Singapore morning news for August 29

Singapore firms inked deals for projects in Africa
Five Singapore firms forged ties with African counterparts during the Africa Singapore Business Forum (ASBF) 2018 to boost the region’s digital economy and manufacturing, an announcement revealed.
— Singapore Business Review

Chinese biotech valuations likely hit as trailblazer’s Hong Kong shares sink
Nevertheless, the stock drop has left Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd [GIC.UL], a cornerstone investor with a $75 million stake, nursing losses of $32.8 million, Reuters calculations showed.
— Reuters

IHH Healthcare Q2 profits crashed 65.8% to $104.49m
Inpatient admissions for Parkway Pantai’s hospitals in Singapore hospitals rose 0.4% YoY to 19,021, driven predominantly by local patients as well as foreign patients from non-traditional markets such as Vietnam.
— Singapore Business Review

Thai national returns to Singapore to face NS defaulting charges, pleads guilty
A 24-year-old Thai national who was formerly a Singapore citizen returned to Singapore and pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Aug 28) to defaulting on national service (NS).
— Channel NewsAsia

Long-term investments key to water security: DPM Teo
Enhancements to Singapore’s water plants are necessary to ensure the country’s water security, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, on a topic that has come under the spotlight following remarks by the new Malaysian government.
— The New Paper

Singapore not in talks with Malaysia on water prices, says report
Singapore is having any renegotiations with Malaysia on water prices, says news portal Today.
— The Star Online

8 in 10 Singapore firms tap blockchain
In terms of blockers to blockchain adoption, 57% of Singapore identified the lack of trust amongst potential users as the top hindrance to blockchain adoption. In addition, half of Singapore executives also think that regulatory uncertainty is also a risk to blockchain adoption.
— Singapore Business Review

Over 4,300 BTO flats for sale in Yishun, Punggol
The flats offered for sale are 4,375 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Yishun and a new waterfront district in Punggol, and 726 Re-offer of Balance Flats (ROF) units – flats that remain unsold after several exercises.
— The New Paper

How Singapore plans on becoming a smart nation
SINGAPORE has been leveraging technology in an effort to transform the country into a digitally driven economy.
— TechWireAsia

A tad ironical when President Halimah Yacob talks about racial harmony
Speaking to students from Anglo-Chinese Junior College who were taking part in a racial harmony programme at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC), Madam Halimah Yacob, President of Singapore told attending students to, among other things, ask themselves how they as individuals can further contribute to racial harmony. Further, they were asked to speak up against against stereotypes in everyday conversations.
— TOC

Singapore Taps Blockchain Platform for Selling Tokenized Securities
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are looking to blockchain to create a secure platform for selling tokenized securities.
— CoinDesk

55% of Singaporeans search for travel during work hours, with the peak period right after lunch
A significant 18% of Singaporeans make travel searches between 1pm – 3pm right after returning to the office from their midday lunch breaks.
— TOC

Singapore corporate debt issuance up 39% last year
Total debt issuance rose 39 per cent to $259 billion last year, up from $186 billion in 2016, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) data showed yesterday.
— The New Paper

Commentary: UNESCO listing may lift hawker culture but saving it is a different challenge
The bid to list Singapore hawkers may help preserve hawker culture as a distinctive expression of Singapore’s customs but continued efforts are needed to boost the hawker scene, says one observer.
— Channel NewsAsia

Rising discontent for extremely high ministerial salaries against declining living standards, may be enough to push PAP out in next GE
Many government supporters have dismissed comparisons between Singapore and Malaysia in this regard.
— TOC

Singapore Cruise Centre reveals retail contract for Tanah Merah Terminal
Singapore Cruise Centre is looking for responses to a Request for Qualifications to operate a non-duty-free retail and food & beverage concession at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
— DFNI

Travel spend in Singapore slips
SINGAPORE, 29 August 2018: Singapore clocked 4.6 million visits during the first quarter of 2018, representing an increase of 7.3%.
— TTR Weekly

Singapore Currency Signals Inflation Battle
Singapore’s dollar is approaching the upper boundary of its trading band as speculation mounts that the central bank will boost the exchange rate for a second time this year to combat inflation.
— Financial Tribune

ASEAN SMEs yield big business for PayPal
SMALL, digitally plugged-in businesses give Rahul Shinghal, PayPal’s Singapore-based regional managing director, plenty of cause for cheer.
— Business Times

URA teams up with Grab to study travel patterns of Singapore commuters
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) tapped Grab to look into travel patterns of commuters in Singapore through a one-year joint analysis of land use and mobility data.
— Singapore Business Review

Temasek unit, BOC jointly buy 27 community banks in China
Temasek Holdings-owned Fullerton Financial Holdings and Bank of China (BOC) have jointly acquired 27 community banks from China Construction Bank for 1.6 billion yuan (S$320.3 million) – a record in terms of the number of community banks being transferred in a single transaction.
— The New Paper

NSCC to accelerate Singapore cross-government network
Data center interconnectivity solutions provider Mellanox Technologies has been selected to upgrade Singapore’s Advanced Research and Education Network (SingAREN) with fast-speed low-latency access from Singapore’s National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC).
— Telecomasia

Bus technicians get certification boos
The Certification for Bus Technical Specialists, launched yesterday, is an industry-recognised benchmark to assess the skills and expertise of technicians, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary.
— The Straits Times

FTA AGREEMENT WITH SINGAPORE – MOST COMPREHENSIVE AGREEMENT EVER
WTO is in the apex of the trade agreements, arbitrations, and world trade affairs leading Singapore as the world center on Arbitration which is a highly technical and expensive affair for a poor and less legally equipped country like Sri Lanka.
— Lankaweb

Skincare brand founder sued by investors admits diverting revenue from company
The founder of local skincare brand Klarity, who was sued by four investors for diverting revenue and profits away for her own benefit, has admitted that she was liable to pay damages for breaching her duties to the company.
— The Straits Times

Petitioners voice concerns about bus route change that will skip school stops along Dover Road
More than 1,900 people have signed an online petition against a bus route change along Dover Road which will skip stops by several schools, including Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Fairfield Methodist Primary and Secondary.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore dollar hits record-high amidst climb to S$NEER’s upper band
Bloomberg reports that the Singapore dollar has reached a record high against a basket of major trading partners’ currencies, based on HSBC Holdings Plc’s model of the managed float system by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
— Singapore Business Review

Singapore in need of leaders who are compassionate, not “disconnected” with the people: Christian NGO head
Founder and co-executive of the international Christian humanitarian organisation RADION International, Mr Eugene Wee, has written an open letter to Singapore’s Ministers in response to the heated debate surrounding Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s “solutions” in coping with rising living costs in Singapore.
— TOC

Eyes on the prize: Singapore’s gaming operators brace for Japan bid in 2019
Japan has yet to implement its Integrated Resort (IR) Implementation Bill and the process to get it through the finish line might take a while, but Genting Singapore (GENS) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS), acting for Marina Bay Sands (MBS), are already courting Osaka’s government for an eventual bidding by 2019.
— Singapore Business Review

Air force celebrates 50th birthday with set of seven stamps
Singapore Post will be launching a set of seven commemorative stamps in celebration of the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) 50th birthday.
— The Straits Times

Singapore corporate debt issuance rises 39% to S$259b in 2017
SINGAPORE’S corporate debt market grew strongly last year, with total debt issuance rising 39 per cent to S$259 billion in 2017, up from S$186 billion in 2016, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) latest Corporate Debt Market Report shows.
— The Business Times

DBS employee probed over Facebook illustration of torn Singapore flag fired
Following police investigations regarding the case of an employee of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) who had posted a picture on Facebook featuring a depiction of the Singapore flag being torn, DBS has announced that the employee in question is no longer working with the bank.
— TOC

Sugar price drops as govt weighs soda tax
He said neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore had taken similar measures and that the price of sugar in Malaysia remained one of the lowest in South-East Asia.
— The Star Online

Mobile data usage rises at fastest rate in a decade | Video
Singapore residents consumed 185 million gigabytes of mobile data in the year up to March – that’s 2.7 GB a month per person on average, a 23 per cent jump from a year before that. How can Singaporeans save on their phone bills?
— Channel NewsAsia

Stubbornly Strong Singapore Dollar Signals Inflation Battle
Singapore’s dollar is approaching the upper boundary of its trading band as speculation mounts that the central bank will boost the exchange rate for a second time this year to combat inflation.
— Bloomberg

Vietnamese online marketplace Sendo pins hopes on rural shoppers
Sendo Technology, Vietnam’s first online marketplace where consumers sell to each other, sees a golden opportunity to win over consumers in the country’s smaller towns, sidestepping intense competition in big cities.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

Singapore aims to be a gateway to Asia for African companies | Video
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing has urged African companies to look to Singapore to access the rest of Asia.
— Channel NewsAsia

Feature photo Suanpa

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 August 29 added by Maria Mirasol Rasonable on August 29, 2018
View all posts by Maria Mirasol Rasonable →

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Maria Mirasol Rasonable

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Maria Mirasol Rasonable graduated with a Bachelors Degree in journalism from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Santa Mesa, Manila, Philippines.

She previously covered police rounds for Philippine Daily Inquirer as a trainee before becoming editorial staff at Gospel Komiks under the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA-MG), Santa Mesa, Manila where she wrote lifestyle and trending fashion and styles articles.