Singapore Morning News Roundup February 21

Welcome to the Singapore morning news roundup by AEC News Today, your one stop for Singapore news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities.

A budget for today – and tomorrow
Against a backdrop of rapid technological change and global uncertainty, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivered a Budget yesterday that addresses Singaporeans’ immediate concerns while laying the groundwork for future growth.
— Straits Times

Singapore Wholesale Trade Surges In Q4
Singapore’s domestic wholesale trade grew sharply in the three months ended December, data from the Department of Statistics showed Monday.
At current prices, domestic wholesale sales climbed 10.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, much faster than the 0.7 percent rise in the previous quarter.
General wholesale trade alone jumped 28.2 percent over the quarter and the sale of ship chandlers and bunkering expanded by 20.1 percent.
— RTT News

Singapore’s Home Curbs May Stay for Some Time, Minister Says
Singapore’s residential property curbs are expected to stay for some time as the city-state’s economy remains stable and demand is still “very resilient,” National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said.
— Bloomberg

Increased aid to tackle dementia, mental health issues
More towns will have residents and businesses trained to recognise and help people with symptoms of dementia.
— Straits Times

Budget caps for ministries lowered to set prudent tone
The budget caps set for ministries and organs of state will take a 2 per cent downward adjustment in the new financial year starting April 1.
— Straits Times

Budget 2017: Water prices to rise by 30% over 2 years
Water prices will increase by 30 per cent in two phases over the next two years, starting from July 1 this year. This is the first time in almost 20 years that the Government is revising water prices.
— Channel NewsAsia

Registration tax hikes for big motorcycles
Motorcycles will be subject to progressive taxes, just like cars.
— The Business Times

New national cybersecurity lab launched at NUS
A national laboratory that provides a realistic environment for cybersecurity research and test-bedding of solutions against cyber threats was launched at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Tuesday (Feb 21).
— Channel NewsAsia

New scheme to bump up training for job-seekers
The Government will introduce an “Attach and Train” programme aimed at helping workers to get jobs in sectors with good growth prospects but where companies may not be ready to hire just yet.
— Today Online

Pressure on Singapore banks’ credit costs, interest margins should subside in 2017: Moody’s
Moody’s Investors Service said the just-released fourth quarter and full-year 2016 financial results of Singapore’s Big Three banks reveal a further decline in profitability and mixed asset quality performance, but pressure on credit costs and net interest margins should subside in 2017, providing support to profitability.
— Straits Times

Carbon tax could hit companies hard
A carbon tax will put a dent in companies’ bottom lines, but experts say such a measure to reduce the carbon footprint is preferable to other forms of carbon pricing, as there would be minimal price fluctuations for businesses and a smaller chance of these costs being passed on to consumers.
— Today Online

Feature photo: kolehkoleh

The Singapore morning news roundup is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Singapore Morning News Roundup For February 21 added by Leakhena Khat on February 21, 2017
View all posts by Leakhena Khat →

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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.