Singapore morning news for November 1

Plenty of deals as open electricity market kicks off
From free iPads to free Internet subscriptions, the open electricity market kicks off in the northern part of Singapore today amid fierce competition, with retailers dangling myriad deals to persuade consumers to sign with them.
– Straits Times

Service and manufacturing outlooks worsen for Q4 amidst global trade tensions
Real estate services and the machinery & systems manufacturing segment will bear the brunt, according to government agencies.
– Singapore Business Review

Bank loan growth slows to 4.5% in September as sentiment sours
Singapore bank loan growth decelerated from 5.6% in August to 4.5% in September to mark its slowest pace of growth in eight months as the majority of lending segments slowed on the back of cooling business sentiment, according to OCBC Treasury Research.
– Singapore Business Review

Singapore to introduce plain packaging, larger graphic warnings for all tobacco products
All tobacco products in Singapore may soon be required to be sold in plain packaging with graphic health warnings covering at least 75 per cent of the packet.
— Channel News Asia

Straits Times political editor reassigned following government officials’ discontent over coverage
The political editor for The Straits Times was reassigned following unhappiness by government officials over some of its political stories, according to several sources at the national broadsheet.
— Yahoo News

Singapore’s PropertyGuru raises $144 mln funding from KKR
PropertyGuru Group, which operates real estate portals and apps in Southeast Asia, said on Wednesday it has secured S$200 million ($144 million) in funding from private equity firm KKR & Co Inc.
— Reuters

Crown Prince visits Singapore Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command
IS Royal Highness Prince General Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, and General of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, made a working visit to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command (UAVC) located at Tengah Air.
— Borneo Bulletin (paywall)

Launch of “Token Day” in Singapore to bring cryptocurrency to the masses
Today, in celebration of the 10th year anniversary of cryptocurrency, Bizkey is launching ‘Token Day’ in Singapore.
— AEC News Today/PR Newswire ( media release)

Floating solar panels in Kranji could be option for private firms seeking to cut carbon footprint
Could the option to tap solar energy be a draw for investors in Singapore? The Economic Development Board (EDB) thinks so.
— TodayOnline

#LifeBeyondGrades joins new popup skills summit
Derek Ong, co-founder of Singaporean social movement #LifeBeyondGrades, will be discussing the future of skills at GovInsider’s upcoming popup summit.
— GovInsider

Singapore’s leading preschool brand Mulberry Learning chosen as “Best Reggio Emilia Preschool” and “Best Holistic Learning Programme” for 2018
Singapore’s leading preschool brand Mulberry Learning has been voted Singapore’s “Best Reggio Emilia Preschool” and “Best Holistic Learning Programme” for 2018 by leading parenting publications for the third year running.
— AEC News Today/PR Newswire ( media release)

Singapore makes top 10 most generous countries list for first time
For the first time, Singapore has made it to the list of top 10 most generous countries in the world, according to British charity Charities Aid Foundation, which released its report yesterday.
— The New Paper

Straits Times allegedly reassigns political editor after complaints from govt officials over certain political stories
The political editor for The Straits Times (ST) Li Xueying has become the subject of a reassignment, allegedly as a result of government officials’ dissatisfaction towards some of the mainstream news publication’s political stories.
— TOC

Singapore firms upbeat about trade despite US-China rift
DESPITE ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, four in five Singapore businesses have a positive outlook on the international trade environment, according to the latest HSBC Navigator report.
— The Business Times

Global Sifting Machine Market 2018 Sweco, LAO SOUNG, Guan Yu, Russell Finex, Rotex, Kason, TOYO HITEC, GRUPO CLAVIJO
Subregions covered in Sifting Machine industry study reports are- ‘North America- United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific- South Korea, Australia, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Europe- Germany, Italy, Spain, France, UK, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America- Argentina, Brazil, Rest of South America, Middle East & Africa- Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Rest of Middle East & Africa.’
— Oil Market Forecast

ExxonMobil commits US$10m as founding partner of SgEC
ExxonMobil has committed US$10 million in funding over five years as founding partner of the new Singapore Energy Centre (SgEC) led by Nanyang Technology University and National University of Singapore.
— The Business Times

Clean energy to boost business spending, add jobs: Masagos
New investments in Singapore’s fast-growing clean energy industry will generate $180 million in annual business spending and create about 1,000 professional jobs in the next five years, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said yesterday.
— Straits Times

ONE°15 Marina Club staff who fought yacht fire lauded for bravery
Months after a yacht fire broke out at the marina where he works, Mr Fadhlul Rahman Abu Bakar still cannot forget his encounter with the victims injured in the blaze.
— The New Paper

StarHub retrenchment package above market practice
STARHUB’S retrenchment exercise started in earnest on Monday and is expected to last till the end of the week, with laid-off workers said to receive a package that is slightly more generous than the standard market practice.
– The Business Times

PM Lee affirms Singapore-Brunei ties
As small countries, Singapore and Brunei share similar outlooks on many regional and international issues, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.
— Straits Times

Analysts expect Marina View site to create buzz
COOLING measures or not, the Marina View white site made available for application under the Government Land Sales (GLS) reserve list will be keenly deliberated on by developers, thanks to its central location and its potential to yield several hundred hotel rooms amid the easing supply of future hotel rooms.
— The Business Times

Singapore firm to make robot cleaners for rent
Companies looking to give their premises a good scrub may want to consider renting cleaning robots.
— Straits Times

Asian equities bid October ‘good riddance’ with a rebound
MAJOR Asian equity gauges bade “good riddance” to a gloomy October with visible relief on Wednesday after being rocked by a harrowing sell-off that wiped out between 5 and 13 per cent of their value over the Halloween month, no thanks to a cocktail of potent factors that spooked US stocks.
— The Business Times

Bank chief rose from humble beginnings to top corporate job
Growing up in Kampung Tanjong Irau, a village in the Sembawang area, Mr Bahren Shaari had to walk or cycle 5km every day to the bus stop to get to Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School.
— Straits Times

2 fintechs tie up to offer AI-driven credit scoring
TWO Singapore-based fintechs have teamed up to extend their reach into the underbanked market in South-east Asia by using data-driven forms of credit scoring.
— The Business Times

SAF captain charged over rash act causing NSF’s death
An army captain in charge of an 8km fast march after which a soldier died of heatstroke was yesterday charged with causing the death by performing a rash act, including failing to evacuate the victim in a timely manner.
— Straits Times

Broad weakness seen in business loans in Sept as MAS data shows 0.2% dip
LENDING to several business segments slipped, or remained, in negative territory in September from a month ago, contracting overall bank lending for the month.
— The Business Times

Plans to secure Internet access deferred before cyber attack
A more secure way of accessing the Internet was meant to be put in place to protect public medical systems some time this year, but had to be pushed back to next year because of technical issues.
— Straits Times

Paralympian is Lancome’s new face
Paralympian swimmer Yip Pin Xiu is the latest face of French cosmetics house Lancome, becoming the first person with a disability to be featured in its advertising campaign here.
— Straits Times

Singapore works: Guardians of Woodlands Checkpoint
They process thousands of vehicles daily – and thousands more on foot with passports in hand – checking for contraband items and clearing travellers through immigration.
— Straits Times

Team would have ‘no day, no night’ if I raised alert: Exec
It was his job to sound the alarm on suspicious cyber activities in Singapore’s biggest health network – but Mr Ernest Tan Choon Kiat decided not to, even though the warning signs were there.
— Straits Times

System to give buses priority at traffic lights on 6-month trial
Public buses are less likely to get stuck in traffic in future, with a new system that can prompt traffic lights to change in the buses’ favour.
— Straits Times

Public Service Commission to explore new tools to select more diverse scholars
The Public Service Commission (PSC) will explore new tools such as game-based assessments to capture a wider range of attributes of potential scholars, said new chairman Lee Tzu Yang in an open letter three months into his appointment.
— Today Singapore

ST wins top global award for Rohingya feature
The three journalists had walked through the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for more than nine hours each day for nearly three days when it struck them that something was not right.
— Straits Times

ST Engineering to test self-driving buses in Israel
Self-driving buses developed by Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering will soon be tested in the port city of Ashdod in Israel.
— Straits Times

M’sian journalists mindblown by S’porean PAP MP Maliki Osman conducting Meet-the-People session
It appears our brethen and sistas up north are easily and deeply impressed by Singapore.
— Mothership

Trans-Pacific trade pact will go into force next month
An ambitious agreement set to strengthen trade and investment flows across the Pacific amid a climate of rising protectionism will go into effect at the end of next month.
— Straits Times

S’poreans shouldn’t complain S$4 prawn mee is expensive, says 3rd-generation hawker
All these talk about preserving and championing hawker culture and the rich heritage of Singaporean food has brought out all quarters.
And the one stakeholder Singaporeans should hear from is definitely hawkers themselves.
— Mothership

HSBC ranks S’pore as best country for expats to live and work in for the fourth straight year
Singapore has topped HSBC’s annual Expat Survey as the best place to live and work for the fourth year running, according to Bloomberg.
— Mothership

S’pore to sell cigarettes in no logo standardised brown packaging covered in gory images
Efforts to stomp out smoking in Singapore have been increasing in recent years.
– Mothership

Youths allegedly ask for donations of up to $150, follow students to ATM if they don’t have cash
Two youths have allegedly been approaching students for donations around Yio Chu Kang MRT station, apparently even following them to the ATM to withdraw cash.
— Stomp (Straits Times)

Singapore still beats Hong Kong over Asia’s open banking readiness crown
Singapore retained the top spot in Asia’s’ open banking readiness index amidst proactive decisions by the city state’s regulators to embrace the technology while regional neighbors are only just catching up to the growing momentum to open up their data, according to a report by Finastra.
— Singapore Business Review

Singapore ousts Hong Kong as No. 1 for luxury home-price gains
Guess which city managed to top a luxury real-estate ranking despite a slew of cooling measures to tame its property market?
— The Edge

Man admits to impersonating cop to cheat prostitute of more than $15,000
In June this year, three men impersonated police officers to cheat a prostitute, making away with over $15,000 worth of valuables.
— Yahoo News

Feature photo Utica Private Limited

This week’s Singapore morning news feature photo acknowledges World Cities Day, October 31.

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 November 1 added by Maria Mirasol Rasonable on November 1, 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.