Singapore morning news for July 31

VTB claims repayment from Singapore’s AnAn over En+ shares
Singapore’s AnAn Group said on Monday it was seeking legal advice after receiving a claim from Russia’s VTB Bank to repay $170.4 million in relation to the purchase of shares in En+ Group last year.
— Reuters

EU mergers and takeovers (July 30)
Singapore state-owned property developer GIC Group, real estate developers Frasers Property Ltd and JustGroup to set up a joint venture (approved July 27)
— Reuters

Lively mix of events to help you celebrate SG53
With National Day coming up next Thursday, organisations are pulling out the stops to provide local entertainment on Singapore’s 53rd birthday.
— The Newpaper

Singapore, Malaysia ministers confident nations can work closely
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he is confident that Singapore and Malaysia can work closely together to strengthen bilateral ties and regional cooperation, after meeting his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah yesterday.
— The Newpaper

20 NUS students caught in Lombok quake
A group of National University of Singapore (NUS) students were watching the sunrise on a beach in Lombok when they suddenly felt the earth move.
— The Newpaper

Former NUS student fails to get master’s degree through court order
A former student’s bid to get her master’s degree via a court order failed after a judge found the National University of Singapore (NUS) was justified in refusing her the degree.
— The Straits Times

Singapore opposition take lessons from Malaysian election result
Last Saturday’s gathering to discuss a new opposition coalition led by former People’s Action Party (PAP) MP Tan Cheng Bock was a few years in the making.
— The Newpaper

Family still No. 1 value of Singaporeans, but funny’s in too
Singaporeans continue to view family as the most important personal value, even as more are taking humour and fun seriously, a survey has found.
— The Newpaper

Over S$40m of CPF savings withdrawn via PayNow in three months
Up to 4,000 withdrawals totalling more than S$40 million were made by Central Provident Fund (CPF) members aged 55 and above, in the three months since a digital payment option was made available.
— TodayOnline

ICA seizes 20 sets of airsoft guns, parts
Twenty sets of airsoft guns and parts were seized by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on July 24.
— The Newpaper

SingHealth cyber breach
The personal particulars of 1.5 million patients were stolen in Singapore’s worst cyber attack.
— The Straits Times

Property curbs prompting developers, especially smaller players, to rethink strategy: Experts
Last Thursday, property developer Tee Land called off a S$60 million en bloc deal for Teck Guan Ville condo – the first such instance since the announcement of fresh property curbs earlier this month.
— ChannelNewsAsia

Difficult childhood did not stop her from becoming healthcare scholar
When Ms Chew Khee Gek went to school for the first time, she was 11 years old and by far the oldest child in her Primary 1 class.
— The Newpaper

U.S., Mexico plan NAFTA ministerial talks on Thursday: sources
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland is scheduled to leave Canada on Tuesday for a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Singapore, the Canadian foreign ministry said. With the ASEAN meetings running from July 30-Aug. 4, it is unlikely Freeland would make it to Washington for the Thursday talks.
— Reuters

Chart of the Day: How much of Singapore’s re-exports go to China and US?
This chart from CEIC showed that Singapore’s re-exports in 2017 are widely exposed to the trade wars as 13.6% of its re-exports goes to China whilst 6.1% goes to the US.
— Singapore Business Review

Wary of China’s rise, Pompeo announces U.S. initiatives in emerging Asia
Pompeo said he will visit Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia this week, where he planned to announce new security assistance.
— Reuters

UOB launches deal with car retailers, third e-commerce venture by S’pore bank in 2 weeks
In another move by a bank here to carve a place for itself in the e-commerce space, United Overseas Bank (UOB) is partnering with online consumer marketplace Carousell, as well as seven car dealers, to offer a digital car-financing service for consumers.
— TodayOnline

Statement by CAPE on SJI Vice Principal’s comments on activism in Singapore
As a community of students concerned with political literacy and civic engagement, CAPE is disappointed with the comments made by the Vice Principal (VP) of Saint Joseph’s Institution (SJI) Mr Leonard Tan on the role and relevance of activism.
— TOC

6 days after declaring that Singapore can lead development in Asia through digital efficacy, data of 1.5 million gets hacked
In an article published by The Straits Times earlier this month, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat was quoted as saying that “Singapore is positioned to support the region’s development by financing infrastructure and enterprise in Asia, including bringing in private capital”.
— TOC

Joint statement from 10 international NGOs calling for judicial harassment of Singaporean activist Jolovan Wham to end
CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance and its partners Asia Democracy Network (ADN), Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Forum Asia, Instituto de Comunicación y Desarrollo (ICD), West African Human Rights Defenders Network, Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association, Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN), European Civic Forum (ECF) and International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) call on the Singapore government to drop contempt charges against human rights activist, Jolovan Wham for his comments on social media criticizing the judiciary.
— TOC

e-commerce firm Synagie targets $11.6m proceeds in IPO
e-commerce enabler Synagie Corporation (Synagie) launched its initial public offering (IPO) of 43 million shares 27 cents each for its listing on the Catalist Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST).
— Singapore Business Review

Durian Festival at Sengkang turns into a durian debacle as organisers run out of fruits
The Durian Festival organised by the Sengkang Community Club and endorsed by MP Teo Ser Luck took a sour turn on Sunday (29th July) as they realised they didn’t have enough durians for the amount of tickets that were sold.
— TOC

The Big Read: Malls change tack to draw crowds, never mind if they aren’t there to shop
Shopping centres are shifting their strategy, turning to activity-based and F&B retailers to keep customers coming even as they remain under siege by e-commerce.
— ChannelNewsAsia

NUS student gets caning, 9 months’ jail for molesting fellow student, peeping in hall toilet
After a night of working on her final year project, the 24-year-old National University of Singapore (NUS) student was taking a nap in the computer laboratory with her boyfriend when she was molested.
— TodayOnline

Death of Singapore Armed Forces regular serviceman in Nee Soon Camp on 28 July
An off-duty Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular serviceman from the SAF Medical Training Institute was found dead on Saturday (28 July).
— TOC

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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 31 added by Maria Mirasol Rasonable on July 31, 2018
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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.