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The Merrill Lynch report also noted an
interesting investment trend for HNWIs in Singapore. On the average,
alternative investments (including structured products) account for
almost 10% of total portfolio allocation for 2006... |
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More..... |
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Singapore Labour Market 3rd quarter 2007 |
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Total employment expanded by 58,600 in Q3
07, up substantially from the increase of 43,000 in Q3 06, making it the
second highest quarterly increase after the 64,400 recorded in Q2 07... |
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1,827 workers were retrenched in Q3 07, an
improvement from 2,472 in Q3 06 and 1,918 in Q2 07[2]. This brings the
total number retrenched in the first nine months of 2007 to 5,709, much
lower than 9,388 in the same period last year... |
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More..... |
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Comfort and CityCab taxi fares to go up on 17 Dec 2007 |
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Basic Fare |
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Current |
Revised |
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Flag Down: $2.50 for 1st km
1km to 10km: $0.10 for every 210m
Above 10km: $0.10 for every 175m
Waiting time: $0.10 for every 25sec |
Flag Down: $2.80 for 1st km
1km to 10km: $0.20 for every 385m
Above 10km: $0.20 for every 330m
Waiting time: $0.20 for every 45sec |
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More..... |
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Taxi
enforcement update |
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In enforcement operations conducted over a
13 day period, 14 errant taxi drivers were nabbed at several spots such
as Boat Quay, CHIJMES, Clarke Quay, Mustafa Centre, Orchard Towers and
Shenton Way. |
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Of these, 6 taxi drivers were found
overcharging and 8 were caught for refusing to convey passengers. None
was found touting... |
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More..... |
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New foreign workforce measures to meet strong market
demand |
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With effect from 1 January 2008, the S Pass
quota for all sectors will be increased from 15% to 25%. The new S Pass
quota will come entirely from companies' Work Permit quota which will be
increased for all sectors. Companies can therefore employ more S Pass
holders, in lieu of Work Permit holders, hence improving the quality of
their foreign workforce... |
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To strengthen our
global talent attraction and retention efforts, refinements will be made
to the PEP scheme. Foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed monthly
salary overseas was at least S$7,000 will be eligible for a PEP. The PEP
will also be granted to former P1 Employment Pass holders upon
application. |
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These changes
will take effect from 1 March 2008. Existing and new P1 pass holders
working in Singapore that apply for the PEP ahead of the 2-year
requirement will be accorded in-principle approval. They can apply to
take up the PEP at the end of 2 years on their current P1 pass... |
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More..... |
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Singapore
Workforce 2007 |
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The continued tightening of the labour
market this year has also led to significant gains in income and a
reduction in the number and share of low wage workers... |
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Excluding the
extreme age bands, the employment rate for those aged 25 to 64 edged up
to a new record of 76.5% from 75.5% a year ago. Supported by efforts to
improve employability of older workers, the employment rate of older
residents aged 55 to 64 rose by 2.5%-points over the year to 56.2% in
June 2007.. |
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More..... |
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Use of outdoor display areas (ODA) by HDB shop
retailers |
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Since 17 Oct 07, HDB, SCDF and NEA have been
mounting joint inspections with the Town Councils to enforce the ODA
guidelines. Sixteen joint inspections, one in each of the 16 Town
Councils, involving a total of 1,180 commercial units, have been carried
out to-date. |
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Upon the first joint inspection, an average
of 41% of the shops at each site were found to have infringed the ODA
guidelines. Some of the common infringements include installation of
drop-down screens and lack of 1-metre distance between rows of goods... |
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More..... |
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Cosmetic products to be regulated from 1 Jan 2008 |
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Effective from 1 January 2008, all new
products must comply with the ACD requirements and notify HSA prior to
sale. |
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All existing products that are currently
sold in the local market will be given 12 months to notify HSA and to
fully comply with the requirements by 1 Jan 2011... |
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More..... |
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Review of the Singapore media industry |
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Early last year, MDA worked with industry
players to successfully kick-off a series of trials on High Definition
TV. Today, HDTV is available to Singapore households over free-to-air,
cable and Internet Protocol or IPTV. |
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We view the delivery of digital TV services
to mobile devices as a promising new way to deliver media services to
consumers anytime, anywhere. Hence, MDA has proposed a policy framework
to enable the early deployment of commercial mobile broadcasting... |
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More..... |
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Outlook for Singapore economy in 2008 |
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MTI forecasts the Singapore economy to grow
by 4.5-6.5 per cent in 2008. This represents a moderation in growth
towards the economy's underlying potential rate, following four years of
above-trend growth. |
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The market consensus is that the US
economy will slow down in the first half of 2008 as a result of
weaker credit and housing markets before resuming healthy growth
in the second half. This would support GDP growth in Singapore in
the upper half of the 4.5-6.5 per cent forecast range... |
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More..... |
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HDB releases public housing data for 3Qtr 2007 |
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HDB’s Resale Price Index (RPI) rose by 6.6%
in 3rd Quarter 2007 over the previous quarter, with price increases
across most flat types and towns. |
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The median Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) amount
among all resale transactions conducted in 3rd Quarter 2007 was $17,000
(see Annex C). Cases requiring COV constituted 80% of all resale
transactions in this quarter, with 20% of resale transactions done at or
below valuation... |
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More..... |
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Measures to help HDB retailers |
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Most older HDB shops were built with
electrical loads lower than current norms. Over time, the electrical
load requirements in shops have increased with the proliferation of
air-conditioning, more lighting and other electrical appliances. |
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Currently, the charges for electrical
upgrading for shop tenants and shop owners are $45 per amp and $85
per amp respectively. From 14 Nov 2007, electrical upgrading up to
1 phase 60 amp will be free for tenants while shop owners will pay
the revised charge of $45 per amp... |
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The lower charges/free upgrading will
benefit about 1,200 owners and 1,300 tenants of HDB shops with an
existing electrical supply of less than 1 phase 60 amps... |
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More..... |
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SGNIC launches bidding for fully numeric domain names |
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While alphanumeric domain names already
exist, (eg, www.in2015.sg), fully numeric ones like www.123.sg have not
been allowed till now... |
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SGNIC, the national registry for domain
names, will now also allow pure numeric domain names in all the seven .sg
categories (ie. .sg, .com.sg, .net.sg, .org.sg, .gov.sg, .edu.sg, .per.sg).
The registration for pure numeric domain names will be phased
accordingly: |
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- 05 November – 28 December 20071:
All qualifying applicants including businesses and individuals can
register. Trademark owners2 will get priority over other
applicants. Example: A company with "123" as its trademark will get
priority for 123.sg, or in any other .sg domain category... |
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More..... |
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Employment situation in 3rd Quarter 2007 |
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Employment continued to grow strongly as the
economy maintained its rapid expansion. Preliminary estimates show that
employment grew by 57,600 in the third quarter of 2007... |
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Services continued to lead the employment
gains, adding 34,500 workers in the third quarter of 2007. Manufacturing
posted gains of 11,800. Driven by the growth in building activities,
construction increased its workforce by 10,800, continuing the rapid
increase of the previous quarter... |
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More..... |
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Travellers to declare currency or bearer negotiable
instruments over S$30,000 |
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From 1 November 2007 onwards, persons who
move into or out of Singapore physical currency1 or bearer
negotiable instruments2 (CBNI) the total value of which
exceeds SGD 30,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) will be
required to give a report by filling up a form and submitting it to the
authorities. |
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The form is available at all checkpoints,
police establishments, Singapore Visitors Centres and branches of
Singapore Post... |
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More..... |
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Singapore Airlines A380 enters commercial service |
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The Singapore Airlines A380 enters
commercial service today (25 Oct 2007), with its first flight – SQ380 – from Singapore
to Sydney, Australia... |
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The majority of the seats on the two legs of
this flight were sold on eBay, the global online marketplace, with all
proceeds donated to charities... |
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More..... |
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Secondhand Goods Dealers Act effective from 1 Dec 2007 |
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Under the new Act, only dealers who deal in
secondhand goods that are listed in the Schedule will be regulated. This
will be regardless of whether such dealings take place at a shopfront,
via a makeshift stall or over the Internet. |
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The list of items was drawn up based on
crime data of commonly stolen items. While the existing Act has a wider
list of items, the new regulatory regime has a reduced list which
comprises commonly stolen items. This allows a sharper regulatory focus
in preventing fencing1. |
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Dealers who deal in items which are not in
the new list will not be regulated. The list of items may also be
revised according to crime trends... |
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More..... |
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Medical devices in Singapore to be regulated |
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HSA is adopting a phased approach in
implementing the new regulations to minimise the impact to the
supply of medical devices and to provide sufficient time for the
industry to meet the new standards and requirements. The control
measures will be implemented in three phases, starting from 1
November 2007:.. |
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More..... |
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Singapore outlook for 2007 and 2008 |
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Nonetheless, financial markets have
rebounded recently and underlying economic conditions remain
supportive. GDP growth is therefore on track to come in at the
upper end of the 7-8% forecast range this year, up from the
4.5-6.5% forecast during the April review... |
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In the Singapore economy, growth will
be led by non-IT manufacturing, construction and business
services, which have built up a strong momentum and are more
dependent on regional and domestic sources of demand as well as
developments in specific product markets. |
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At this stage, our assessment is that
the Singapore economy is likely to expand at a slower rate in 2008
than in the recent past, reflecting weaker global economic growth.
Singapore’s GDP growth rate is expected to come in within its
potential of 4-6% next year... |
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More..... |
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Proposed exemption from maximum credit card limit |
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
has issued a consultation paper proposing to exempt card issuers from
complying with the maximum credit limit when issuing credit or charge
cards to individuals with an annual income of at least $120,000 or net
personal assets exceeding $2 million[1]. |
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With the proposed exemption, card issuers
may determine the appropriate credit limits for this higher income group
in line with their assessment of the credit worthiness of these
individuals... |
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More..... |
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Grading exercise for licensed security agencies |
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About 52% of the agencies which took part
this year attained a Grade B and above as compared to the 24% in 2006.
This is a marked improvement and a good testimony to the rising
standards of the security agencies... |
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Of the 270 agencies in Singapore , 86
did not participate in the grading exercise. Of these 86, 8
agencies were newly licensed in the period of assessment and
therefore could not be graded... |
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More..... |
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Singapore and UK conclude landmark Open Skies
Agreement |
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Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) have
concluded a landmark Open Skies Agreement (OSA) on 2 October 2007,
removing all restrictions on air services operated by carriers of both
countries. |
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With this agreement, Singapore Airlines (SIA)
will now be able to operate as many services as the Singapore-UK market
could support... |
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Similarly, UK carriers will be able to
operate any number of services beyond Singapore to any other city
in the world. These rights, which will be effective from end-March
2008, come nearly two decades after Singapore first made its
request to the UK... |
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More..... |
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Singapore's seaport to be world's first Wi-Max-Ready
by 2008 |
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By early 2008, all ships in Singapore can
have access to mobile wireless broadband, allowing real-time and
data-intensive communications between the ships and their customers and
business partners... |
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WISEPORT is one of the initial projects
under the Infocomm@SeaPort programme, which aims to provide a mobile
wireless broadband network within 15km from Singapore's southern
coastline... |
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More..... |
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MAS issues revised property fund guidelines |
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The revised Guidelines are intended to
improve safeguards for investors and to provide greater clarity and
flexibility for commercial transactions... |
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MAS will amend the Securities and Futures
Act (SFA) to include REIT management as a regulated activity... |
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More..... |
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BIS Survey ranks Singapore as world's 5th largest FX
centre |
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According to the latest survey by the Bank
for International Settlements (BIS), average daily foreign exchange (FX)
turnover volume in Singapore jumped 84% from the previous survey in
2004, to reach US$231 billion in 2007. |
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The survey ranks Singapore as the
fifth largest FX centre in the world and the second largest in
Asia, closely behind Tokyo... |
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The survey also ranks Singapore as eighth
largest centre globally in terms of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives
trading, up from twelfth position in 2004... |
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More..... |
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Jackson Tai to step down as CEO of DBS |
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DBS Group Holdings said today that Jackson
Tai will step down as Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to
be with his family in the United States, and his last day at the bank
will be towards the end of this year... |
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DBS has initiated an extensive global search
for the new CEO. In the interim, with the endorsement of the Boards, Koh
Boon Hwee, Chairman of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, will with
immediate effect take on an active management oversight role. He will
oversee the Corporate Office to ensure continued strong leadership and a
smooth transition over the next few months... |
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More..... |
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MOM revokes licences of three employment agencies |
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The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revoked
the licences and forfeited the security deposits of three employment
agencies (EA) - Ms Bushra Employment Agency, CM Manpower Centre Pte Ltd
and Angel Maids Agency. |
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These EAs have breached the Employment
Agencies Act by illegally deploying foreign domestic workers (FDWs)
to perform work at households when they have not obtained valid
work passes1... |
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More..... |
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Medisave lucky draws for self-employed and informal
workers |
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The Government is introducing the Medisave
Contribution Draw (MCD) to encourage low-income self-employed persons (SEPs)
and informal workers to contribute to their Medisave accounts... |
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The MCD will consist of four quarterly draws
for each year of work done... |
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The MCD will run for three years and will be
reviewed thereafter... |
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More..... |
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Registration of optometrists and opticians starts in
Sep 2007 |
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In July this year, Parliament passed the
Optometrists & Opticians Act. The Act which aims to raise the standard
of eye care in Singapore will come into effect on 1 January 2008... |
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Applications for registration by the
Optometrists and Opticians Board have just started. Optometrists
and opticians are advised to apply for registration before 15
December 2007, in order to continue practising as optometrists or
opticians from January 2008... |
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More..... |
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Singapore Labour Market 2nd quarter 2007 |
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Total employment grew by an all-time
quarterly high of 64,400 in Q2 07, surpassing the increase of 49,400 in
Q1 07 and 36,400 in Q2 06. This brought employment growth in the first
half of 2007 to 113,800, compared with 81,500 in the same period last
year. |
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With the robust employment gains, the
seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate declined significantly to
2.3% in Jun 07 from 2.9% in Mar 07. The resident1
unemployment rate also fell to 3.1% from 4.0% over the same period. An
estimated 76,100 (or 60,200 after seasonal adjustment) residents were
unemployed in Jun 07... |
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More..... |
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Employer-financed insurance for medical expenses of
foreign workers |
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The Ministry of Manpower will require
employers to purchase and maintain insurance for the medical expenses of
foreign workers from 1 January 2008. |
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This requirement is being implemented in
tandem with the withdrawal of healthcare subsidies for foreigners1,
which was previously announced by the Ministry of Health. The
requirement will apply to: |
- All new and existing foreign workers
on Work Permit or S Pass from 1 January 2008.
- All new foreign domestic workers, and
existing foreign domestic workers when employers renew their Work
Permits, from 1 January 2008.
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More..... |
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Rock Productions and CapitaLand develop Integrated Hub
at Vista Xchange |
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"CapitaLand Retail will also project manage the entire development of the
Integrated Hub, which is expected to be completed by 2011. |
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"The Integrated Hub will stand out in
the one-north precinct with its stunning iconic architecture.
Designed by Andrew Bromberg of AEDAS Hong Kong, the development
will boast over eight levels of Civic and Cultural Zone, and four
levels of Retail and Entertainment Zone, forming the base
structure..." |
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More..... |
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NETS and SingTel to launch Singapore's first NFC
trials |
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"By including a stored value wallet with
Over-The-Air (OTA) capabilities, which covers wireless downloads and
top-ups of stored value to NFC phones, the trial becomes a first in
Asia... |
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"Under the payment solution being planned,
SingTel users will need to download a mNETS application, which will
allow them to store and top up value on the mNETS payment application in
their phones any time. Users will then be able to make payments using
NETS FlashPay by flashing their SingTel mobile phones at NETS
contactless terminals islandwide..." |
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More..... |
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The Private Security Industry Bill 2007 passed |
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"Should a private investigator or security
officer be charged with or convicted of a prescribed offence which makes
his continued employment as a private investigator or security officer
undesirable, his licence can be suspended with immediate effect. This
power is provided in Clause 24(5) of the Bill. |
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"With the introduction of the licensing
schemes for security officers and private investigators, more than 500
private investigators and 30,000 security officers will need to apply
for a licence..." |
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More..... |
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Changi Airport to be corporatised |
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"After careful consideration, the government
believes that it is necessary to corporatise Changi Airport and to
re-structure CAAS’ existing regulatory and strategic functions under a
new regulatory body... |
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"Corporatisation will enhance Changi
Airport’s ability to compete in this changed landscape. In being more
nimble the new entity will further strengthen Changi’s position as a
premier air hub... |
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"Corporatisation is a complex process. We
will plan carefully and explore all possible options. The entire process
is expected to take 18 to 24 months..." |
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More..... |
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No plans to change minimum annual income requirement
for credit cards |
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"First, let me clarify that the minimum
annual income requirement to qualify for a credit card has not been
relaxed, and remains at $30,000. |
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"There are no plans to change this. When Mr
Palmer mentioned the relaxation in the minimum annual income for credit
cards, I presume he was referring directly to payment instruments with a
maximum credit limit of $500. |
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"MAS has exempted payment instruments with a
credit limit of less than $500 from MAS' rules to provide some leeway to
the market to innovate and develop convenient payment instruments..." |
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More..... |
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Singapore Airlines A380 First Flight Charity Auction
Starts |
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"The Singapore Airlines A380 flies its First
Flight from Singapore to Sydney on Thursday 25 October and the return
leg on Friday 26 October. |
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"A majority of seats on both legs of the
First Flight will be auctioned on eBay, the global online marketplace,
progressively over two weeks from Monday evening (Singapore time), 27
August 2007..." |
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More..... |
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Significant changes to the CPF system |
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"By 2012, we will require employers to offer re-employment to workers
reaching 62, up to age 65, and eventually to 67. This change will
precede the raising of the Draw Down Age (DDA). By 2012, employers
will be required to offer re-employment up to age 65 but the DDA to
65 will only be effected in 2018 – a significant time lag to help
workers and employers adjust... |
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"1% additional bonus interest will be
paid on the first $60,000 in a CPF member's combined accounts, with not more than
$20,000 from the OA accounts. This will enhance CPF's existing
risk-free framework... |
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"While our employment rates are among the highest in the world, our
residents are also among the longest living. The present DDA of 62
years is hence too early and results in the majority of members
prematurely depleting their savings. Thus, we will do the following: a.
progressively raise draw down age.. |
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"Even after changes to DDA, there will be those who live longer than
85. We want to ensure that they have a stream of income for life. The Government will therefore be looking at making annuities
compulsory for members to protect them against outliving their
retirement savings... |
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More..... |
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Formula
One (F1) levy on hotel room revenues |
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"Following consultation with the
Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), the Ministry of Trade and
Industry (MTI) has decided on the following rates for the Formula
One (F1) levy on hotel room revenues: |
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a. 30% of the total revenues from
rooms and room packages for trackside hotels; and |
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b. 20% of the total revenues from
rooms and room packages for all other tourist hotels[1]..." |
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More..... |
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Prime Minister's National Day Message 2007 |
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"Economic growth in the first half of this
year was 7.6%, higher than we had expected. For the whole year, MTI has
raised its growth forecast to between 7 and 8%. |
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"The good news is that we have added 111,000
jobs in the first half – the highest number ever. Unemployment is very
low, at 2.4%. Workers are enjoying good wage increases and higher
bonuses because businesses are doing well... |
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"One reason our income gap is widening is
our ageing population. Singaporeans are living longer than ever. We must
help our elderly live comfortably by keeping medical care affordable,
making our city barrier-free, and our public transport wheelchair
friendly. Those with enough savings will feel secure about their
future..." |
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More..... |
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