DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 15 Sep 2020 (Tue)

Singapore Economy

Experts expect more bad news for S’pore’s labour market in the coming months after retrenchment spikes in Q2
The worst is not over yet for Singapore’s labour market, experts said yesterday in response to the latest data on it for the second quarter of the year. They pointed to the tapering of wage subsidies, lack of demand and prolonged uncertainties as reasons for expecting retrenchments to continue and unemployment to climb further for the rest of this year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/experts-expect-more-bad-news-in-the-coming-months

Employment in Singapore falls by record 103,500 in Q2
Employment fell by a record 103,500 in the second quarter of the year, a staggering four times the previous record contraction – in the first quarter – of 25,600, according to the Singapore Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Report on Monday
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/employment-in-singapore-falls-by-record-103500-in-q2
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/retrenchments-spike-in-q2-as-unemployment-rises-steadily
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/lower-wage-workers-here-hit-hard-by-fallout-of-pandemic

Construction, F&B services in Singapore see biggest employment declines in Q2
The coronavirus pandemic has hit businesses and workers hard, with those in the consumer-facing and tourism-related sectors bearing the brunt of the hit, as well as those affected by temporary work stoppages.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/construction-fb-services-see-biggest-employment-declines

Precision engineering is growth industry for Singapore: Chan
Precision engineering has been singled out as a growth industry for Singapore, “even in a downtime like this”, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Monday. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) identified electronics and precision engineering as “areas of strength” in its second-quarter labour market report, with these clusters bucking the overall trend of job contraction.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/precision-engineering-is-growth-industry-for-singapore-chan
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/precision-engineering-sector-sees-strong-hiring
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/1000-precision-engineering-jobs-on-offer
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/sector-riding-wave-of-new-opportunities

Staying open and maximising opportunities for Singaporeans go together: Tharman
Despite growing divisions in the world, Singapore has to stay open in order to maximise opportunities for its people, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. At the same time, it has to manage this openness and assure its citizens of a stake in society.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/staying-open-and-maximising-opportunities-for-singaporeans-go-together-tharman
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/openness-and-opportunities-for-sporeans-go-together-tharman
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/covid-19-impacts-the-most-vulnerable-persons-countries

Singapore businesses most digitally-ready in Asia-Pacific: poll
Singapore businesses have come in tops in a DBS survey of the digital readiness of corporates in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with 45 per cent of local businesses indicating they have a well-defined digital strategy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-businesses-most-digitally-ready-in-asia-pacific-poll
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-businesses-most-digitally-ready-in-asia-pacific-survey

Companies’ Brief

CapitaLand unit prices S$800m fixed-rate senior notes due 2032
CapitaLand subsidiary CapitaLand Treasury has priced its offering of S$800 million 2.90 per cent fixed-rate senior notes due 2032, which will be issued under the S$5 billion euro medium-term note programme established in 2019.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/capitaland-unit-prices-s800m-fixed-rate-senior-notes-due-2032

Mapletree Industrial Trust to buy US data centre for as much as US$262.1m
Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) is proposing to acquire a data centre and office in the US state of Virginia for between US$200.6 million and US$262.1 million. MIT’s manager said on Monday that it is targeting to complete the deal in the first quarter of 2021.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/mapletree-industrial-trust-to-buy-us-data-centre-for-as-much-as-us2621m

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

The V-shaped recovery marches on
Large swathes of the global economy are exhibiting traditional signs of a V-shaped recovery from the pandemic-induced collapse this spring. The monthly indicators for many countries show vigorous rebounds in June and July, with 10-15 per cent projected growth in real – that is, inflation-adjusted – gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, all else being equal.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-v-shaped-recovery-marches-on

From sashimi to Toyota: How currency changes affect Singaporeans
A weaker Singapore dollar has small effects on imported food prices, but larger effects on food and machinery exports
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/from-sashimi-to-toyota-how-currency-changes-affect-sporeans-0

Restarting the engine: Asia, oil and coronavirus
The novel coronavirus pandemic triggered a collapse in passenger transportation-related oil demand due to the enforcement of lockdowns, starting with China in late January and February and extending to the rest of the world in March and April, as countries around the world tried to mitigate the virus spread.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/restarting-the-engine-asia-oil-and-coronavirus

Tackling climate change need not be a Sisyphean task
We live in an unprecedented period in our history, with the “C” pandemic becoming the defining health crisis of our time. Economies need to defend this together and work more closely than ever to build a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive future.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/tackling-climate-change-need-not-be-a-sisyphean-task

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

West Mall, Liat Towers, Changi T3 and Queensway Shopping Centre among places visited by Covid-19 patients
[Singapore] West Mall, Shake Shack at Liat Towers and 4Fingers Crispy Chicken at Changi Airport Terminal 3 are among places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious, said the Ministry of Health on Monday (Sept 14).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/west-mall-liat-towers-changi-t3-and-queensway-shopping-centre-among-places
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/covid-19-patients-visited-west-mall-liat-towers-changi-t3

Nationwide distribution of TraceTogether tokens kicks off
The distribution of TraceTogether tokens to Singaporeans is meant to jolt the participation rate in national contact tracing efforts to get it closer to the Government’s target of 70 per cent, said Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nationwide-distribution-of-tracetogether-tokens-kicks-off
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/security-officer-among-first-to-collect-device
*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation