Singapore morning news for October 31

Changi Airport’s T4 handled over 8 million passengers in first year
October 31, 2018 5:00 AMChangi Airport’s Terminal 4, which turns one today, has seen over eight million passengers in the first year of operations – about half of its total annual capacity.
— Straits Times

Bus, train fares to go up by 6 cents from Dec 29 for standard card users
From Dec 29, adults taking buses and MRT trains will have to pay six cents more for card fares, and single trips on both modes of transport will cost 10 cents more. Students and senior citizens will pay up to one cent more in card fares for trains and buses.
— Today Singapore

Price hikes of prime properties in Singapore rally to world’s highest in Q3
Prime prices grew 13% in just a year, surpassing rates in Edinburgh and Madrid. The growth of prime prices in Singapore hit 13% in just a year, marking the highest rate around the world’s luxury property markets, Knight Frank revealed.
— Singapore Business Review

Singapore dollar ‘too strong’ relative to external and domestic factors: DBS Group Research
DBS Group Research downgraded its Singapore dollar (SGD) forecast last Friday as its analysts said the currency was “too strong” relative to external and domestic factors.
— Business Times

Industrial sector takes charge over real estate investment in Q3
Investors turned off by punishing measures in the residential property sector have instead channeled their money into the industrial and commercial segments in Q3, according to real estate consultant Colliers, with REITs and private funds leading the acquisition and divestments
— Singapore Business Review

Sentinel Protocol Launches the Interactive Cooperation Framework API
Sentinel Protocol announces the launch of the Interactive Cooperation Framework API (ICF API). After the successful launch of the UPPward Chrome Extension, a crypto scam protection solution, Sentinel Protocol continues to lead the crypto security industry by arming crypto exchanges and wallet services with its ICF API.
— AEC News Today/PR Newswire (media release)

Singapore office landlords get the upper hand as rentals jump
When it comes to renting an office in downtown Singapore, the tables have turned.
— TodayOnline

Agoda gets into the Halloween Spirit with 13 ‘spook-tacular’ places to visit
If tales of witches, ghosts and ghouls, and “cobwebs” brushing your shoulders sounds like your idea of adventure, check out Agoda’s guide to Halloween thrills across the globe.
— AEC News Today/PR Newswire (media release)

Man arrested for trying to smuggle S$250,000 of drugs through Woodlands Checkpoint
A 37-year-old Malaysian man was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on Monday (Oct 29) after authorities found nearly 6kg worth of drugs hidden in his car.
— Channel News Asia

Higher grants to help firms boost energy efficiency
TRADE and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing announced on Tuesday new and increased grants to bolster the energy efficiency of Singapore businesses as the world transitions to a lower carbon economy.
— The Business Times

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and More: How digital technologies are poised to lead the oil and gas industry into the next era of operational and financial excellence
The “Digital Oilfield” has been one of the most discussed topics in the oil and gas industry in the past few decades.
— AEC News Today/PR Newswire (media release)

Europe torpedoes progress on boxship carbon emissions
LAST week at a key International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting, European countries acting as a bloc opposed a proposal that would have delivered further significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from container ships.
— The Business Times (paywall)

Singapore Film Festival HCMC 2018 to open this week
The event will showcase four films by leading Singaporean directors at CGV Vincom on Dong Khoi Street in district 1, including “7 Letters”, “3688”, “Ramen The” and “Apprentic”.
— Saigon Online

DBS cuts Sing$ forecast
October 31, 2018 5:00 AMDBS Group Research downgraded its Singapore dollar forecast last Friday, with its analysts saying the currency was too strong relative to external and domestic factors.
— Straits Times

World’s first commercial cyber risk pool launched in Singapore
Singapore is forming the world’s first commercial cyber risk pool in an effort to strengthen the region’s resilience in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, finance minister Heng Swee Keat said at the 15th Singapore International Reinsurance Conference.
— Singapore Business Review

More grants to help firms reduce carbon emissions
October 31, 2018 5:00 AMBusinesses are getting extra help to bolster energy efficiency as the world transitions to a lower carbon economy.
— Straits Times

Popular Bookstore stocks Goh Chok Tong’s memoirs in ‘Fiction’ section
The first volume of Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong’s memoirs somehow ended up on the ‘Fiction’ shelves of a Popular Bookstore branch.
— Yahoo News

From runner to brothel operator: Man jailed 16.5 months, fined $53,000
In 2014, he began acting as a middleman between prostitutes and their landlords
— Yahoo News

ST Engineering’s marine arm secures $431 mil in new contracts for 3Q18
ST Engineering says its marine arm has secured $431 million worth of new contracts for 3Q18. The contracts include options for its shipbuilding business, as well as the ship and rig repair segments for progressive deliveries at its yards in Singapore and the US.
— The Edge

Lady in S’pore runs across road at full speed, squats in front of car, then walks away slowly
You might have heard about this trend involving people who intentionally throw themselves at cars in a bid to get money from the drivers.
— Mothership

Drunken tourist jailed four weeks for assaulting elderly taxi driver
Claiming that he had no money, a drunken tourist did not pay his taxi fare and assaulted an elderly cabby who had driven him to his destination.
— Straits Times

3-wheel 1963 BMW vintage car is the cutest thing you’ll see on S’pore roads
It will be difficult not to notice this cute yellow three-wheeler BMW Isetta 300 on the road.
— Mothership

Singapore to pilot deployment of energy storage systems
Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) will collaborate on a pilot programme that will facilitate the deployment of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) in the country. The initiative is called ACCelerating Energy Storage for Singapore (ACCESS).
— Singapore Business Review

Singapore office landlords get upper hand as rentals jump
Landlords now have the upper hand in rental negotiations, with leasing rates in the city-state’s prime business districts rising at the steepest pace in more than four years. And with both demand accelerating and supply dwindling, rents are forecast to remain firm until at least 2022, when new supply is expected to come into the market.
— The Edge

Man who groped woman on Coleman Bridge jailed 8 months
The 37-year-old Sri Lankan national was drunk when walked up to a female passer-by on New Year’s Eve, hugged her from behind, said “Hello baby” and then groped her right breast.
— Yahoo News

Risk of handing out the Order of Temasek to those within govt or affiliated with the govt
Reading about how current President, Madam Halimah Yacob has conferred the Order of Temasek (First Class) to former President Tony Tan (Tan)- “for his lifetime dedication to public service and his stellar service to his people and country” has made me wonder what this honour actually means and how one qualifies to receive such an award.
— TOC

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 October 31 added by Maria Mirasol Rasonable on October 31, 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.