Singapore Morning News For July 4

New ElderFund to help the low-income with severe disabilities
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is setting up a new fund to help the severely disabled who are in financial need.
— The Straits Times

Singapore institutes collaborate with ROK to develop innovative drugs
Scientists and clinicians from Singapore institutes are collaborating with C&C Research Laboratories, a leading research institute from the Republic of Korea (ROK), to develop innovative drugs.
— BioSpectrumAsia

Amazon sales event Prime Day to debut in Singapore on July 16
AMAZON’S largest annual sales event, Prime Day, will launch in Singapore for the first time this year.
— The Business Times (annoying popups)

Move to allow cash withdrawals from Medisave offers greater flexibility for the severely disabled
Madam Quek Pong, 86, has dementia and needs help with even the simplest daily activities, such as feeding herself or getting out of bed.
— The Straits Times

Police seize S$1.2 million and arrest 31 men in operation against unlawful World Cup gambling
Approximately S$1,250,000 in cash was seized when the police rounded up 31 men for their suspected involvement in illegal World Cup betting under the Remote Gambling Act.
— TodayOnline

New China rail network cuts transit time for exports to Singapore and beyond
Industrial cargo such as car parts, machinery and petrochemical products from western Chinese inland cities Chengdu and Chongqing now have an alternative route to be exported to Singapore and beyond.
— The Straits Times

Asia news roundup: Tencent joins $80m Airwallex round, Amazon Prime Day comes to Singapore
The Melbourne-based startup announced today a US$80 million series B led by Tencent and Sequoia China and joined by Asia-Pacific investors Hillhouse Capital, Horizons Ventures, Central Capital Ventura, and Square Peg Capital.
— TechInAsia

Hillview Rise site sold for $460m
The winning bidder proposed the adoption of Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) for the development.
— Singapore Business Review

National Day Parade 2018 tickets ready for collection from Friday
People who managed to secure tickets for this year’s National Day Parade can collect their tickets over two weekends, starting this Friday.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore Startup Launches Exchange to Combine Tokens and Fiat Transactions
Singapore-based startup Cryptology is aiming to make crypto transactions simpler and cheaper by building a “next generation” cryptocurrency exchange, which would be among the few that combine crypto and fiat transactions on a user-friendly platform, and offers the additional option of a mobile app.
— Coin Telegraph

JFE Engineering Inaugurates Waste to Energy Innovation Centre in Singapore
JFE Engineering has set up the Innovation Centre for Environmental Technology in the CleanTech One facility in Singapore to carry out research activities on ‘Development of Enhanced Utilisation Methodologies for Direct Melting Gasification’.
— Waste Management World

‘Complex’ but important CareShield Life may be tough for public to grasp: Experts
The more abstract nature of severe disability insurance, coupled with the increased complexity of the new CareShield Life scheme, could make it tough for people to grasp.
— TodayOnline

Asian investors demand ‘regular and steady’ funds
Asset managers in Asia say they will focus their marketing on multi-asset and bond products to meet a widespread demand for funds that generate reliable income.
— Funds Global Asia

Religious organisations should be more pro-active in curbing foreign influences: Forum
Giving an example on the issue of foreign radical preachers, several religious leaders said that their respective communities should take the lead in handling their own affairs, instead of relying on the Government to step in.
— TodayOnline

Kiri Industries Ltd welcomes Singapore court judgement in DyStar case
After Singapore court dismissed all the claims and counterclaims against promoters of Kiri Industries Ltd (KIL) in DyStar case, Manish Kiri, managing director, said the verdict has done great justice to the company.
— CNBC

United Drops Los Angeles-Singapore Route But Adds San Francisco-Singapore Flight
Last year, United Airlines was extremely pleased to announce that it would offer a non-stop flight connecting Los Angeles to Singapore. Now, less than one year later, United has announced that it will stop service to Singapore from Los Angeles.
— Get.com

AirAsia X looking further into Airbus A330neo to ‘finally confirm’ order: Co-group CEO
AirAsia X Bhd needs to ensure the price, performance and engines of the Airbus SE A330neo are right before it will “finally confirm” its order for 66 of the jets, its co-group chief executive said on Tuesday (Jul 3).
— Channel NewsAsia

Not just As; job experience, aptitude to count for working adults pursuing polys’ full-time diplomas
In a move to reduce over-emphasis on academic grades, working adults looking to pursue full-time diploma courses at local polytechnics will soon be assessed on their job experience and aptitude, instead of just their past academic scores.
— TodayOnline

Incentives of between S$500 and S$2,500 for Singaporeans to join CareShield Life
Singaporeans born in 1979 or earlier and are not severely disabled will receive “participation incentives” to encourage them to join CareShield Life from 2021, a year after the new national severe disability insurance scheme is launched.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore Water Week To Spur Water Technologies And Industry Development
Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) will highlight the government’s strategic program to grow the water industry and develop water technologies.
— UrduPoint

In preemptive strike on Go-Jek, Grab introduces personal assistant service in Manila
Everyone knows the Grab mantra by now: to become Southeast Asia’s “everyday app for consumers.” But closest competitor Go-Jek is also making a claim to that title.
— TechInAsia

Fines imposed by LTA might affect funds available to return customers’ deposits, said oBike chairman
Any fines imposed by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) on oBike should the latter still fail to remove its bicycles from the streets by the stipulated Jul 4 deadline might affect the funds available to oBike for the purpose of returning customers’ deposits, said oBikes’s founding investor and chairman, Shi Yi.
— TOC

NETS extends QR code payment discounts to more eateries till August
Homegrown payment services group Nets is extending its Go Cashless campaign — which rewards diners with discounts when they make Nets QR code payments — for another two months, with coffeeshops joining in the fray for the first time.
— TodayOnline

A new mobile app from a Singapore employment agency,
YY Hong Ye Group, is promising to let job seekers find part-time jobs as banquet waiters and cleaners the same way they can hitch a ride or order food online.
— TECHGOONDU

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals (ASLN) Reports Submission of Clinical Trial Authorization Application in Singapore to Initiate Phase 1 Trial of ASLAN004
ASLAN Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ASLN) today announced the submission of a clinical trial authorization application with the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to initiate a phase 1 trial of ASLAN004.
— StreetInsider

Credit Card Compare acquires Singapore’s Finty
Australian financial comparison firm Credit Card Compare has snapped up Finty, a Singaporean rewards-based financial marketplace, for an undisclosed amount.
— Cards International

Chart of the Day: Singapore to be third largest economy hit by US tariffs on Chinese goods
This chart from Schroders shows that Singapore is the third top market most affected by US tariffs on Chinese goods via supply chains. About 1.25% of its GDP is expected to be affected.
— Singapore Business Review

Mugabe Returns From Singapore Medical Trip
Former President Robert Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe on Tuesday on a private chartered flight from Singapore, where he had been seeking medical treatment.
— ConciseNews

Chinese banks slow lending
Mainland banks have long been known for their penchant to commit chunky amounts to loans, either as participants or as book runners, but that is changing, say loans bankers in the region.
— Asia Money

Sembcorp Industries pushed back Indian IPO
The initial public offering (IPO) of Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) in India has been pushed back to Q2 of FY2019 (Q3 of 2018) due to investor concerns over the general macroeconomic environment as well as pricing, local media reported.
— Singapore Business Review

Surrender money from 1MDB, Malaysia anti-graft agency urges account holders
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Tuesday (Jul 3) requested people who know or suspect that funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) have gone into their accounts to surrender it voluntarily or face legal action.
— Channel NewsAsia

Will Bharti Airtel lift Singtel’s earnings?
It could play against Vodafone’s weakness and raise revenue share in the next 12-15 months, an analyst said.
— Singapore Business Review

Cheap Prices, Quality Food: Hawker Centres in Singapore
Traveling can be expensive, and sometimes it’s hard to stay on a budget and fully immerse oneself in a county’s culture, especially if budget becomes an issue.
— DC Bureau

Everstone arm to buy out Cookie Man
Chennai-based Cookie Man (Australian Foods India) is the largest brand of fresh baked cookies in the country and the acquisition will be carried out by Everstone’s subsidiary Modern Food Enterprises, a company release said.
— Progressive Grocer India

Cairnhill Mansions collective sale committee to apply to High Court for sale order
CAIRNHILL Mansions’ collective sale committee (CSC) will apply to the High Court for a sale order, the purchaser Low Keng Huat (Singapore) said in a Singapore Exchange (SGX) filing on Tuesday evening.
— The Business Times

Feature photo Ravenblack7575

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 4 added by John Le Fevre on July 4, 2018
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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.