DAILY NEWS

Daily News 14, 15 & 16 August 2021 (Sat, Sun & Mon)

Singapore Economy

Not possible to ‘bubble wrap’ Singaporeans from foreign competition, especially with rise of remote work: DPM Heng
In the coming years, millions of university graduates in Asia alone will be added to the global talent pool, alongside the accelerating pace of technological change and disruption. Against this backdrop, “the reality is that it is not possible to ‘bubble wrap’ (Singapore’s) workers from foreign competition and still expect to succeed”, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Friday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/not-possible-to-bubble-wrap-singaporeans-from-foreign-competition-especially-with
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/not-possible-to-bubble-wrap-singapore-workers-from-foreign-competition-heng

Singapore must build on key strengths, grow new ones: DPM
As Singapore navigates the uncertain future, three strengths will buoy it up – its sense of unity, its people’s creative capacity and the broader social compact forged over the years – Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/singapore-must-build-on-key-strengths-grow-new-ones-dpm

Singapore works to bring back foreign workers, but won’t scrap manpower-lean goal
Singapore is likely to see more foreign workers in the next few years, as the authorities tackle a labour crunch in the construction, marine shipyard and process (CMP) sectors amid Covid-19 border closures. But the recruitment and retention of these work permit holders are not expected to detract from the longer-term goal of a more manpower-lean workforce in these sectors.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-works-to-bring-back-foreign-workers-but-wont-scrap-manpower-lean-goal

Companies’ Brief

CICT appoints two new independent directors including Singtel’s Jeann Low
The manager of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) on Monday announced it was appointing two non-executive independent directors (IDs) with immediate effect. One of them is Jeann Low, who recently retired as Singapore Telecommunications’ (Singtel) group chief corporate officer in April 2021 before taking on a senior advisory role at the telco. She holds 9,416 units in CICT.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/cict-appoints-two-new-independent-directors-including-singtels-jeann-low

CDL offers three-cent signal that recovery is underway, but value-unlocking is still key
City Developments (CDL) gave investors a signal this past week of what could lie ahead for its core business divisions – by announcing a special interim dividend of S$0.03 per share with its half-year results.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cdl-offers-three-cent-signal-that-recovery-is-underway-but-value-unlocking-is

Bright spots for Centurion’s worker and student accommodations
The Covid-19 pandemic had battered several real estate asset classes but Centurion Corp, which operates purpose-built worker and student accommodation (PBWA and PBSA respectively), is anticipating a pick-up in demand for student housing and more opportunities to enlarge its worker accommodation portfolio.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/bright-spots-for-centurions-worker-and-student-accommodations

GIC unit to invest in China industrial and warehousing properties fund
An indirectly-owned subsidiary of GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund has entered into an agreement with an ESR Cayman unit and a fund depositary to jointly invest as much as US$1 billion initially, in warehousing and industrial properties in China.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/gic-unit-to-invest-in-china-industrial-and-warehousing-properties-fund

Hyatt to buy Apple Leisure Group from KKR and KSL Capital for US$2.7b
US hotel operator Hyatt Hotels Corp plans to buy resort company Apple Leisure Group from its private-equity owner KKR & Co and travel-and-leisure specialist KSL Capital Partners LLC for US$2.7 billion including any debt, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/hyatt-to-buy-apple-leisure-group-from-kkr-and-ksl-capital-for-us27b

Wee Hur incurs first loss in over 40 years of business, hard hit by the pandemic
Wee Hur Holdings reported a loss of about S$25 million – its first red ink in over 40 years of business – for the first half of FY 2021, as the mainboard-listed property developer and builder has been hard hit by the pandemic.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/wee-hur-incurs-first-loss-in-over-40-years-of-business-hard-hit-by-the-pandemic

Cromwell E-Reit H1 DPU down 2.5% to 8.502 euro cents
Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Cromwell E-Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) fell by 2.5 per cent to 8.502 euro cents (14 Singapore cents) for the half-year ended June 30, from 8.717 cents a year earlier.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cromwell-e-reit-h1-dpu-down-25-to-8502-euro-cents

S-Reits’ recent acquisitions further entrench diversity
In the first seven months of 2021, S-Reits have announced asset acquisitions exceeding S$7.5 billion in total purchase consideration. Several acquisitions announced during the period were in assets such as data centres, logistic warehouses, and office buildings.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-recent-acquisitions-further-entrench-diversity

More critical to watch Sabana Reit now; unitholders should not change tack: Quarz
We refer to the article by Ben Paul “Sabana dissident unitholders were right to fight its manager, but now it’s time to make peace” (BT, Aug 11). Mr Paul hit the nail on the head on several key points such as that independent directors cannot always be relied upon to act in the interest of unitholders.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/more-critical-to-watch-sabana-reit-now-unitholders-should-not-change-tack-quarz

Sasseur Reit Q2 DPU rises 6.7%, manager eyes acquisition
Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust (Sasseur Reit), which owns outlet malls in China, posted a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.614 Singapore cents for the three months ended June 30, up 6.7 per cent from 1.512 cents in the year-ago period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sasseur-reit-q2-dpu-rises-67-manager-eyes-acquisition

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1431

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Appreciating work value equitably
Chia Ngiang Hong, President, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS)
The PWM specifies an income and skills ladder and is effectively a sectoral minimum wage model, premised on raising productivity and offering a career pathway where wages are pegged to training and productivity improvements, thus enabling workers to stay employed, enjoy
upgrading and regular guaranteed wage increases.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/views-from-the-top/appreciating-work-value-equitably

Locally designed buildings warrant a look
The Golden Mile Complex and People’s Park Complex may not be many people’s idea of architectural gems. But these modernist structures, along with other lost landmarks such as Outram Park Complex, Rochor Centre and the Pearl Bank Apartments, are literally concrete reminders of Singapore’s brashness and ambition in its early years.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/locally-designed-buildings-warrant-a-look

Heeding how the young view the future
It is natural and right that young people should have a definitive say in the future because it is they who will have to live in it. Thus, it is commendable that the World Economic Forum (WEF) engaged young people between the ages of 20 and 30 to speak up on the world they foresee after the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/heeding-how-the-young-view-the-future
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/clarion-call-from-youth-for-a-better-world-wef-report

3 challenges for S’pore to tackle
Covid-19 has strained fault lines in society and brought up difficult issues Singapore needs to deal with, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day message on Sunday. Insight looks at the three issues he cited: lifting the lot of lower-wage workers, addressing anxieties over foreigners, and managing concerns on race and religion.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/3-challenges-for-spore-to-tackle-addressing-anxieties-over-foreigners-while
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/3-challenges-for-spore-to-tackle-what-more-can-be-done-to-help-lower-wage-workers
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/3-challenges-for-spore-to-tackle-refreshing-efforts-to-maintain-harmony-for-a-new

The business continuity plan for ‘endemic as usual’
Last month, Singapore’s authorities announced a change in the national strategy for managing the Covid-19 pandemic: the virus is showing strong signs that it would become endemic, and we must learn to live with it.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/leadership-management/the-business-continuity-plan-for-endemic-as-usual

Some business leaders want a minimum wage to go with progressive wage model
Some business leaders have expressed support for a minimum wage component to complement the progressive wage model (PWM) as a means to speed up as well as broaden efforts to raise the income of low wage workers.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/some-business-leaders-want-a-minimum-wage-to-go-with-progressive-wage-model

Singapore family’s 5-month renovation nightmare
Singapore – Renovation can be an exciting process as you watch your humble home being transformed into a showpiece, but it can also be a nightmare as one family here knows only too well.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/familys-5-month-renovation-nightmare

The new crypto economy could use a cop on the beat
There is an irony in the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They were supposed to usher in a new paradigm of finance, obviating the need to trust centralised institutions. Yet people are increasingly interacting with them through precisely such institutions.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/the-new-crypto-economy-could-use-a-cop-on-the-beat

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

50 new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including 14 unlinked
There were 50 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases reported on Sunday afternoon. Of the new cases, 30 were linked to previous cases and already quarantined, while another six linked cases were detected through surveillance.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/50-new-locally-transmitted-covid-19-cases-in-singapore-including-14-unlinked

Covid-19 cluster at Chin Swee Road pre-school grows to 31 with 11 new cases
The Covid-19 cluster at pre-school My First Skool at Chin Swee Road has grown to 31 cases, with 11 new cases reported on Sunday. The cluster was first identified on Aug 12. There are no new clusters today, and nine clusters have been closed, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/covid-19-cluster-at-chin-swee-road-pre-school-grows-to-31-with-11-new-cases
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/chin-swee-rd-pre-school-cluster-grows-to-31-cases

2 of 3 new clusters involve 16 staff at two bus interchanges
Two of the three new Covid-19 clusters announced yesterday involve 22 people, including 16 staff, at the Bishan and Sengkang bus interchanges, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). There were five new cases linked to the Bishan bus interchange, taking its total to nine.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/2-of-3-new-clusters-involve-16-staff-at-two-bus-interchanges

Singapore on track to further ease curbs this week: healthcare leaders
[Singapore] Covid-19 measures are on track to be eased further this week, experts say, as more people are vaccinated and there are adequate healthcare resources to care for those with severe infection. Dr Noel Yeo, chief operating officer for healthcare services network IHH Healthcare Singapore, said: “About 75 per cent of our total population has completed full vaccination…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-on-track-to-further-ease-curbs-this-week-healthcare-leaders
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/spore-on-track-to-further-ease-curbs-this-week?login=true

F&B patrons grapple with new dine-in rules
Food and beverage (F&B) establishments had to turn away customers who were confused about the new rules or got them wrong following the resumption of dining in on Tuesday. Some arrived with a vaccination status that was not fully valid. A few even brought fake certificates.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/fb-patrons-grapple-with-new-dine-in-rules

Regular Covid-19 tests for unvaccinated in key sectors from Oct 1
Covid-19 testing is being expanded, with unvaccinated individuals in more key sectors set to get regular tests so as to detect possible infections early. This will apply to those working in malls and supermarkets, taxi and private-hire car drivers, last-mile delivery personnel, driving instructors and public transport front-line staff.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/regular-covid-19-tests-for-unvaccinated-in-key-sectors-from-oct-1

Why jabs are critical for those with chronic issues
Covid-19’s death toll here stands at 44, with seven deaths so far this month. All of these fatalities were among unvaccinated people, five of whom had multiple pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/why-jabs-are-critical-for-those-with-chronic-issues

Short-term pass holders here for long periods can soon get jab
Short-term pass holders who are in Singapore for long periods of time will soon be able to get their Covid-19 jabs under the national vaccination drive. Those eligible will be progressively notified via text message from Aug 18, and more details will be announced shortly, the Health Ministry (MOH) said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/short-term-pass-holders-here-for-long-periods-can-soon-get-jab

Staycation guests at Sentosa hotel can take free test
Guests on staycation at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa hotel can get complimentary Covid-19 tests if they are not fully vaccinated so that they can access the establishment’s amenities such as food and beverage (F&B) outlets.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/consumer/staycation-guests-at-sentosa-hotel-can-take-free-test

*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