DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 2 November 2021 (Tue) Tags

Singapore Real Estate

Tricky questions on whether private homes should carry a higher tax burden
Governments across the globe have spent vast sums of money to help people and businesses deal with the economic devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. As countries look to build back better from the pandemic, strengthening social safety nets and fighting climate change will add to the strain on government purses.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/tricky-questions-on-whether-private-homes-should-carry-a-higher-tax-burden

Singapore Economy

Minimum corporate tax rules mean Singapore is in for ‘tougher competition’: PM
Singapore will be in for tougher competition when new rules on a minimum global corporate tax are implemented, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (Oct 31). Specifically, the decision will impact how the country attracts investments.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/minimum-corporate-tax-rules-mean-singapore-is-in-for-tougher-competition-pm
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/minimum-corporate-tax-rules-mean-singapore-is-in-for-tougher-competition-pm-lee

With supply chain disruption, Singapore gains from ‘insurance premium’
In the face of severe supply chain disruptions, Singapore is gaining from an insurance premium that businesses are willing to pay to ensure continuity, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/with-supply-chain-disruption-singapore-gains-from-insurance-premium

Singapore’s central bank ‘ready to act’ against inflation risks: Ravi Menon
Singapore (Bloomberg) – Singapore’s top central banker has said the monetary authority is watching for signs of accelerating inflation and is ready to act, underscoring how policymakers globally are refocusing attention on rising prices after their extraordinary efforts to weather the pandemic.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-central-bank-ready-to-act-against-inflation-risks-ravi-menon

S’pore will continue to review wealth tax; seeks balance in ways to supplement revenue: Indranee
Singapore – Singapore will continue to review wealth tax, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah said in Parliament on Monday (Nov 1), noting that the Republic constantly looks for ways to supplement its revenue, seeking to do so in a manner that strikes the right balance.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/spore-will-continue-to-review-wealth-tax-seeks-balance-in-ways-to-supplement

WP’s Jamus Lim proposes wealth tax of 0.5% to 2% on the richest
[Singapore] Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) has proposed imposing a wealth tax of 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent on the most wealthy here, saying that it could help diversify Singapore’s revenue sources and also reduce income and wealth inequality.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/wps-jamus-lim-proposes-wealth-tax-of-05-to-2-on-the-richest
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/parliament-wp-mp-jamus-lim-proposes-wealth-tax-of-05-to-2-per-cent-on-the-richest

Companies’ Brief

GIC, Sequoia, Primavera invest over US$1b in greentech firm Envision Group
Greentech company Envision Group is receiving over US$1 billion in investment by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC along with private equity firms Sequoia Capital and Primavera Capital, “to accelerate the pace of energy transition and explore net zero opportunities through strategic partnerships”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/gic-sequoia-primavera-invest-over-us1b-in-greentech-firm-envision-group-0

Hong Lai Huat to jointly develop mixed-use project in Cambodia
Hong Lai Huat’s wholly-owned subsidiary HLH Development (HLHD) has agreed to co-develop an 11.5-hectare (ha) site in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville province with the site’s land owner Smart Winner, announced the group in a bourse filing on Monday (Nov 1).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hong-lai-huat-to-jointly-develop-mixed-use-project-in-cambodia

PropNex terminates master franchise agreement in Vietnam but will maintain single franchise there
Mainboard-listed real estate agency PropNex has terminated its master franchise agreement with its Vietnam franchisee and is disposing of its entire stake in that business, it said in a Monday announcement after the market closed.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/propnex-terminates-master-franchise-agreement-in-vietnam-but-will-maintain-single

Cuscaden will have to offer minimum chain offer price of S$0.964 per SPH Reit unit
The minimum chain offer price which consortium Cuscaden Peak will have to offer for each SPH Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) unit – if its acquisition bid for Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) succeeds – is S$0.964, fully in cash, Cuscaden said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday night.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cuscaden-will-have-to-offer-minimum-chain-offer-price-of-s0964-per-sph-reit-unit
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cuscaden-announces-964-cents-minimum-chain-offer-price-for-each-sph-reit

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

The essence of agility and resilience post-Covid
One burning question dominates our recent conversations with executives: What’s next? Their challenges differ. Some are working frantically to recover ground lost during the initial waves of the Covid pandemic. Others are trying to sustain growth while keeping an eye out for future disruptive events.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-essence-of-agility-and-resilience-post-covid

Malaysia’s big Budget approach to restore, uplift living standards
Malaysia seems to have opted for a Keynesian counter-cyclical approach to the economic dislocation triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The suite of measures the government introduced in its Budget last week shows plans to spend on infrastructure development, handouts to the poor, and calibrated tax measures – all to stimulate the economy.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/malaysias-big-budget-approach-to-restore-uplift-living-standards

Is zero trust the secret to thriving in the hybrid era?
The pandemic has given rise to an exponential acceleration in digitalisation – more flexible work arrangements, increase in smart devices and new technologies used, the migration to cloud, and the adoption of more collaborative digital workspaces.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/is-zero-trust-the-secret-to-thriving-in-the-hybrid-era

Singapore sees promise in a crypto economy
Singapore sees “significant economic possibilities” from a crypto or tokenised economy that can make cross-border payments cheaper and can transform the way hard physical assets are traded – the way first paved by modern securitisation, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapore-sees-promise-in-a-crypto-economy

Big consumers mostly insulated from attrition of electricity retailers
Even if Singapore’s major industrial users of electricity feel the sting of rising power costs, they remain relatively shielded from the risk of their retailers exiting the open electricity market (OEM). This is because most such firms purchase power from “gentailers” – retailers associated with power generation companies (gencos).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/energy-commodities/big-consumers-mostly-insulated-from-attrition-of-electricity-retailers

Consumers may see increase in electricity prices next year: Tan See Leng
Singapore – While most consumers will not see an immediate increase in electricity prices, they may see a rise in their electricity bills next year with energy prices increasing globally. Most consumers in Singapore have been “somewhat cushioned” so far, with 99 per cent on standard price plans with retailers or the regulated tariff rate, said Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng in Parliament on Monday (Nov 1).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/consumers-may-see-increase-in-electricity-prices-next-year-tan-see-leng

5 changes to CPF rules: More flexibility for transfers, quicker disbursement of funds
Singapore – Various rules around the Central Provident Fund (CPF) will be streamlined to make it easier for people to receive their retirement payouts and build their nest egg, under proposed changes to the CPF Act debated in Parliament on Monday (Nov 1).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/five-changes-to-cpf-rules

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

S’pore reports 2,470 new Covid-19 cases and 14 deaths; weekly infection growth rate down to 1.05
Singapore – Fourteen people aged between 56 and 95 have died of complications linked to Covid-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday (Nov 1). All except one unvaccinated case had various underlying medical conditions, said MOH in its daily update, without giving further details.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/2470-new-covid-19-cases-in-spore-14-deaths-weekly-infection-growth-rate-down-to-105

Singapore’s healthcare system stretched amid surge in Covid-19 cases in ICU
Singapore cannot open up and risk having the number of Covid-19 cases “shoot up” and overwhelm the healthcare system at a time when medical workers are stretched to their limit, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary in Parliament on Monday (Nov 1).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-healthcare-system-stretched-amid-surge-in-covid-19-cases-in-icu

Flight quotas mean passenger arrivals from 13 VTL countries likely to be a third of pre-Covid-19 levels
Singapore – The 13 countries that Singapore has launched Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) with accounted for 15 per cent of Changi’s annual passenger arrivals pre-Covid-19, but VTL quotas mean actual levels will be closer to about 5 per cent.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/flight-quotas-mean-passenger-arrivals-from-13-vtl-countries-likely-to-be-a-third-of-pre

*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