Singapore Morning News For February 27

Budget spurs Singapore firms to up-skill for new economy
Singapore’s hard-fought economic transformation is dependent on the ability of its enterprises and people to learn, unlearn and relearn new capabilities and skillsets.
— Asia Times

Singapore’s manufacturing output rises 17.9% in January
Singapore’s manufacturing sector got off to a good start in 2018, with output rising 17.9 per cent in January compared to the same month a year ago, according to figures released by the Economic Development Board (EDB) on Monday (Feb 26).
— Channel NewsAsia

Balanced growth in Singapore as economy gathers pace
SINGAPORE ended the year positively with 14,115 new businesses formed in Q4 2017, according to data presented in Hawksford Singapore’s latest research report, Singapore New Business Trends Report Q4 2017.
— Digital News Asia

Singapore manufacturing gets unexpected lift from electronics
Singapore’s factory output surprised by growing at a much faster pace than expected in January as the electronics segment rebounded.
— Nikkei Asian Review (metered paywall)

Trump keen to emulate Singapore’s death penalty for drug traffickers: Report
United States President Donald Trump is keen to follow Singapore’s lead and introduce mandatory death penalty and other harsher penalties for drug trafficking offences.
— Today Online

Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand agree on changes to Asean Collective Investment Schemes framework
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand authorities have agreed to commit to a revised version of the Asean Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) framework that will provide retail investors wider access to fund managers across the three countries.
— Business Insider / Reuters

Innovation Corridor to help Singapore companies pilot urban solutions in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
The first Innovation Corridor cycle is currently planned for the Happy Cities Summit in Andhra Pradesh in April 2018 and the World Cities Summit in Singapore in July 2018.
— Open Gov Asia

Malaysian man arrested in connection with Chew Eng Han’s attempted escape from Singapore
The police have arrested a 45-year-old Malaysian man for his suspected involvement in helping ex-City Harvest Church leader Chew Eng Han’s attempted escape from Singapore.
— Channel NewsAsia

This country is now tied with Singapore as having the most powerful passport in the world
The super-rich, or those who simply love to travel, have made a trend out of collecting passports— but the new most sought-after one might surprise you.
— Business Insider

Eight men to be charged in eight separate molestation cases across Singapore
Eight men will be charged on Tuesday (Feb 27) for eight separate cases of outrage of modesty, the police said on Monday, just weeks after announcing that the number of molestation cases had surged 22.2 per cent in 2017 compared to the year before.
— Channel NewsAsia

Green light for Singapore’s third derivatives exchange
AFTER two years of intense preparation, Chinese-backed Asia Pacific Exchange Pte Ltd (Apex) has finally obtained the green light from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to operate the city-state’s third derivatives exchange and a clearing house after the Singapore Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
— The Business Times

No Surprise, Singapore’s PM is Still the Highest Salary Among All World Leaders
In an article published on the website Brightside, the salaries of 13 world leaders were compared, with US President Donald Trump at the bottom of the list, as he only receives $1 per year. At the top of the list is Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who receives $2.2 million a year.
— The Independent Singapore

17 F&B businesses in Singapore commit to sourcing for sustainable palm oil
Singapore has been free from the scourge of haze for the past two years, but at least 17 food and beverage companies here are not taking the clear skies for granted.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Singapore’s SpherePay receives investment from Titanium for SE Asia expansion
Earlier today, Singapore-homegrown mobile payment company SpherePay announced its strategic partnership and investment from one of China’s leading blockchain company Titanium (TV).
— Finextra

Singapore Myanmar Investco signs deal to develop The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand in Myanmar
MAINBOARD-listed Singapore Myanmar Investco (SMI) announced on Monday that it has secured an exclusive deal to set up and develop The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) brand in Myanmar, expanding its arrangement with the coffee chain.
— The Business Times

Singapore bike-sharing operator taps NB-IoT to combat indiscriminate parking
SG Bike and M1 are partnering to assess the use of Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) to more accurately identify the location of bikes and curb errant parking.
— ZDNet

Singapore shipping firm buckles under debt load
A Singapore shipping company rescued by its chairman just over a year ago faces collapse unless the courts step in, a sign that an earlier slump in oil prices is still reverberating.
— Manila Bulletin

Development projects cementing Singapore-Malaysia ties
The eighth Singapore–Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat held in Singapore last month witnessed a milestone in bilateral ties. Leaders of both countries signed an agreement to build a rapid transit system linking Johor Baru and Singapore, and officially launched the Marina One and Duo joint developments. But new challenges threaten to test relations between the two neighbours.
— Today Online

Facebook’s buy-and-sell Marketplace could be a big headache for Carousell
Facebook quietly launched Marketplace, its consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform for buying and selling used items, in Singapore last month.
— Tech In Asia

Robot production facility launched in Singapore in partnership with Fortune 500 company
A robot production facility was launched by Singapore precision engineering firm PBA Group and Korean industrial robot company Hanwha Robotics on Monday (Feb 26).
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore is the best place to live in the world, according to expats
Sunny Singapore topped the charts for the third year in a row in HSBC’s annual expat survey (pdf), just beating out Norway, which climbed four spots from last year to come in a close second.
— Quartz

Shorts Square Off With Analysts Over Marquee Singapore Startup
Sea Ltd., operator of Southeast Asia’s biggest gaming platform, has had a rough start as a public company.
— Bloomberg

Samsung debuts Trade Up app for S9 trade-ins in Singapore
Hankering for the new Galaxy S9 after yesterday’s announcement? In the US, UK, Australia and China, Samsung has a trade-in program that will help you pay for it.
— CNET

Feature photo Jakub Michankow

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 February 27 added by Leakhena Khat on February 27, 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.