| National Affairs
Lunch with the FT: Lee Hsien Loong Financial Times 11th Apr 2014
Singapore’s PM talks about Japanese aggression, Ukraine’s revolution and why nanny states are not all bad
Singapore’s Success Brings Own Set of Challenges: PM Channel News Asia 10th Apr 2014
Singapore's economy has fared better than expected over the last decade, but the country's success also brought about its own set of challenges. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made this point in a wide-ranging discussion with regional newspaper editors on Tuesday. He said the country had paid the price of this fast growth, as infrastructure wasn't able to keep up with the rapid development. Mr Lee was asked about Singapore's success during his time as Prime Minister and if anything exceeded his expectations. He said yes, the country had done economically better than expected and grown faster -- attributing it to favourable conditions.
Buying activity in private residential market remains tepid in Q1 Channel NewsAsia 8th Apr 2014
Buying activity in Singapore's private residential market remained tepid in the first quarter of this year. Property consultancy DTZ said in its latest report that only 906 private homes changed hands in the secondary market in the first quarter. This was a 34 per cent quarter-on-quarter decline or 62 per cent decline year-on-year.
These Are the Most in Demand Skills in Singapore Right Now Singapore Business Review 8th Apr 2014
All-round Finance Managers, Legal Counsels, Inventory Managers and Sales Administrators are just four of the skills in demand as Singapore’s expanding economy continues to create new jobs, says recruiting experts Hays in Singapore. According to the recruiter’s latest Hays Quarterly Hotspots list of skills in demand for the April to June quarter, Singapore remains a candidate driven market where there is strong competition for good talent in all areas. “Many employers in Singapore tell us that skill shortages remain an issue,” says Chris Mead, Regional Director of Hays in Singapore & Malaysia. “Results from our Hays Global Skills Index published late last year show that Singapore received a talent mismatch index score of 5.9. This relatively high score means that the numbers of long-term unemployed and vacancies are both increasing, which suggests that the available labour does not always have the skills employers want.”
How do Singapore's poor families get by? BBC 27th Mar 2014
Nurhaida Binte Jantan is making dinner. She is roasting otah-otah, a Malay dish of fish paste wrapped in banana leaves, over a portable stove. She is a 29-year-old unemployed single mother with six children from five to 13 years old. She lives in a tiny flat, just 30 square metres, with little furnishing. There is no dining table, so the children eat their otah-otah with rice and chillies crouched on the floor. The children share the single bedroom - their only bedding is mattresses and thick blankets. Nurhaida sleeps on the sofa in the living room. She receives weekly groceries from charities, as well as about S$600 ($474, £262) a month in government aid and money from a boyfriend. But she admits that it is difficult to make ends meet. She has not been able to afford asthma medicine for her second daughter for months. "No one can afford to get sick in this house because our finances are too tight. It's quite tough and a struggle for me to be raising them up," she said. "I have to look after this house 24/7… so for me if I were to find a job, it would have to be a night job, so that once they are in bed, I can go out and the older kids can watch the young ones."
Important to build up Singapore’s social reserves: President Tony Tan CNA 18th Mar 2014
President Tony Tan Keng Yam said on Monday it is important to build up Singapore's social reserves. Dr Tan also noted that everyone has to continue to play a part to make Singapore a more compassionate society and a better home for everyone. He said this on a visit to the Library@Chinatown on Friday. Opened in January last year, it is the first community supported library in Singapore. There are 60 volunteers who help out at the library, a majority of whom are seniors above 60 years old. The National Library Board said it is seeing how more volunteers can be involved in its new libraries in the future. Dr Tan said: "We all live in a very stressful society here. We need to find meaningful activities, and (going to) the library, of course, (is) a wonderful activity… “As president, I have a responsibility to look after our financial reserves. It's also important to build up what I would call our social reserves… so that people (will) feel a sense of community and help one another, so we become a better society and a more
Does Singapore deserve its 'miserable' tag? BBC 14th Mar 2014
Singapore's reputation as a wealthy, aspirational and hi-tech country ensures it attracts a great deal of foreign talent - so why is it labelled the world's least positive country? It was Christmas, but as my husband and I waited for our luggage in the shiny arrivals hall of Changi airport, the internet delivered tidings of no joy. "Check this out," posted one friend on my Facebook wall, with a link to a survey of 148 countries in which Singaporeans were revealed to be the least positive people on earth. We were at the bottom of the happy pile along with Iraqis, Armenians and Serbians. "Good luck in misery city!" he wrote. Over the next few months a happiness battle kicked off around us. Singapore's politicians reinforced their commitment to well-being and Starhub - a mobile network provider - launched an advertising campaign called "happiness everywhere", full of smiling Singaporeans dancing to plinky-plonky guitar music. On the other side there emerged, mostly on the internet, an army of discontented souls who applauded the survey for validating their sense that life just seems to be getting harder and more expensive as Singapore gets richer.
Singapore now world’s most expensive city CNBC 5th Mar 2014
Singapore has topped Tokyo to become the world's most expensive city, according to a cost of living survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In its 2014 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, the EIU said the world's ten most expensive cities to live in are: Singapore, Paris, Oslo, Zurich, Sydney, Caracas, Geneva, Melbourne, Tokyo and Copenhagen, respectively. Singapore, which was the world's 18th most expensive city ten years ago, has steadily crept up the rankings on the back of a strong currency, the high cost of owning a car and soaring utility bills.
Singapore Offers Changi Facility as ASEAN Disaster Response Centre Today Online 5th Apr 2014
The Republic has offered its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners the use of its command and control centre in Changi to help coordinate responses to natural disasters, given the number of catastrophic events in the region over the past decade or so. The offer, which was made yesterday at an informal ASEAN-United States Defence Ministers’ meeting, received support from the various countries, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a statement.
No Agreement on Concession Maps at ASEAN Haze Meeting Today Online 2nd Apr 2014
The 16th sub-regional ministerial steering committee meeting between ASEAN’s environment minsters concluded this afternoon (April 2) in Brunei with the impasse on the sharing of concession maps still not breached. A joint statement released after the meeting said that countries have been urged to share hotspot areas that cause transboundary haze on a government-to-government basis instead.
Banking
Singapore's Central Bank Keeps Policy Steady as Economy Slows WSJ 13th Apr 2014
Singapore's central bank kept monetary policy steady Monday despite the economy's sluggish growth, a sign it is more worried about inflationary pressures than the possibility of a concerted slowdown. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it would continue to pursue a policy of modest and gradual appreciation of the local dollar, its main policy lever in an economy where trade flows dwarf domestic activity. The slope and width of the currency's trading band and its midpoint will stay the same, the bank said in a statement. "The MAS has yet again proved itself to be one of the most hawkish and forward-looking central banks in the region," HSBC economist Leif Eskesen said in a research note. "We do not see that changing anytime soon and expect that it will retain its tightening stance when it sets monetary policy again in October," when the bank holds its next policy meeting. The decision comes as advance estimates Monday from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed gross domestic product grew just 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the January-March period on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis. That was down sharply from the fourth quarter's 6.1% growth, as a contraction in services offset growth in manufacturing and construction.
Defense & Security
PHL, Singapore upgrade defense, security ties Business Mirror 4th Apr 2014
THE Philippines and Singapore on Thursday agreed to upgrade their defense and security alliance, including intelligence exchanges between the two countries, in a region beset by festering territorial conflicts with China over remote but potentially resourch-rich territories. President Aquino, in a statement he read following Singaporean President Tony Tan’s courtesy call at Malacañang, confirmed that he and Tan “discussed our countries’ defense and security cooperation,” which Aquino added, “includes high-level training, educational and intelligence exchanges.” The President also disclosed that the Philippines had proposed the holding of a defense dialogue “in order to further strengthen our cooperation.” “We also welcomed the opportunity to host this year’s Asian Defense and Security exhibition from July 16 to 18. I believe that strengthening defense and security cooperation between the Philippines and Singapore is key to maintaining regional stability,” Mr. Aquino said. Mr. Aquino added that he and Tan also discussed the revival of the Philippines-Singapore Action Plan, as a mechanism for expanding bilateral discussions between our countries. “The action plan provides a consolidated framework for strengthening our bilateral cooperation, covering expansive areas including trade and investments, information technology, education, culture, defense, and people-to-people exchanges. I look forward to the implementation of initiatives in these areas, knowing that it will have a positive impact on relations between the Philippines and Singapore,” Mr. Aquino said.
Singapore proposes regional crisis center The Star 4th Apr 2014
Singapore has proposed hosting a regional crisis command center that would help coordinate governments' efforts after major natural disasters, the city-state's defense minister said Thursday. "We were obviously struck over the last decade by how many disasters there were" in the region, said Ng Eng Hen, citing earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons that have cut a swathe of destruction from the Philippines to Japan. "We recognized in the first critical 24, 48 hours, it is actually very difficult for the affected country to be able to set up a C2 (command and control) center, for the very reason they're the ones hit," said the minister, in Hawaii for an ASEAN meeting. With communications knocked out, governments at the center of a natural disaster often are "overwhelmed" and don't have the ability to manage international offers of help, he said.
Sleepless In Singapore: LCS Is Undermanned & Overworked, Says GAO Breaking Defense 4th Apr 2014
Some spectacular glitches marred the first overseas deployment of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship, including an electrical failure that left the USS Freedom “briefly” dead in the water. Now Breaking Defense has obtained an unpublished Government Accountability Office study of Freedom‘s Singapore deployment that raises more serious questions about a long-standing worry: whether the small and highly automated LCS has enough sailors aboard to do up all the work needed, from routine maintenance to remedial training. By now, the Navy brass have surely gotten tired of GAO taking shots at LCS. But according to GAO, LCS sailors are getting literally tired of the ship: They averaged about six hours of sleep per day, 25 percent below the Navy’s eight-hour standard, and key personnel such as engineers got even less. That’s in spite of extensive reliance on contractors both aboard and ashore, with a “rigid” schedule of monthly returns to Singapore that restricted how far from port the LCS could sail; the decision to increase Freedom‘s core crew by 25 percent, from 40 to 50 — the maximum the ship can accommodate without a “significant” redesign; and the 19-sailor “mission module” crew, who are supposed to operate LCS’s weapons, helicopters, and small boats, pitching in daily to help the core crew run the ship’s basic systems.
Why Singapore Wants the F-35 The Diplomat 10th Mar 2014
At this year’s Singapore Airshow, held from February 11-16, visiting foreign defense reporters viewed a model of the Singapore Navy’s Endurance-class Landing Platform Dock (LPD) reconfigured as a Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD). This led to speculation that Singapore intends to outfit its future Endurance LHDs by procuring the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning IIs. The F-35B is a fifth generation supersonic stealth fighter that meets Singapore’s unstated objective of maintaining air superiority over its immediate neighborhood. The F-35B is a short vertical take off and landing aircraft suited for Singapore’s congested landmass. Singapore is in the process of consolidating its three military airfields. The reduction in runways is compensated for by the F-35′s ability to take off in a short space. A fully loaded F-35B needs only 168 meters of runway. In addition, the F-35B has demonstrated that it can land and take off easily from ships at sea. In recent trials, the F-35B successfully landed and took off from the USS Wasp LHD-1. The F-35B would give Singapore a winning advantage should a conflict break out in Southeast Asia. Singapore has been a Security Cooperative Participant in the F-35 program since 2003. In 2011, Singapore began a serious study of the F-35B. In July 2013, U.S. Air Force General Herbert Carlisle seemingly let the cat out of the bag when he disclosed that Singapore’s Chief of Defense Force, Lt. Gen. Ng Chee Meng, told him that Singapore had decided to buy the B version of the F-35. General Carlisle also indicated that the timing of Singapore’s decision to announce its procurement of the F-35B was related to its budgetary cycle. Because Singapore is currently committed to a mid-life upgrade of its F-16s fleet, its leaders have repeatedly qualified their public interest in acquiring the F-35B. In mid-2013, for example, Lt. Gen. Ng was quoted as stating that Singapore “is in no hurry to make a decision.”
Energy
Singapore Sees LNG Trading Hub Ambition Fulfilled After 2018 Businessweek 6th Apr 2014
Singapore’s political neutrality and English-speaking workforce will help the city-state become an Asian hub for LNG trading, according to the government. “Singapore will become a LNG trading hub within the next five to 10 years,” Seah Moon Ming, chairman of government trade promotion agency IE Singapore, said in an interview on April 2. Singapore’s location, financial system and common law system will also boost its chances of becoming a regional center, he said. Singapore, Asia’s oil-trading center, has spent S$1.7 billion ($1.4 billion) on its first LNG terminal. Asia has overtaken Europe as the world’s biggest gas importer, accounting for 46 percent of global trade, according to the International Energy Agency, which cites Singapore as best-placed to be the hub for liquefied natural gas.
Energy labels to be revised from Sep 1 Channel News Asia 11th Mar 2014
From 1 September 2014, energy labels will be revised to carry estimated annual energy cost and energy consumption information. This will help inform consumers of the life-cycle cost of an appliance before purchasing it. The National Environment Agency (NEA) is enhancing its Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS), and extending the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) to include more appliances. To better differentiate more efficient models from the less efficient ones and reflect the improvements in the energy efficiencies of appliances in today's market, the energy rating system will be recalibrated. Under the new rating system, the most efficient models will be awarded 5 ticks. 1-tick products will make up the lowest efficiency band. The "no-ticks" band will be removed as some consumers were confused when they came across labels without any ticks. NEA said the energy label design will also be updated to boost its readability.
ExxonMobil to build new facilities at Singapore petrochemical complex Energy Business Review 7th Mar 2014
ExxonMobil Chemical plans to build a new halobutyl rubber and Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin facilities at its recently expanded petrochemical complex in Singapore. With construction expected to begin in the second half of 2014 and completion anticipated in 2017, engineering and procurement activities have begun, related o the project. The hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin production unit, which will meet demand growth for hot-melt adhesives, is expected to produce around 90,000 tons per year, once operational. The new another unit, which will supply halobutyl rubber to global tire industry, will add about production capacity of 140,000 tons per year, noted ExxonMobil.
Financial Services
S$100m IP Financing Scheme launched Channel NewsAsia 8th Apr 2014
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore launched a S$100 million financing scheme on Tuesday, enabling firms to use granted patents as collateral for bank loans. The latest initiative comes on the back of a new campaign to enhance the IP framework in Singapore to help businesses expand locally and abroad.
Singapore: General insurance industry grows by 4.5% in 2013 Asia Insurance Review 19th Mar 2014
Singapore's domestic general insurance industry ended 2013 on a firm footing as it grew by 4.5 percent to S$3.5 billion (US$2.77 billion) in total gross premiums, a stable performance following the 5.4-percent expansion reported for 2012. While underwriting profit declined by 1.1 percent to S$285 million, overall loss ratio improved to 53.2 percent from 53.9 percent a year ago. “The overall domestic general insurance industry results, despite the peaks and troughs of individual classes, reflect a stable and sustainable general insurance market and growth that is in tandem with the growth of the Singapore economy,” said Mr AK Cher, President of the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA).
Access to fast transfers of bank funds made available ahead of schedule Straits Times 10th Mar 2014
Making funds transfers from one bank account to another from a different bank in a matter of minutes will be available at participating lenders this month. The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) said on Monday that customers can access the Fast And Secure Transfers (Fast) with effect from 8am on Mar 17, about three months ahead of the original schedule. ABS announced last month that the service, which is seeing participation among 14 banks here, will be made available here by the middle of the year. The service will be free for most retail clients including those of local banks' customers DBS, OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank.
Singapore: MAS to embark on further RBC 2 consultation by end of month Asia Insurance Review 6th Mar 2014
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will embark on another round of consultation with insurers at the end of this month to explore the risk calibration methodology for insurance companies as part of plans to enhance its risk-based capital framework, said Ms Loo Siew Yee, Executive Director, Insurance Department. The industry will be given a 3-month period to submit feedback on the consultation paper. Speaking at the Life Insurance Association (LIA) of Singapore lunch yesterday, Ms Loo said some of the proposed changes in RBC 2 include short-term relief in bond holdings in relation to credit spread shocks. Insurers who are major investors of corporate bonds are susceptible to credit spread shocks and MAS has in the past proposed to explicitly capture credit spread risk under the RBC 2 framework.
Singapore: 4-year-old online insurance unit sold for US$55 mln Asia Insurance Review 5th Mar 2014
DirectAsia, a relatively young fast-growing direct-to-consumer online insurance operation founded in Singapore, has been acquired by London-listed global specialist insurance group, Hiscox, for US$55 million. In a statement, Mr Bronek Masojada, Hiscox CEO, said: “DirectAsia is a challenger brand with real potential. It gives Hiscox a 21st century distribution platform in Asia that leapfrogs traditional routes to market. DirectAsia complements our direct-to-consumer businesses in Europe and the US, and in time, we will use it to distribute Hiscox products.” DirectAsia will be Hiscox’s first business in Asia, and builds on its other direct-to-consumer operations in Europe and the US.
Food & Agriculture
Singapore food companies urged to expand their business overseas Channel News Asia 9th Apr 2014
Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran has said Singapore companies must build their capabilities to internationalise and to seize opportunities in emerging economies. He said the government will extensively help local businesses in such efforts, citing the S$25 million committed for internationalisation support under Budget 2014. Mr Iswaran was speaking at the opening of a four-day Food and Hotel Asia 2014 trade show at Singapore EXPO on Tuesday. He said Singapore-based food companies are well-placed to tap into growing demand from Asian consumers for quality food products that meet their changing lifestyle needs. Mr Iswaran said: "We can explore and seize new market opportunities. There are significant scale advantages to be had from such expansion. And there is also an opportunity to tap into different talent pools and also into different cost structures as the companies grow their business."
Nearly 6 in 10 Singaporeans admit to ignoring food packaging labels Singapore Business Review 18th Mar 2014
It's just the tip of the iceberg. Fifty-eight percent of Singaporeans said that they typically “ignored” or did not read the information on packaging. This was according to a poll commissioned by Greenfields Milk which was carried out to look into Singaporean buying habits for basic produce including dairy and other household items commonly available in supermarkets and grocery shops nationwide. The poll also revealed that 77% of respondents stated that they were mostly influenced by promotional marketing and advertising materials before purchasing groceries, including dairy products. Meanwhile, 84% of the respondents were unaware of the next steps to take to ensure producers refrained from misleading the consumer
Health & Life Sciences
Singaporeans more concerned with palliative care costs Channel NewsAsia 8th Apr 2014
About one in two Singaporeans is aware of palliative care services, according to a study released by the Lien Foundation on Tuesday. The figure is slightly higher than a similar survey conducted by the Singapore Hospice Council in 2010.
Singapore Infocomm Development Authority Helps Elderly Pick Up E-Health Tools Future Gov Asia 20th Mar 2014
A record number of Singaporean senior citizens are attending an IT workshop organised by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) this week to pick up basic computer and Internet skills from students. The Intergenerational IT Boot Camp is hosted in the computer labs of schools where senior citizens can learn IT skills, including e-health, online health tools and social networking from their grandchildren or student volunteers. This week it has attracted 348 senior citizens - the highest since the programme began in 2012. This boot camp was co-organised with the People’s Association Active Ageing Council and Tampines Group Representation Constituency Active Ageing Committees.
Healthcare spending to hit S$12b by 2020, says Tharman Channel News Asia 5th Mar 2014
Healthcare financing will be a key fiscal challenge for Singapore, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as he wrapped up the Budget debate in Parliament on Wednesday. The government's projected healthcare spending is expected to triple to S$12 billion a year by 2020, up from S$4 billion in 2011. Healthcare spending, he said, will reach S$8 billion in 2015 -- a year earlier than what had initially been projected. Mr Tharman said the government has been making significant shifts as the population ages. To put things in perspective, he pointed out that the Pioneer Generation Package is for 450,000 Singaporeans. In contrast, there are a million Singaporeans between the ages of 45 and 64, who will reach retirement age in 10 to 20 years.
ICT
Telcos Make Greater Play for Startup Scene The Business Times 10th Apr 2014
StarHub and SingTel are both gunning for a larger piece of the Silicon Valley-esque startup action. Come May, StarHub will throw open the doors of its new crowdfunding site, Crowdtivate, to the public. Similar to established players Kickstarter and Indiegogo, Crowdtivate will be a platform for entrepreneurs and artists to get financial help from just about anyone with money to spare. This platform will be jointly managed by Star-Hub i³ and its partner, Crowdonomic - a local technology solutions and strategic advisory firm. Yesterday, SingTel also announced that it is marshalling its venture capital (VC) troops under a regional umbrella, called Innov8 Sparks. This regional alliance builds on the existing work of SingTel Innov8, a corporate VC fund that was set up in 2010 with an initial fund size of $200 million.
Pirate Bay and other illegal sites might be blocked in Singapore soon! Yahoo! 9th Apr 2014
As if logging on to sites like NBC to watch extra scenes or catch up on full episodes you missed and getting this message isn’t annoying enough. It would become a whole lot harder to watch the latest episodes of Game of Thrones or HIMYM as the Ministry of Law is looking into blocking access to websites who are blatantly infringing copyright laws. This will include popular site piratebay and kickasstorrents. The proposed law change (that could be passed as soon as end 2014) is expected to be debated in parliament in July or August.
Survey shows online piracy in S'pore most prevalent among youths CNA 18th Mar 2014
Around six out of every 10 Singaporeans say they have committed online piracy at some point in their lives. This activity is especially prevalent among the youth, with 74 per cent of young Singaporeans aged between 19 and 24 years actively engaged in digital piracy. This is according to a survey of 900 Singaporeans aged 16 to 64 by international research consultancy Sycamore Research and Marketing. For those aged 16 to 18, the figure is at 69 per cent, while 31 per cent of Singaporeans aged 50 to 59 and up to 40 per cent aged between 60 and 64 years participate in online piracy. The survey on online piracy behaviour in Singapore was conducted in 2013 and the findings were released on Tuesday, at a session on digital habits of young Singaporeans and their impact on the entertainment industry, at Great World City's Golden Village Cinema. Representatives from the film, television, and music industries in Singapore attended the session. Industry players said online piracy has an impact on content producers, but it can also affect consumers, especially the young.
Budding entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia are set to benefit from JFDI Asia’s $2 million funding The Next Web 18th Mar 2014
Budding tech entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia are set to benefit from more cash in the startup ecosystem, as Singapore-based accelerator program JFDI Asia announced today that it has raised S$2.7 million ($2.1 million) in funding. Investors that contributed include Singapore Infocomm Investments, the investment arm of government agency Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, as well as Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital and Russian firm SpinUp Partners. JFDI is a founding member of the Global Accelerator Network, which includes Techstars, Australia’s PushStart, Microsoft’s Azure accelerator in Israel, as well as South Korea’s SparkLabs. It is arguably the premier accelerator in the region. The investment announced today will no doubt bring cheer to the startup scene in the region, as it means that more funding can be funneled down to groom a bigger number of companies.
Infrastructure
High Speed Rail Experts Tip Tuas West or Jurong East End Point Straits Times 9th Apr 2014
A city terminal would give travellers convenient access to the business district, but cost and construction problems make that the least likely of three options for the end-point of a high-speed rail link with Malaysia. That leaves Tuas West and Jurong East as fairly evenly matched areas to house the terminal, experts say. The former is close to the border with Malaysia and a cheaper alternative to connecting with the Central Business District. However, some feel Jurong East is shaping up to be a major regional centre that is not as costly and disruptive an option as the city centre, or as far-flung as industrial Tuas West.
Tuas West most viable site for planned rail terminal, say experts Channel NewsAsia 8th Apr 2014
Tuas West will be the most viable location for the proposed high-speed rail terminal in Singapore, say experts. This is due to its proximity to Malaysia and greater availability of space. On Monday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong named three possible locations -- Tuas West, Jurong East and the city centre -- for the terminal of the planned high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
SMRT to Bring in 570 New Buses, Including Over 200 Double-Deckers Today Online 2nd Apr 2014
SMRT Buses is bringing in 570 new buses as part of its fleet growth and renewal strategy, including, for the first time, 201 double-decker models. The company says this is its largest fleet renewal and growth initiative, and that it reaffirms its commitment to offering commuters the “highest standards in safety, reliability, care and comfort”, according to a statement issued today (April 2). The company added that 218 of the new buses are being introduced and funded under SMRT’s participation in the Land Transport Authority’s Bus Service Enhancement Programme. The first batch of about 30 new buses are expected to be put into service in July this year.
Singapore looks to California for lessons on water management CNA 18th Mar 2014
Singapore's NEWater model of producing drinking water from used water is the result of much learning from California's Orange County Water District, which first started on it in the late 1990s. Almost two decades on, Singapore's national water agency PUB said it is still relevant to look at the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize winners for ways on utilising resources in an efficient and sustainable manner. The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize recognises individuals or organisations that use ground-breaking technology or innovative policies in solving water problems. In arid California, it is a four-step process to give Orange County residents drinking water from used household water. This includes filtering water through tens of thousands of fibre bundles to remove bacteria and other organisms, and exposing it to ultraviolet light for further purification.
Transport concession passes at new prices available from Monday CNA 18th Mar 2014
Transport concession cardholders can buy monthly concession passes at new prices from general ticketing machines at all mass rapid transit (MRT) and light rail transit (LRT) stations from next Monday. But the passes with the new prices will only take effect from 6 April. When buying the passes from the machines, commuters can choose to set the start date of the pass between 6 and 13 April, but if there is a valid monthly concession pass already on the card, the start date of the new pass must be after the existing pass expires. From 6 April, concession cardholders can also buy the monthly passes from other sales channels, including TransitLink ticket offices and passenger service centres at MRT stations, said SBS Transit, SMRT and TransitLink in a joint statement on Tuesday. As for the new adult monthly travel card, they said over 3,000 people have applied for it since applications began on 6 March. Those who have applied for the card by 16 March will receive their cards before 6 April.
|
