Singapore Morning News For July 10

GIC sees steady long-term returns amid cautious portfolio stance
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has delivered steady long-term returns despite maintaining a cautious investment stance in an environment of high uncertainty and low expected returns, it said on Monday (Jul 10).
— Channel NewsAsia

Exclusive: BuzzCommerce raising $1m to make private label products
Singapore-based BuzzCommerce, a cross-border beauty e-commerce startup, is raising at least $1 million in its latest funding round to create its own cosmetics and supplement products to serve demand in China and Japan.
— DealStreetAsia

StarHub bets on more data sales as mobile space gets squeezed
StarHub Ltd, facing the biggest shake up in Singapore’s phone industry since it started almost two decades ago, is seeking growth beyond the consumer market. Its strategy: providing more data analytics to corporate clients.
— The Business Times

Dishonest firms hinder efforts to raise construction workforce quality
The perennial problem of companies here cheating foreign workers by paying them lower salaries than promised is undermining a new rule by the Government to raise the productivity and quality of the construction workforce.
— Today Online

Series B deals point to interest in early growth-stage startups
MORE than US$70 million in Series B funding has been reportedly raised by Singapore or Singapore-backed startups of late – pointing to a plausible growing interest among investors in early growth-stage companies with an already proven product and internationalisation plans.
— The Business Times

Residential en bloc market picking up steam, but developers cautious: Analysts
The residential en bloc market is picking up steam, according to experts – with four successful deals conducted so far this year to the tune of around S$1.5 billion.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

UOB’s PayNow goes live, allowing payments using just mobile number or NRIC
United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) PayNow goes live on Monday (July 10), with the bank saying the launch will enable its customers to be the first in Singapore to pay and to be paid via the service on their social messaging apps.
— Today Online

B’desh, S’pore aim to boost co-op in infrastructure, consumer sectors
The Bangladesh-Singapore Business Forum kicks off today (Monday) aiming to explore cooperation in infrastructure and consumer sectors between the two countries.
— The Financial Express

Singapore’s cybersecurity is best globally: Index
Malaysia is ranked third among 193 countries in terms of its commitment to cybersecurity, according to the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2017.
— Asia One

Singapore’s first ‘digital garage’ opens at Tanjong Pagar Community Club
Tanjong Pagar Community Club is host to the first digital garage, which will teach basic coding and electronic skills to members of the public as Singapore moves towards a digital society. It’s a collaboration with the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Masagos to visit Indonesia, reaffirm cooperation on addressing environmental challenges
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will visit Jakarta and Palembang from Jul 10 to 11, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) said on Sunday (Jul 9).
— Channel NewsAsia

Push for Singaporeans to eat healthier hawker food
Four in 10 hawker stalls will sell at least one healthier dish by 2019, if the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) latest effort to get Singaporeans to choose healthy food pays off.
— The New Paper

MTI, competition watchdog monitoring price hikes by several coffee stalls
The authorities are now looking into cases of coffee stalls raising prices in tandem with the water tariff hike, including a group of stalls at Redhill Food Centre which co-ordinated their price increases.
— Today Online

Sydney Airport Star Alliance lounges: Singapore Airlines vs AirNZ
One side-effect of Star Alliance having a surprisingly large footprint in Australia – 11 member airlines, in all – is that many of our international airports boast several Star Alliance lounges.
— Australian Business Traveller

Dip in Singapore singles intending to marry
Most of Singapore’s singletons intend to marry, though six in 10 are not dating with marriage in mind and four in 10 have never had serious relationships, according to a new government survey.
— The New Paper

Pay-TV operator aiming to block site streaming pirated K-dramas
Fans who eschew legal sites and instead lap up Korean dramas on websites that stream pirated shows could find their options further limited.
— The New Paper

Asian dynasties: Battle for the soul of Singapore
To those who criticised the generous salaries offered to his ministers, Lee Kuan Yew — the politician credited with transforming Singapore from a resource-poor tropical port into one of Asia’s wealthiest nations — had a simple retort.
— Financial Times

Rise in steroid misuse by Singapore teens a worrying trend: Fitness experts
Channel NewsAsia’s Noor Farhan investigates claims that the ease of obtaining performance-enhancing drugs has led to teen gym-goers dabbling in their use – despite the health risks.
— Channel NewsAsia

Zimbabwe’s Mugabe in Singapore for medical check:report
Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe is in Singapore for a “routine medical check-up”, state media reported on Sunday.
— News24

More Singaporeans finding love online
After several failed relationships, administrative manager June Chan was married in January this year. Thanks to a dating app, she said.
— The New Paper

Feature photo Tiberiu Ana
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Singapore morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Singapore news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Singapore Morning News For July 10 added by Leakhena Khat on July 10, 2017
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.