Singapore Morning News For April 18

Singapore exports fall for 2nd consecutive month in March
SINGAPORE’S exports continued to disappoint for the second straight month in March, hit by a triple whammy of high base effects, cooling electronics demand and a strengthening Singdollar.
— The Business Times

Five Weeks Later, Maersk Honam is Still Burning
Efforts to suppress a fire on containership Maersk Honam continue more than a month after a blaze aboard the 15,000 TEU vessel killed five crew members.
— Maritime Activity Reports

The Five Men Who Could Be Singapore’s Next (Young) Leader
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 66, has said he will reshuffle his cabinet soon and is widely expected to do so before Parliament reconvenes on May 7. The impending changes will increase the focus on a group of younger ministers — with an average age of about 50 — equipping them with more exposure and added responsibilities.
— Bloomberg

MyCareersFuture.sg replaces Jobs Bank as landing page for jobseekers
A new Government job-matching portal, MyCareersFuture.sg, was launched on Tuesday (Apr 17) and it will replace Jobs Bank as the landing page for jobseekers.
— Channel NewsAsia

Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on 7 major tech trends and Singapore’s regulatory approach
At a legal technology conference held in Singapore, Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation initiative Dr Vivian Balakrishnan iterated Singapore’s regulatory approach to major technology trends.
— Open Gov Asia

Trump’s trade war pushes Singapore to China
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s recent five-day trip to China signaled strongly rebounding ties with Beijing and the trade-reliant city-state’s unease with America’s moves to instigate a potentially destabilizing trade war.
— Asia Times

Singapore stakes claim on first organic standard for produce grown by urban and indoor farming
Singapore has launched its first organic standard, which officials believe is possibly the world’s first organic standard for produce grown in urban and indoor conditions.
— FoodNavigator-Asia

Singapore and UK to cooperate on cybersecurity capacity building
Singapore and the United Kingdom have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Cybersecurity Capacity Building, in conjunction with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
— Open Gov Asia

Brunei prince and Ron Sim buy into Singapore-listed UnUsUaL in S$25.8m deal
BRUNEI’S Prince Abdul Qawi and Singapore’s Ron Sim have teamed up to buy a substantial stake in SGX-listed UnUsUaL for S$25.8 million.
— The Business Times

More bumps ahead for industry in Singapore’s war on diabetes as hawkers let off the hook
Beverage manufacturers in Asia may face more challenges with a government campaign set to encourage Singaporeans to switch to drinking plain water.
— FoodNavigator-Asia

Singapore’s ASEAN Chairmanship: What’s on the Security Agenda?
A closer look at some of the key items the city-state has proposed during its ASEAN chairmanship this year.
— The Diplomat (paywall)

Singapore’s tourism industry can better leverage technology to grow: Iswaran
The tourism industry in Singapore can better leverage technology to drive quality growth, said Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran at the 2018 Tourism Industry Conference on Tuesday morning (Apr 17).
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore Maritime Week 2018 to draw 30,000 visitors
SINGAPORE’S flagship maritime event is expected to draw 30,000 visitors on the back of a week packed with programmes that anchor on digitalisation and transformation of the industry.
— The Business Times

20 public buses in Singapore to trial blind-spot warning system
Twenty public buses in Singapore now have a blind-spot warning system as part of a six-month trial, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said during a demonstration of the feature on Monday (Apr 16).
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Singapore-Indonesia deep-sea expedition team discovers over a dozen species new to science
Hidden more than 1,000m underwater along the Sunda Strait off the coast of Jakarta is a peculiar spider crab with plates resembling ears that actually protect its eyes.
— The Straits Times

On World Hemophilia Day 2018, Shire Unites Communities in Asia Pacific and Advocates for ‘Principles of Care’
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG), the global biotech leader in rare diseases, is marking World Hemophilia Day to drive greater awareness of hemophilia in Asia Pacific (APAC) and improve standards of care for people living with rare bleeding disorders.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

Works To Begin Next Year On Singapore End Of High Speed Rail
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has revealed that construction works for Singapore’s end of the High Speed Rail (HSR) project linking the city-state and Malaysia is expected to start in 2019, reported the Straits Times.
— Property Guru

How A*STAR is enhancing the research ecosystem in Singapore: electronic Chemicals, Biomaterials, Gases Management System
This is part of a continuing series on how the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is constantly working to support researchers in Singapore and enhance the research ecosystem.
— Open Gov Asia

New processing plant helps to keep food fresh
Companies can now use the shared facility in Jurong to chill and pressurise food such as ready-to-eat meals, meat, seafood and cold-pressed juices, extending their shelf life.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

NTU to test Group Rapid Transit autonomous vehicles on Smart Campus by 2019
In Singapore, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) announced that it has joined forces with SMRT Services and 2getthere to deploy fully automated Group Rapid Transit (GRT) autonomous vehicles (AV) on the NTU Smart Campus by 2019.
— Open Gov Asia

MP Tan Wu Meng attacked during Meet-the-People session, suffers minor injuries
Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng was attacked by a man at a Meet-the-People (MPS) session in Clementi on Monday night (Apr 16).
— Channel NewsAsia

DBS Bank And Kasisto Selected As Winners In Second Annual LendIt Fintech Industry Awards
DBS Bank and Kasisto Named Most Successful Cross-Border Partnership at LendIt Fintech USA 2018
LendIt Fintech USA, the world’s leading event in financial services innovation, announced that it selected DBS Bank and Kasisto as the winners in the Most Successful Cross-Border Partnership at the second annual LendIt Fintech Industry Awards on April 10, 2018.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

Feature photo Salmiac

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 April 18 added by Leakhena Khat on April 18, 2018
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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.