DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 10th October 2018

Singapore Economy

Singapore refutes Oxfam report on its performance in tackling inequality
The Republic may not spend as much as other countries on healthcare and education, but the outcomes it achieves in these areas are significant, and better than most. Social and Family Development Minister Desmond Lee made this point on Tuesday (Oct 9) when he refuted a report which criticised Singapore for being “one of the worst-performing countries in the world at tackling inequality”.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-refutes-oxfam-report-on-its-performance-in-tackling-inequality
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/oxfam-inequality-index-singapore-achieves-real-outcomes-rather-10808172

No consensus on MAS’ next monetary policy move
Economists remain split on whether Singapore’s central bank is likely to tighten its monetary policy further – allowing for a stronger Singapore dollar – in its biannual review on Friday. Weighing on its decision is the fallout from global trade tensions, as it attempts to mitigate risks to growth while keeping an eye on prices.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/no-consensus-on-mas-next-monetary-policy-move

Singapore Real Estate

Tulip Garden sale proceeding, says marketing agent Colliers
Colliers International, the marketing agent for Tulip Garden, has quashed speculation that the S$906 million en bloc sale of the Farrer Road project has hit a speed bump. Its managing director Tang Wei Leng said: “There is no basis to the market speculation. The Tulip Garden collective sale is proceeding and we are working towards the completion of sale.”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tulip-garden-sale-proceeding-says-marketing-agent-colliers

Singapore condo resale prices see 2nd month of decline with 0.2% dip in Sept
Resale prices of private non-landed homes in Singapore declined for the second straight month in September following the latest round of cooling measures, flash estimates by real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday showed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-condo-resale-prices-see-2nd-month-of-decline-with-02-dip-in-sept
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/singapore-condo-resale-prices-see-2nd-month-of-decline-with-02-dip-in-september-srx
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/condo-resale-prices-slip-for-2nd-month-after-july-cooling-measures-with-02-dip-in

Lafe Corp calls off Fairhaven deal, forfeiting deposit in aborted collective sale
Developer Lafe Corp has backed out of efforts to buy the Fairhaven condominium, on factors such as property cooling measures and expectations of interest rate hikes. The group expects to post a loss of some S$8.5 million from the abortion of the deal, including the stamp duties that were already paid, for the three months to Dec 31, said the board on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/lafe-corp-calls-off-fairhaven-deal-forfeiting-deposit-in-aborted-collective-sale

Co-working space operator signs six-year lease for 16 floors in Cecil Street building
A co-working space operator has signed a six-year contract for an entire building in Cecil Street. The signing of a binding lease agreement was announced on Tuesday by Vibrant Group, which holds a stake in the property’s owner, Ececil.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/co-working-space-operator-signs-six-year-lease-for-16-floors-in-cecil-street-building

Companies’ Brief

EY opens innovation centre focusing on intelligent automation
EY on Tuesday opened a new innovation centre that will focus on helping clients integrate intelligent automation in their business processes. Technology that will be developed at the centre includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and robotics.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/ey-opens-innovation-centre-focusing-on-intelligent-automation
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/ey-launches-innovation-centre-focusing-on-intelligent-automation

Italy’s Benettons sell 20% of their Cellnex stake to GIC
Edizione, the holding company of Italy’s Benetton family, said on Tuesday it had sold 20 per cent of an investment vehicle through which it holds 29.9 per cent of Spanish tower group Cellnex to a unit of Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/italys-benettons-sell-20-of-their-cellnex-stake-to-gic
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/gic-buys-20-of-benetton-familys-stake-in-spanish-tower-group-cellnex

Changi Airport subsidiary launches hotel booking site ChangiHotels
Changi Airport on Tuesday (Oct 9) launched a hotel booking site called ChangiHotels, which promises upfront and transparent prices for travellers. Launched by Changi Recommends, the airport’s travel concierge, the site offers 170,000 accommodation options at more than 5,000 destinations.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/changi-airport-hotel-booking-site-changihotels-10806318

Newstead reorganised: 40% of staff let go but some stores stay open
Home-grown electronics retailer Newstead Technologies will remain operational for now, following a reorganisation of the company that has seen 40 per cent of its 250 staff let go.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/newstead-reorganised-40-of-staff-let-go-but-some-stores-stay-open

VIEWS, REVIEWS, FORUM & Others

Singapore once named as ‘tricky place to stay’
While legend has it that this island was named Singapura after Sang Nila Utama spotted a large feline here, it is just one of many historical interpretations of how the Lion City (Singapura in Sanskrit) got its name.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-once-named-as-tricky-place-to-stay

Singapore committed to global action on climate change: Masagos Zulkifli
In the light of the serious climate change warning issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Singapore stays fully committed to supporting global action on the issue. For instance, the country was one of the first 55 nations that ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Tuesday (Oct 9).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-committed-to-global-action-on-climate-change-masagos-zulkifli

Biometric tech, paperless registration, on-demand bus services and more in Singapore’s brave new world
Scanning one’s fingerprint instead of using passwords is one way of overcoming common mistakes people make that compromise the security of systems. And in the light of the recent SingHealth cyber attack, having biometric identification does make systems safer, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan said on Tuesday (Oct 9).
https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/biometric-tech-paperless-registration-on-demand-bus-services-and-more-in-singapores-brave-new

Drowning detection at pools, personal alert buttons among new Smart Nation projects
Using technology to prevent drownings in swimming pools or sending help to the elderly in emergencies are just some of the latest projects being trialled as part of Singapore’s Smart Nation push, said Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday (Oct 9).
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/technology/drowning-detection-personal-alert-buttons-smart-nation-10807410

Asean smart cities – do not forget the disabled
The Asia-Pacific region is urbanising at breakneck speed. In Asean alone, 90 million more persons will move into cities by 2030. This scale of urbanisation puts huge pressure on essential public services on which vibrant economies and inclusive societies depend.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/asean-smart-cities-do-not-forget-the-disabled

HK’s outlook bleak as China calls the tune
Hong Kong was struck by the worst storm in recorded history last month, with Typhoon Mangkhut felling more than 40,000 trees and generally creating havoc. Then, last Friday, the Hong Kong government set off a storm of its own by taking the unprecedented action of rejecting the visa-renewal application of a well-known and respected journalist, Victor Mallet of the Financial Times, for clearly political reasons.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/hks-outlook-bleak-as-china-calls-the-tune

China’s Belt and Road Initiative badly needs a road map
Strategists in the West fear that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a vast, well-laid and finely orchestrated plan to extend Chinese hegemony over much of the developing world. They should be afraid of something else: It’s nothing of the sort.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-badly-needs-a-road-map

Commentary: Lawyers may have to grapple with big data soon
Artificial intelligence is transforming the traditional delivery of legal services. In general terms, the set of tools broadly called “legal analytics” promises to do two things: Increase the efficiency of tasks that once required substantial time and human effort, and mine masses of data to discover new insights that were previously inaccessible.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/lawyers-law-legal-education-of-the-future-digital-big-data-10806176

Commentary: Yes, it’s time to end the US-China trade war
Fresh from reworking US trade agreements with North American partners, the European Union, and South Korea, the Trump administration is focusing on its biggest trade irritant, China. In confronting China, US President Donald Trump enjoys support from a policy community worried about China’s military assertiveness and willingness to flout global norms in fields ranging from international investments to intellectual property.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/us-china-trade-war-time-to-end-brookings-institution-10807152