Singapore Morning News For February 28

Singapore Wants Communications Blackout At Terror Attack Sites
Singapore Tuesday proposed expanding police powers so they can block all communications from the scene of a terror attack to avoid jeopardising security operations, amid fears militants may target the city-state.
— NDTV

Singapore PM Says Will Reshuffle Cabinet to Support His Successor
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday he will reshuffle his cabinet once parliament enters a mid-term break in coming months to give more responsibility to the next generation of leaders who will support his eventual successor.
— US News

Budget 2018 debate: MPs question if alternatives explored ahead of proposed GST hike
The Government’s rationale behind hiking the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to 9 per cent in a few years’ time found support among most Members of Parliament (MPs) who spoke on the first day of Budget debates in Parliament.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore, Indian state to collaborate on fintech intiatives
Monetary Authority of Singapore has inked an agreement with India’s third-largest state of Maharashtra to jointly develop fintech projects such as blockchain as well as set up a fintech marketplace in Mumbai.
— ZDNet

2 Singapore Airbnb hosts plead guilty to unauthorized short-term rentals
Two Singaporeans on trial for unauthorized short-term rentals posted on Airbnb pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday (Feb 27) in the first such cases under the city-state’s rules on short-term property letting introduced last year.
— Asia One

Should Singapore spend more of its investment returns? MPs urge prudence during Budget debate
The question of whether the net investment returns (NIR) framework should be adjusted to allow Singapore to tap more of the earnings from its significant reserves was one of the key topics touched upon by Members of Parliament (MPs) on the first day of debate on Budget 2018.
— Channel NewsAsia

GST to be imposed on overseas vendors
Singapore’s GST will be imposed on foreign vendors in a new formula that imposes GST on imported services.
— The Independent Singapore

Singapore orders ex-church leader to serve prison term for fraud
A Singaporean man involved in a multi-million dollar church fraud scandal and who tried to escape prison by fleeing in a boat was Tuesday ordered to start serving his sentence this week, local media reported.
— IOL

Public transport ridership growth last year smallest on record
Public transport ridership climbed for the 13th consecutive time last year, but the growth was the smallest on record, the Land Transport Authority revealed yesterday.
— The New Paper

Singapore on front foot over demographic challenges
There is no doubt Singapore’s population will continue to age and the working-age population is set to peak within the next few years. Currently every five-working age adults in the country support a single retiree over the age of 65. In 20 years’ time that number will drop to only two working-age people.
— Bluenotes

Singapore’s UOL eager to bulk up overseas property portfolio
Local real estate developer UOL Group is keen to buy more properties overseas, especially in London, as part of an effort to slowly diversify its portfolio.
— Nikkei Asian Review (metered paywall)

MPs worry about impact of GST hike
The goods and services tax (GST) hike is to take place between 2021 and 2025, but several MPs are already asking the Government if more could be done to ease the burden on the more vulnerable groups.
— The New Paper

Singapore-based Scry raises US$120,000 from Zeroth-AI
SCRY, a Singapore-based AI-driven forecasting platform has raised a seed round of US$120,000 (RM468,817) from AI-investor, Zeroth-AI. Businesses, governments, and other institutions will be able to use predictions generated by the Scry platform to make smart, strategic and faster decisions based on real consumer feedback and information.
— Digital News Asia

Upcoming cabinet reshuffle will give 4G leaders more exposure and responsibility: PM Lee
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong confirmed this morning that there will be a cabinet reshuffle after Parliament takes a mid term break this year. The reshuffle is designated to give younger ministers more exposure and responsibilities so that they can better support the head of government’s successor.
— The Independent Singapore

Myanmar drops airport contract with Japan-Singapore group
Myanmar and a consortium including Japanese contractor JGC have essentially canceled an agreement to build an airport near this city, reportedly due to differences in cost estimates.
— Nikkei Asian Review (metered paywall)

Recalcitrant man fined S$11m, jailed 50 months for dealing in contraband cigarettes
A 58-year-old man has been fined S$11 million and jailed 50 months for dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes, the Singapore Customs said on Tuesday (Feb 27).
— Today Online

SMRT trials Japanese-inspired Kaizen method to boost efficiency
As part of a drive to improve efficiency, SMRT has trialled a Japanese-inspired “continuous improvement” drive over the past month at its Tuas Depot, the transport operator said on Tuesday (Feb 27) during a media visit to the depot.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

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 28 added by Leakhena Khat on February 28, 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.