Singapore Morning News For March 23

Singapore EDB to fund Smart Industry Readiness Index assessments for 300 companies
The Index was launched by EDB last year to help industrial companies harness the potential of Industry 4.0 in a systematic and comprehensive way. EDB will also be developing an accreditation programme to train a pool of qualified Index assessors.
— Open Gov Asia

Singapore wins sixth consecutive title of ‘world’s best airport’
Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named “world’s best airport” for the sixth consecutive year — as regional rival Hong Kong came in fourth place.
— CNBC

Tech giants express concern over Singapore plan to fight fake news
Global tech giants including Facebook and Twitter on Thursday expressed concern about a possible Singapore plan to bring in a new law to tackle the threat of fake news, saying sufficient rules are already in place.
— Reuters

Public transport fare formula to factor in growth in transport network
Reviews of public transport fares from 2018 to 2022 will factor in a new variable which takes into account changes in public transport capacity, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Thursday (Mar 22).
— Channel NewsAsia

Minister-in-Charge of Smart Nation outlines Singapore’s approach to IoT
Minister-in-Charge of Smart Nation Dr Vivian Balakrishnan outlines Singapore’s approach to IoT in the current technological and digital revolution.
— Open Gov Asia

Singapore Wealth Fund Sees China as Silicon Valley’s Equal
After hitting pay dirt with investments in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp., Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte is giving China as much attention as it does Silicon Valley in the search for the next big thing in tech.
— Bloomberg

Facebook admits it should have informed public earlier about data breach
For more than half of Thursday’s (March 22) marathon public hearing before the Select Committee studying online falsehoods, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Facebook’s Asia-Pacific vice-president of public policy Simon Milner went toe to toe over the company’s failure to tell users when it found out about political data firm Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of data in 2015, among other issues.
— Today Online

NUS students’ letter to Singapore’s next Prime Minister trends online
A letter penned by National University of Singapore (NUS) students addressed to the next Prime Minister of the nation has been trending since it was posted online this Tuesday (20 March).
— The Independent Singapore

Mastermind of illegal cigarettes syndicate fined S$30 million, jailed
The leader of a contraband cigarettes syndicate was sentenced on Thursday (Mar 22) to five years and three months’ jail, and fined S$30 million for smuggling duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore.
— Channel NewsAsia

ABB to set up global digital solutions centre in Singapore
ABB is setting up a new global digital solutions centre in Singapore to drive innovation, merging cloud, information and operational technologies, with the aim of helping customers harness digitalisation to improve energy efficiency and increase operational agility across industries.
— The Business Times

New centre opened in Singapore to drive digital and energy efficiency initiatives
ENGIE will develop and roll out digital solutions and services across Asia-Pacific, from Singapore, to harness real-time data and insights. These will help customers manage and improve energy efficiency, maximise performance, and create better ambient experiences for their end-users.
— Open Gov Asia

If data is oil, Singapore startup Ecosystm plans to be the gas station for the tech industry
Once a startup gets going, the job of a Founder is to wake up, make a bunch of decisions, go to bed, rinse and repeat.
— e27

Singapore: Robo-advisor StashAway secures $5.3m in Series A
Singapore-based digital wealth advisor StashAway has secured $5.3 million in Series A funding round from a group of existing and new investors, including family offices, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
— DealStreetAsia

15 people, including infant, injured after yacht catches fire in Singapore
Fifteen people, including an infant, were sent to the hospital after a yacht caught fire at One Degree 15 Marina Club in Sentosa Cove here on Thursday.
— The Star Online

Schools here referred 900 students who needed help to social workers last year
Something was eating the primary school girl.
When she confided in her school counsellor that she was afraid of her older brother because he had been rough with her, the school alerted Fei Yue Community Services’ Family Service Centre in Choa Chu Kang.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Commentary: We expect good service, but are we good customers?
We often complain about bad customer service, but it’s time to take a cold hard look at whether we’re even deserving of good customer service.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore’s PM invites Putin to take part in East Asia Summit
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the East Asia Summit (EAS), which will be held there in November, the Russian Embassy in Singapore informed TASS on Thursday.
— TASS

5,000 free meals this Sunday to raise awareness about food wastage
Vegetables that would otherwise be discarded due to blemishes or oversupply will be used to cook 5,000 free meals this Sunday.
— The New Paper

Singapore’s CapitaLand clinches deal for Phnom Penh mall
Singaporean real estate company CapitaLand signed a management deal Tuesday for a high-end shopping mall to open in 2020 in the rapidly growing Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
— Nikkei Asian Review (metered paywall)

PH-Singapore firms team up for Charo-Bea flick
As the cameras continue to grind for Mikhail Red’s third feature, the horror flick “Eerie,” its partners participated in the recently concluded Hong Kong Filmart with the goal of “securing distribution deals in foreign territories.”
— Inquirer.net

Franchising: the legislative framework in Singapore and Malaysia
In this series, we outline the legislative framework for franchising in nine jurisdictions across Asia and South America, focusing on the agreement terms and enforcement, as well as the rules around the termination of agreements
— World Trademark Review

Substantial Changes to Singapore’s Employment Laws
Recent years have seen an increase in employee protections in Singapore, as evidenced by measures to (1) help employees cope with structural economic changes arising from globalization and Singapore’s transition to a knowledge-based economy, (2) encourage the re-employment of older employees and (3) prevent discriminatory practices. Below is a summary of the employment-related changes introduced as well as the changes expected.
— Lexology

Singapore surgeon Susan Lim’s appeal to stop inquiry in UK fails
Six years after she was suspended for professional misconduct, Singapore surgeon Susan Lim has been dealt a fresh blow by the UK’s Court of Appeal.
— The New Paper

Feature photo Carolien Coenen

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 March 23 added by Leakhena Khat on March 23, 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.