| National Affairs
Singapore Is Still The Easiest City To Do Business In, World Bank Says Bloomberg 28th Oct 2015
Singapore retained its status for a 10th straight year as the easiest country in which to do business, while emerging markets such as China and India moved up the rankings, according to the World Bank. Australia fell out of the top 10, dropping to 13th in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report. It was replaced by Sweden, which had previously been ranked 11th. The U.S. remained in seventh place and Japan slid five spots to 34th place. China rose six spots to 84th, while India climbed 12 places to 130th out of 189 economies, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. The report ranks countries based on 11 indicators such as ease of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity and obtaining credit. The best 30 performers stand out because they have rules that allow “efficient and transparent functioning of businesses and markets,” not because they have little regulation, the Washington-based development lender said in the report.
Singapore, World Bank establish Infrastructure, Urban Development Hub Xinhua 27th Oct 2015
The World Bank Group (WBG) will be expanding its Singapore office to create its first Infrastructure and Urban Development Hub, said WBG and Singapore's Ministry of Finance (MOF) in a joint press release on Tuesday. The expanded hub operation will provide services at the global level, employing more than 200 people from the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) over the next two years. Work from the World Bank Group's public sector side will involve sectoral teams dedicated to energy and extractives, water, transport, information and communications technology, Public-Private Partnerships, trade and competitiveness, and urban development as well as the global infrastructure facility, according to the press release. A complementary focus of the hub will be expanded investment and advisory programs and instruments offered by the IFC and MIGA, the World Bank Group's private sector arms. "As the center of global economic activity gravitates increasingly to East Asia, Singapore's role will further grow. This provides huge opportunities for emerging and developing economies," said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific region.
Singapore is about to enter technical recession CNBC 13th Oct 2015
Third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) on tap this week may unveil a foggy economic outlook for Singapore, mirroring the hazy skies that have shrouded the Southeast Asian island-state for the past month due to seasonal pollution from the burning of Indonesia's forests and land. Advance estimates for the July-September quarter, scheduled for release at 8am local time on Wednesday, are expected to show the economy growing 1.3 percent on-year, according to a Reuters poll. However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy likely shrank 0.1 percent from the previous three months on an annualized and seasonally adjusted basis, the Reuters poll said, following a 4.6 percent contraction in the April-June quarter.
Customs
How trade accord benefits Singapore The Straits Times 11th Oct 2015
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will go beyond boosting investment and trade to offer a range of other benefits to Singapore firms, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), which has released more details about the potential impact of the trade deal. These benefits include being able to bid for government contracts in other TPP countries, and the ability to take a larger stake in foreign firms operating in key sectors abroad. The TPP is a far-reaching agreement involving 12 countries which make up 40 per cent of the world economy. The deal was finally struck in Atlanta, the United States, last Monday after more than five years of intense negotiations. It must now be signed formally by the leaders of the 12 nations - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam - and ratified by their legislatures. MTI said the benefits to Singapore fall into three main categories.
Defense & Security
A-330 First of Singapore Air Force Ready to Undergo conversion into MRTT Defense Studies 14th Oct 2015
Singapore has ordered a number of tanker aircraft based on civilian aircraft Airbus A-330, does not mention the number of aircraft ordered but predicted order of six units. Currently Singapore Air Force already operates four tanker aircraft types KC-135R with aircraft number four units. The unity of the shelter is 112 Aerial refueling Squadron based in Changi. The aircraft will undergo conversion as tanker-transport aircraft which will take 10 to 12 months. This is the ability of tanker aircraft has a cruising ferry range of up to 14,800 km, and can carry a maximum of 111,000 kg of fuel, 20% greater than the KC-135R aircraft type that belongs to the present.
Energy
Energy management important to Singapore's economic strategy: S Iswaran Channel NewsAsia 14th Oct 2015
Ahead of the upcoming Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran said energy management is an indispensable part of Singapore's economic strategy. In an interview with Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday (Oct 13), he also talked about how Singapore's energy landscape had evolved in the last 50 years. Mr Iswaran: The key change over the years has really been first ensuring greater resilience in our energy sector. This is really to ensure Singapore has got, as far as possible, diversified sources of energy, in order to ensure the resilience of energy supply to Singapore. The second thing we've been focusing on is greater competition in the energy market, whether in terms of generation, retail, and sales to the end consumer, households or businesses alike. In this area, we've progressively been enhancing retail contestability, lowering the threshold and therefore allowing more consumers to have choices. Ultimately, we want to move towards full retail contestability, which means every household and energy consumer will have a choice in terms of who they buy energy from and the kind of package, not unlike what you might do for telecoms. That’s something the Energy Market Authority (EMA) is working on, and I think we’ve been making good progress and we hope to do more in the coming years.
Electricity grid using energy from sun, wind, sea and fossil fuel to be built in Singapore Straits Times 27th Oct 2015
Singapore will build a first-in-the-region, hybrid micro-grid that combines renewable power from the sun, wind and sea. The grid will also tap energy management and storage systems to ensure a stable and consistent power supply. The demonstration grid will be located offshore at the Semakau Landfill and is expected to produce about 1 megawatt of power, which will be used on Semakau for a start. That amount of power is enough for small islands and villages, and can act as an emergency power supply for cities. In Singapore, it would be able to power about 250 four-room HDB flats. The project is expected to attract $20 million in projects over the next five years, in addition to an initial $8 million investment in the grid infrastructure. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will build the grid and work with 10 multinational companies to develop renewable power and other technologies for it.
Pavilion Energy agrees to 10-Year LNG supply deal with Gazprom Straits Times 27th Oct 2015
Singapore's Pavilion Energy has signed a 10-year LNG agreement with a unit of Russia's gas giant Gazprom PJSC, Chief Executive Officer Seah Moon Ming said on Tuesday. The liquefied natural gas unit of Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese energy company Huadian to supply LNG from 2020 onward and a similar agreement with Japan's Jera Co. to jointly procure and invest in LNG, he said at a conference in Singapore. "Pavilion Energy is very much focused on the long-term as we continue to build expertise and capabilities across the entire LNG business," Mr Seah said, according to the text of his speech. "Pavilion Energy is currently focused on developing regional demand. We see this as an important step towards building a reliable and robust LNG ecosystem in Singapore, and hopefully for Asia." Pavilion supports the use of a benchmark Asia LNG price traded on the Singapore Exchange, Seah said. The index, known as "Singapore SLIng" and unveiled in June, has been adopted by 16 LNG traders, buyers and producers. That number is expected to increase to 20 in the near future, according to Seah. "Singapore is well-equipped to host this new and more open way of doing business in the LNG sector," said Seah, according to the text. "With a clearer price benchmarking, the region will clearly benefit."
Applied Materials and A*STAR announce new R&D joint lab in Singapore for advanced semiconductor technology PV-Magazine 27th Oct 2015
New $150 million joint investment is expected to create 60 jobs for highly skilled scientists, engineers and researchers. Applied Materials, Inc. today announced it plans to establish a new R&D laboratory in Singapore in collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The S$150 million joint investment will focus on developing advanced semiconductor technology to fabricate future generations of logic and memory chips. The S$150 million joint lab will be housed within A*STAR's new R&D cluster at Fusionopolis Two and will feature a 400 square meter Class 1 cleanroom with state-of-the-art semiconductor process equipment that has been custom designed and built by Applied Materials.
Financial Services
Derivatives business drives up SGX profit by 28% Nikkei Asian Review 22nd Oct 2015
Singapore Exchange (SGX) has reported a net profit of 99 million Singapore dollars ($71.2 million) for the quarter ending in September, up 28% from the same period last year. Despite low liquidity and slow initial public offering activity in the securities market, the high-paced growth of the derivatives business led to the spike in revenue and profit. Overall operating revenue grew 30% on year to S$219.6 million. Revenue from derivatives business increased 69% year on year to S$90.9 million, thanks to a huge boost in traded volumes of equity-based futures products. Traded volume of SGX FTSE China A50 Index futures more than doubled year on year, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average futures grew by 30%. Derivatives accounted for 41% of SGX's total revenue, up from 32% a year ago. Iron ore performed well among commodities futures.
Finance sector at a crossroads The Straits Times 20th Oct 2015
A global banking industry conference may sound like a rather dull affair unlikely to set the pulse racing. But last week's gathering of more than 8,000 industry types at Marina Bay Sands for Sibos 2015, a premier finance industry event, was far from tedious. The digital revolution is now well under way and the industry both in Singapore - a leading financial centre - and around the world is at a significant crossroads. Established banks are anxiously hoping for Asia's growth to drive their corporate and consumer franchises forward, at a time when the global outlook remains stagnant. But a new threat is emerging from shiny new outfits deploying new financial technology - known in industry speak as fintech - to challenge banking's status quo. DBS Group Holdings chief executive Piyush Gupta opened the conference with a rousing speech stressing that big banks remain in the industry's driver seat. And of course traditional players are using the new technology in a big way too - as online and mobile banking become ubiquitous.
All eyes on asset quality as Singapore banks unveil results, say analysts Singapore Business Review 16th Oct 2015
Topline growth is usually the focal point of when banks release their results for the quarter, but analysts say asset quality may be worth investors’ spotlight this time around. According to analysts from RHB research, the gripping macroeconomic outlook both domestically and regionally has stoked investor concerns over potential loan book stress. RHB research says the recent resilience of asset quality will be tested, as banks have not materially changed their guidance on NPLs and credit costs except to say that there would be some deterioration in asset quality in the quarters ahead. “We believe the rise in impaired loans would be moderate given SG Banks’ stringent credit risk management. Macroeconomic indicators have weakened but not to levels that would precipitate sharp rise in NPLs,” RHB said.
S&P warns of defaults after Indonesia telecoms firm seeks debt restructuring Reuters 16th Oct 2015
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned on Friday of potential defaults by Indonesian firms after mobile phone retailer PT Trikomsel Oke Tbk prepared to meet lenders to restructure around $155 million of debt. Trikomsel said earlier this week it may restructure S$215 million in outstanding bonds, which S&P said would be the first of its kind in Singapore's bond market since the global financial crisis. Jakarta-based Trikomsel, which is 19.9 percent-owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, said the restructuring was necessary as the rupiah's decline against the U.S. dollar and the slowdown in Indonesia's economy had resulted in "substantially weakened earnings and significantly reduced cash flow".
China's yuan initiatives could be a boon for Singapore: Observers Channel NewsAsia 16th Oct 2015
Singapore’s position as the top offshore yuan hub outside Greater China could get a boost, following new initiatives to promote the international use of the currency through the Republic, said industry observers. Banks in the Republic will now be able to lend to companies in Suzhou and Tianjin. This was one of the key initiatives agreed upon at the 12th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, which was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and China’s Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. Previously, this was restricted to only companies in the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park and the Singapore-Sino Tianjin Eco-City. In addition, companies in Suzhou and Tianjin will also now be able to issue yuan-denominated bonds in Singapore. "They have expanded the scope where for companies in Suzhou as well as Tianjin - if they issue a bond in Singapore, they will be able to fully repatriate 100 per cent of the proceeds back into China,” said Mr Benjamin Quek, OCBC Bank’s Head of China Business Office.
MAS to slow appreciation of Singapore dollar Channel NewsAsia 14th Oct 2015
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Wednesday (Oct 14) it will ease its monetary policy for the second time this year by slowing the pace of the Singapore dollar’s appreciation, in an effort to revive economic growth. "MAS will continue with the policy of a modest and gradual appreciation of the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER) policy band. However, the rate of appreciation will be reduced slightly. There will be no change to the width of the policy band and the level at which it is centred,” the central bank said in its half-yearly monetary policy statement. “This measured adjustment follows the move to reduce the rate of appreciation of the policy band in January this year, and is supportive of economic growth into 2016, while ensuring price stability over the medium term," it added.
Banks get guidelines for responsible lending The Straits Times 9th Oct 2015
Banks have been given new guidelines to encourage them to take extra care when lending to firms that might disregard environmental or corporate governance standards. The framework released by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) yesterday wants banks to highlight in their annual reports from next year how they plan to prevent lending to companies with irresponsible practices. The banks should then implement these rules by the end of 2017. The ABS guidelines provide broad principles on what banks need to do when dealing with firms in eight industries, including forestry, agriculture, mining and energy. But they do not specify actual lending policies and do not carry any penalty.
SGX sees trading volume grow across all business segments in September The Straits Times 9th Oct 2015
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) saw further volume growth across all its key business segments last month, the bourse said in a report on Friday (Oct 9). Despite the market weakness and fewer trading days, total securities turnover grew 7 per cent year-on-year to $22.5 billion in September. Daily average value also rose 18 per cent to $1.1 billion. The period also saw the arrival of a new listing, TLV Holdings Limited on Catalist. This pushed the number of listed companies to 772, combining a total market value of $876 billion as of September. The new listings debuted in Singapore this year have been mostly on the Catalist board. So far this year, $185 million has been raised from new listings on Catalist, up 53 per cent compared with last year.
SGX reports on-year growth in securities, derivatives Channel NewsAsia 9th Oct 2015
Trading of securities and derivatives on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) rose in September from a year ago, although they were down from August. SGX data released on Friday (Oct 9) showed the daily value of securities traded gained 18 per cent year-on-year to S$1.13 billion in September. The value was, however, down from August's S$1.48 billion. Trading of stocks that make up the Straits Times Index represented 73 per cent of total trading value in September 2015, up from 58 per cent in September 2014. Over in the derivatives market, trading volume fell 17 per cent month-on-month to 14.1 million contracts. Still, derivatives trading volume rose 33 per cent from a year ago.
Moody’s warning: CIMB is weakening The Rakyat Post 8th Oct 2015
Moody’s Investors Service says that CIMB Bank Bhd’s standalone creditworthiness is showing some signs of weakening, but its A3 bank deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings and the positive outlook on the ratings remain supported by a very high likelihood of systemic support for the bank, if needed. Reflecting this deterioration, Moody’s on Tuesday, affirmed CIMB Bank’s long-term deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings of A3, while downgrading its baseline credit assessment (BCA) by one notch to baa2. “CIMB Bank’s capitalisation is the lowest among large Malaysian banks, and it further weakened in 1H 2015 due to growth in risk-weighted assets, one-off restructuring costs and an increase in capital deductions for loan-loss reserve shortfalls,” Simon Chen, Moody’s vice-president and senior analyst said in a research note.
DBS among first batch of banks to join China’s international RMB payments system Singapore Business Review 8th Oct 2015
DBS will now be able to execute RMB clearing for all cross-border RMB transactions after it was selected to be among the first banks to participate in China's Cross-border International Payment System (CIPS). The launch of CIPS allows for greater access and transparency for foreign banks in China, as it will allow foreign banks to have direct access to China's onshore liquidity pool for offshore RMB transactions. CIPS is a big step in the internationalisation of the RMB and China’s financial reforms, as it improves the Chinese financial sector’s ability to conduct international RMB transactions. The system will accelerate the internationalisation of the RMB, increasing its importance as a global payment currency. “DBS is honoured to be among the first batch of banks selected to participate in CIPS. We look forward to providing greater convenience and a wider variety of RMB products to our clients. DBS’ participation in CIPS demonstrates our commitment to be at the forefront of transaction banking and to provide clients with the latest payments services and market infrastructure,“ said Neil Ge, CEO of DBS China .
Health & Life Sciences
Raffles Medical buys regional clinic stakes The Straits Times 27th Oct 2015
Private healthcare provider Raffles Medical Group has acquired stakes in 10 clinics around the region as it seeks to increase revenue from overseas.
Singapore's first public stem cell bank opens Asia One 27th Oct 2015
Stem Med, a joint venture between public-listed TalkMed Group and StemCord, opened on October 27 at Pasir Panjang. The facility boasts two separate laboratories for the processing, cryopreservation and storage of the Bone Marrow and Peripheral Blood Stem Cells for immediate or future therapeutic use, Stem Med said in a press release October 27.
Raffles Medical Q3 earnings up 1.2% The Straits Times 25th Oct 2015
Raffles Medical posted a 1.2 per cent rise in net profit to $15.6 million for the the third quarter ended Sept 30 compared to the the same period a year ago. This came on the back of a 7.4 per cent rise in quarterly revenue to $101.5 million compared to $94.5 million a year ago, the company said on October 26
2 more patients test positive for hep C The Straits Times 24th Oct 2015
Two more patients from Singapore General Hospital (SGH) have tested positive for hepatitis C. The hospital is still studying if the latest cases are part of the same cluster that has infected 23 people so far. If so, it would bring the total number of those infected from the same cluster to 25.
One new patient tested positive for hepatitis C at Singapore General Hospital; brings total to 23 The Straits Times 21st Oct 2015
Another patient from the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has tested positive for hepatitis C, bringing the total number of those infected to 23. In a statement on October 21, SGH said one patient out of the 598 screened so far has tested positive for the hepatitis C virus. The hospital had contacted patients who had stayed in wards 64A and 67 from January to June this year for screening, after it announced on Oct 6 that 22 kidney patients had contracted hepatitis C infections while receiving treatment in the hospital. Of those who were screened, 531 were tested negative and have been informed. A total of 66 test results are pending. A total of 299 staff have been screened and they were all tested negative.
SGH files police report to ascertain if foul play involved in hep C spread; 2 US experts appointed to committee The Straits Times 20th Oct 2015
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) filed a police report on October 20 so that the police could ascertain if there was any foul play involved in the spread of hepatitis C in the hospital. It was also announced that two international advisers have been appointed to the independent review committee looking into the spread of hep C in SGH. They are Dr Scott Dewey Holmberg from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Professor Trish Perl from Johns Hopkins University, the committee said in a press release. They will be assisted by Dr Amanda Beaudoin and Ms JoEllen Harris respectively.
Telehealth helps spread medical Net wider The Straits Times 19th Oct 2015
National University Hospital (NUH) is now the first and only public hospital to offer telehealth as a standard clinical treatment for its chronically ill patients. NUHS has now moved on to the next phase of its telehealth service. It is studying the role of intensive long-term telehealth - with the help of an app called Heal My Heart - versus traditional care. The app has informational material and reminds patients to take their medicine. It also offers a line of communication for patients to send messages to healthcare professionals. Changi General Hospital, too, has a tele-monitoring initiative. It is a pilot scheme targeting 160 heart-failure patients that started last June and will end next year. Jurong Health Services, which manages Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital, is next in line.
SGH Hep C cases: MOH to invite international experts to advise review committee Channel NewsAsia 18th Oct 2015
Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong will invite international experts to help and advise the Independent Review Committee (IRC) looking into the cause of the cases of Hepatitis C infections at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). The committee has been given two months to complete its task.
New HealthHub portal allows public to access health records using SingPass accounts The Straits Times 18th Oct 2015
From October 18, Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) will be able to access their public health records online by using their SingPass accounts. This includes hospital discharge summaries and chronic disease laboratory test results from the past six months, as well as their children's dental and immunisation records. People can also use it to look up the dates, times, and locations of upcoming medical appointments.
SGH hepatitis C outbreak: Health ministry to invite international experts to advise review committee The Straits Times 17th Oct 2015
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will invite international experts to advise an Independent Review Committee that is investigating the outbreak of hepatitis C cases in the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
Big data and analytics expected to play major role in Singapore’s healthcare market World Scientific 16th Oct 2015
Continuous data collection for chronic illness management is crucial to deliver personalized care for patients. In Singapore, more than 48% of the disease burden is related to chronic diseases and the proportion of population aged 65 years and older is expected to increase in the next 10 years. Singapore is one of the few countries in APAC, which has an electronic database to keep track of all hospital records. Currently, there are early signs of players who are using big data to manage disease. The next five years will be interesting for clinicians and the general public in Singapore as more big data platforms are expected to be used in the healthcare market, and better apps will be available for disease management.
Offer coverage for end-of-life care: Experts The Straits Times 15th Oct 2015
With demand for palliative care expected to double in the next five years, experts have called for the authorities to make it more affordable by having it covered by insurance. End-of-life care experts say that patients are staying in hospitals longer than they need to because insurance companies do not pay for palliative care in hospices. In Singapore, insurance companies and MediShield Life do not cover care in hospices.
Fullerton Healthcare said to be working on S$420m IPO in S’pore Today 14th Oct 2015
Fullerton Healthcare Corp, a provider of medical services to corporate workers in Asia, is planning an initial public offering in Singapore, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Singapore-based company is working with JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS Group on a share sale that may take place next year. The IPO could raise as much as US$300 million (S$420.31 million) the sources said, asking not to be named as the information is private. Fullerton joins Raffles Medical Group and Healthscope in seeking a public listing to tap investor interest in Asia Pacific’s booming medical-services market.
Handbook launched to help improve quality of healthcare The Straits Times 14th Oct 2015
The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) is hoping to improve standards in the community care sector with the launch of a Quality Improvement (QI) Toolkit handbook. The handbook is meant to complement QI Toolkit Workshops conducted by the AIC Learning Institute, which have been attended by more than 200 healthcare professionals since they were introduced in 2012.
Fullerton Healthcare said to be planning US$300m Singapore IPO The Straits Times 13th Oct 2015
Fullerton Healthcare Corp, a provider of medical services to corporate workers in Asia, is planning an initial public offering in Singapore, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Singapore-based company is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and UBS on a share sale that may take place next year, the people said. The IPO could raise as much as US$300 million (S$420.8 million), the people said, asking not to be named as the information is private.
More hospitals needed as patient numbers rise due to ageing population: PM Lee Channel News Asia 10th Oct 2015
Both Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital will add much-needed capacity to Singapore's healthcare system, says PM Lee Hsien Loong at the official opening of the facilities. The Republic needs more hospitals because the number of patients has been rising steadily, mainly because Singapore’s population is ageing rapidly, said PM Lee at the official opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital on October 10.
MOH told of hepatitis C cluster at Singapore General Hospital in late August The Straits Times 8th Oct 2015
It was in late August that the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) reported to the Ministry of Health (MOH) it had identified a cluster of 21 hepatitis C cases and suspected they were linked. On Sept 3, after reviewing SGH's report, Associate Professor Benjamin Ong, the director of medical services (DMS) at MOH, met SGH clinicians. Dr Ong then asked for specific steps to be taken, including confirmation by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) of SGH's findings, screening for staff who had been exposed, and external representation on the committees being set up by the hospital to review its medical and patient safety processes.
ICT
Apple’s location for its official Singapore store confirmed? Tech in Asia 26th Oct 2015
Apple’s location for its first official store in Singapore might be confirmed in a press release… that was not released by Apple. The announcement started innocently enough: fitness chain Pure Fitness issued a statement saying it will be closing its branch in Knightsbridge, a distinctive retail building along Singapore’s premier shopping belt Orchard Road. Oddly, it mentions in passing that “Pure and other tenants will be handing back space to make way for the opening of a new Apple store in late 2016.” We can only guess why Pure Fitness talked about Apple in the press release.
Solutions to Singapore’s engineering talent crunch, according to the TIA Community Tech in Asia 26th Oct 2015
Laurence Franslay, an engineer, decided to join an MNC after four years in startups because he could not find a startup that excited him. He says that “engineers are generally ready to join startups, which is why the best from our Singapore universities all went to the US to join startups there. We need better startups in Singapore. They can provide a good learning environment if they are doing groundbreaking work, and not another Groupon/TaskRabbit/”insert-whatever-the-new-fad” is. Winston Teo concurs, “Are the folks, who are saying that engineers are hard to find, working on ideas that are interesting or worthwhile to solve? Are they doing enough hustling and networking to get good engineers? If they can’t hustle for engineers, can they hustle for customers?” He further adds that “non-tech founders should […] value and ascertain good engineering, then they would have a better chance of finding and nurturing good talent.”
Battle over 4th licence hots up in Singapore Mobile World Live 19th Oct 2015
The two companies that have expressed interest in bidding for Singapore’s fourth mobile licence strongly criticised the country’s three major operators for asking the authorities to reduce the amount of premium spectrum being reserved for a new player in an auction early next year. OMGTel and MyRepublic have both condemned the “self-serving” operators for claiming they need the 900MHz spectrum to be reallocated to them to provide quality 3G coverage, The Straits Times reported. Their existing 900MHz spectrum licences expire in March 2017. OMGTel director Sallim Abdul Kadir said in an opinion piece in the Times that: “It is disingenuous, if not self-serving, for the three telcos to say that the networks which they have designed and rolled out over the years now cannot meet consumer expectations without further extension of the 900MHz spectrum.”
SingTel to build $285m data center in Singapore Telecomasia 14th Oct 2015
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) is making its biggest data center investment in Singapore to date, into a new S$400 million ($285 million) facility. With the Tier 3-Plus facility in Jurong, the company will aim to meet growing demand for co-location and cloud services in Singapore. “This new data center is designed to meet the critical hosting needs of the financial services industry, government agencies, and cloud and internet service providers,” said Bill Chang, CEO of Group Enterprise at SingTel. “It enables SingTel to attract and host world-class cloud players in Singapore and position the country as a global hub for cloud computing and innovation.” With an approximate gross floor area of 570,000 square feet, the network-ready data center features secure, high-grade private and co-location data hosting capabilities. To be completed in the third quarter of 2016, it can host an array of new technologies from cloud solutions, smart applications to different platforms for analytics.
MatchMove Pay gets remittance license from Singapore government e27 14th Oct 2015
Singapore-based financial technology startup MatchMove Pay today announced it has been granted a license to carry out remittance services in the country. The license was granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank and financial regulator. “With this approval from MAS, we can execute our strategy of bringing safe, affordable and instant remittance services to all mobile phone users who are [residents] in Singapore,” said Shailesh Naik, CEO and Founder, MatchMove Pay, at a conference. He added, “Being regulated by MAS also means that we will adhere to one of the strictest ‘know your customer/anti-money laundering’ (KYC/AML) processes stipulated by one of the most respected financial jurisdictions in the world.” According to a report published by consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, the biggest remittance markets in Southeast Asia are the Philippines and Vietnam, which account for more than 50 per cent of all remittances in the region.
Singapore tries out mail delivery drones Telecomasia 13th Oct 2015
Singapore Post (SingPost) and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) are working together to develop a drone for delivering mail. A test flight was successfully completed between Lorong Halus and Pulau Ubin last week, the first in the world for a postal service to successfully use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery. Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), said that although it will be a while before it is viable for drone mail delivery to take off in Singapore, taking into consideration commercial and safety factors, it demonstrates what Singapore is trying out with its Smart Nation vision. The test flight took five minutes and carried a payload of a letter as well as t-shirt in a parcel and flew a total distance of two kilometers. The drone is equipped with enhanced safety features, and is complemented with a prototype app designed with security and verification features that ensures the mail reaches its intended recipient.
CtrlShift to manage sales for Microsoft in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines mumbrella 9th Oct 2015
CtrlShift, the ad tech firm formed from the merger of AdzCentral, Better Digital and Asia Digital Ventures in January, has announced an expanded partnership with Microsoft to sell the company’s inventory in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
Operators agree 4G will require more network sharing Mobile World Live 8th Oct 2015
Operators across Asia have been touting their 4G achievements, with regular progress updates on base station rollouts and subscriber milestones, but as they shift away from dense urban areas they won’t be able to go it alone. That was the message from a panel discussion yesterday at the event. Celcom CFO TVT Chari said that expanding passive network sharing, and moving to active sharing, will be essential for operators as they push 4G beyond the low-hanging fruit in major cities. Bolt Super 4G CTO Devid Gubiani agreed, noting that sharing will be required given the huge investments to go nationwide. “I think we’ll go more to a joint approach to infrastructure sharing.” Bolt introduced Indonesia’s first 4G service in Jakarta in early 2014 and in Q3 had 39 per cent of the country’s 4G connections. That share is dropping quickly as the other four major players have started to roll out 4G. Bolt has over 1.5 million 4G connections, with about half of those being smartphone users, according to GSMA Intelligence.
Infrastructure
Singapore initiatives aim to spur private investment in infrastructure Out-Law.com 23rd Oct 2015
Deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told the World Bank-Singapore Infrastructure Finance Summit that the Singapore government will: improve project documentation to reduce the perception of risk in infrastructure projects; provide benchmarks, performance measures and other analytics; and develop more infrastructure debt in the infrastructure asset class, The Business Times said. Public-private-partnership contracts should include clear clauses covering termination and dispute resolution, to reassure investors, the deputy prime minister said, according to the report. Investors need clear analytics to make decisions on where to put their money, he said. On infrastructure debt, less than 0.2% of the world's total funds under management by institutions goes into infrastructure debt. The asset class is "greatly underweighted", and could help banks to pass projects on to institutional investors when they hit the operational stage, the deputy prime minister said, according to The Business Times.
Keen interest in S'pore, KL rail link job The Straits Times 20th Oct 2015
Some 150 firms have responded to invitations from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and its Malaysian counterpart for a request-for-information (RFI) exercise regarding the proposed high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The two sides received the overwhelming response by 6pm last Friday - just nine days after the invitation went out. Parties which responded are believed to include Japanese, Chinese, Korean, American and European consortia. The RFI is jointly conducted with Malaysia's Land Public Transport Commission (Spad).
S Korea keen on KL-Singapore rail project Brunei Times 19th Oct 2015
South Korea has expressed keen interest to bid for the proposed high speed rail (HSR) project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, said Malaysia’s Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi. Abdul Aziz said South Korea’s interest was expressed to him by the republic’s Vice Transport Minister Yeo Hyung Koo during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the the 9th APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting (TMM9) in Cebu, Philippines recently. “I also updated few other rail-based projects such as light rail transit extensions lines and Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) projects which have started and targeted to be completed by 2016 and 2017 respectively,” he told Bernama in a telephone interview. Apart from that, Abdul Aziz also talked about the KVMRT or KVMRT Line 1 and Line 2 - the largest infrastructure ever taken in Malaysia. As a formality, he had advised his South Korean counterpart to submit an official letter to the government on their interest to participate in the HSR project.
LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit hold train disruption exercise at 3 MRT stations Channel NewsAsia 14th Oct 2015
The Land Transport Authority (LTA), SMRT and SBS Transit conducted a ground deployment exercise at three MRT stations to test their management and readiness plans in the event of major train service disruptions, on Wednesday (Oct 14). According to a joint press release issued by LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit on Wednesday, the emergency drill - codenamed "Exercise Greyhound" - was conducted while regular trains operated. Commuters were not affected. Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is also Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, took the MRT to the various stations to assess the emergency plans.
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s smart technology push Enterprise Innovation Net 14th Oct 2015
Singapore has one of the world’s busiest ports, seeing about 130,000 vessels annually. An estimated 1,000 vessels call at the port at any one time, which means there is a vessel arriving or leaving Singapore every two to three minutes. To meet the demands of increasing annual traffic, new technologies are being developed and test-bedded to manage ship traffic, automate processes and optimise resources. e-Gov Innovation conducted an interview with Toh Ah Cheong, Director of Technology Division at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), on the use of smart technology to enhance port operations.
Rail reliability: Singapore's reputation is on the line, says Transport Minister Khaw Channel NewsAsia 9th Oct 2015
Train operators in the operator must close the gap with their counterparts in Hong Kong in terms of rail reliability, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan. At stake: Singapore's reputation. In a blogpost on Oct 9 (Fri), Mr Khaw, who is also Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, noted that while efforts in recent years have improved train reliability in Singapore, the current situation is still “not good enough”. "For example, although the average distance travelled before a delay of more than 5 minutes for our North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) has improved to 137,000 train-km, we are still far short of MTR’s performance of about 300,000 train-km," he wrote.
Singapore's new transport minister aims to deliver the best in class on rail reliability The Business Times 9th Oct 2015
Singapore's newly appointed transport minister, Khaw Boon Wan, said in his blog on Friday that the government aims to deliver "the best in class on rail reliability''. In a blog post entitled "Catching up with HK", Mr Khaw shared his thoughts on the need to catch up with the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR), widely seen by experts as the best in class in providing rail reliability to commuters. "Our operators, SMRT and SBST, must seek to match MTR's reliability and close the gap as soon as possible,'' said Mr Khaw, Singapore's Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport. "We are now behind Hong Kong MTR, but we shall catch up. Do give us some time to address all these problems,'' he added.
3D map of Singapore to improve municipal services Channel NewsAsia 8th Oct 2015
The authorities are hoping to create a 3D map of Singapore that is arguably more comprehensive than Google Earth, within the next two years. This is part of efforts to better solve everyday issues using technology and improve municipal services. The first phase of the project to map the island using aerial shots is almost completed, announced the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) on Thursday (Oct 8). The map includes creating 3D terrain and road models to allow authorities to analyse infrastructure without being present. There is also "geo tagging", or adding location details to an image or video. This way, authorities can pinpoint the exact location where an incident occurred based on residents' feedback.
Malaysia, Singapore Begin 'Next Phase' of High-Speed Rail Project The Diplomat 8th Oct 2015
Malaysia and Singapore moved forward on their high-speed rail project Wednesday with a new effort to gauge market interest and gather industry views to inform ongoing bilateral discussions. According to a press release issued October 7, Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) have jointly launched a market sensing exercise via a Request for Information (RFI) on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project. The move was described as “the next phase” of the 330-kilometer link, which was first announced by Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in February 2013 at the Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat. The HSR, with terminus stations in Kuala Lumpur’s Bandar Malaysia and Singapore’s Jurong East, has been seen as a major marker in the development of bilateral ties and is expected to dramatically improve connectivity between both sides, with travel time being cut down to 90 minutes.
TPP
TPP: What's in it for Singapore? Strait Times 14th Oct 2015
Negotiations on the largest regional trade accord in history concluded last week. Pundits have since weighed in on which groups of nations stand to gain or lose from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as the agreement is called. For instance, Vietnam - whose low-wage economy relies on exports - is estimated to be the biggest winner of the deal that slashes an estimated 18,000 tariffs among the dozen participating countries.
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