DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 7 July 2021 (Wed)

Singapore Economy

Industry groups say ministers’ statements confirm Singapore is open to trade, talent
Local professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) face several challenges from the entry of their foreign counterparts into the workforce, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung acknowledged in a speech on Tuesday. However, referring to the misplaced blame on free-trade agreements (FTAs) for this problem, he defended the FTAs Singapore has signed, in particular the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/industry-groups-say-ministers-statements-confirm-singapore-is-open-to-trade
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/ceca-does-not-affect-spores-ability-to-regulate-immigration
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/ceca-does-not-allow-unconditional-entry-of-indian-pmes-ong
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/globalisation-embrace-of-ftas-key-to-singapore-succeeding-ong

What the pact says: Five myths about Ceca debunked
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who was deputy chief negotiator for the United States-Singapore FTA, and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng yesterday addressed misconceptions about the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca). In statements, they tackled five myths about Ceca.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/what-the-pact-says-five-myths-about-ceca-debunked

Companies’ Brief

Should CICT and MCT swop some of their local offices for properties in London?
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec Reit) has been busy buying office assets in the United Kingdom. On June 29, the trust’s manager announced the purchase of a Grade A office building with ancillary retail, The Minster Building, located in the City of London for an agreed property value of £353 million (S$667.2 million).
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/should-cict-and-mct-swop-some-of-their-local-offices-for-properties-in-london

Prime US Reit to issue new units under distribution reinvestment plan at 83.2 US cents apiece
The manager of Prime US Reit Prime US ReitUSD: OXMU -0.58% announced on Wednesday that it will issue new units under its distribution reinvestment plan at 83.2 US cents per unit. It had earlier made an application for a distribution reinvestment plan for the cumulative distribution of 3.42 cents per unit in the real estate investment trust (Reit), for the period from Jan 1 to July 5, 2021.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/prime-us-reit-to-issue-new-units-under-distribution-reinvestment-plan-at

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

FTAs are vital for Singapore’s survival, says Ong Ye Kung
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, drawing on his experience as a trade negotiator, yesterday rebutted allegations that free trade pacts, specifically the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) with India, were detrimental to Singapore’s interests. Here is an edited version of his ministerial statemen
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/ftas-are-vital-for-singapores-survival-says-ong-ye-kung

Singapore must show MNCs it’s still a top hub sans tax incentives
A revolution in global tax rules now seems inevitable, with the fiscal fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic adding urgency to governments’ efforts to claw back some money. A final agreement is expected to be reached by October – and with it, a golden era for the world’s tax havens and low-tax regimes will be drawing to a close.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-must-show-mncs-its-still-a-top-hub-sans-tax-incentives

Working with right partners is key to business survival amid persisting pandemic
Covid-19 has intensely tested the resilience, agility and adaptability of Singapore’s businesses. Many have been confronted by the inevitable reality of having to draw down their shutters for the final time. In April last year alone, a total of 3,771 business entities closed; another 4,892 were then in the process of shutting down. And it is difficult to meaningfully comprehend its impact on society.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/working-with-right-partners-is-key-to-business-survival-amid-persisting-pandemic

Inflation pressures poised to ease on rebounding demand
The highly anticipated jump in inflation has arrived. While the sustainability of the rise remains open to debate, recent readings have surged and some measures of inflation expectations are showing sizable increases.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/inflation-pressures-poised-to-ease-on-rebounding-demand

The perils of paradigm economics
“The era of big government is over,” then-US president Bill Clinton proclaimed in 1996. But current president Joe Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar spending plans are suggesting precisely the opposite. Behind the politicians stand the policy gurus, eager to put their names on – as the fashionable phrase goes – a new “policy paradigm”.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/the-perils-of-paradigm-economics

Share of EP holders from India has roughly doubled since 2005
The share of Employment Pass (EP) holders from India has roughly doubled from about one-seventh in 2005, to one-quarter in 2020. But that reflects the global market for tech talent, and is not due to more favourable treatment under the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng said in Parliament on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/share-of-ep-holders-from-india-has-roughly-doubled-since-2005
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/rise-in-indian-ep-holders-driven-by-digital-economy-growth-tan-see-leng
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/2005-to-2020-pmes-grew-by-380000-compared-with-112000-for-ep-holders

Jobs created for local PMEs outstrip rise in EPs
From 2005 to last year, the finance and infocomm sectors accounted for 40 per cent of the increase in Employment Passes (EPs) issued to foreign professionals. But both sectors saw even stronger job creation for local professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/jobs-created-for-local-pmes-outstrip-rise-in-eps

Lower-wage workers’ faster-than-median wage growth not to be taken for granted: Zaqy Mohamad
While real wage growth at the 20th percentile of the population has outpaced that of the median worker’s, such progress should not be taken for granted, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad in Parliament on Tuesday.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/lower-wage-workers-faster-than-median-wage-growth-not-to-be-taken-for-granted

Position your S-Reit portfolio for sustainable passive income in long run
The tables have turned. In the first half of 2021, office and retail S-Reits outperformed industrial and data centre S-Reits. Last year’s losers emerged stronger thanks to the market rotation into value stocks on the back of an economic recovery. This is despite the increasing adoption of a hybrid work model and the persistent lack of tourists in downtown malls.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/position-your-s-reit-portfolio-for-sustainable-passive-income-in-long-run

All you need to know about the Fed and how to profit from anticipating its policy actions

Fed Watching for Fun and Profit: A Primer for Investors provides a detailed explanation of a topic that economist Edward Yardeni discussed in Predicting the Markets: A Professional Autobiography. His lessons from following and analysing the Federal Reserve Board over several decades are encapsulated in a few hundred pages.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth-investing/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-fed-and-how-to-profit-from-anticipating-its-policy

Hong Kong will assess Singapore’s Covid-19 strategy before reviving travel bubble
Hong Kong will assess Singapore’s new Covid-19 strategy as the two sides try to revive a quarantine-free travel corridor that was initially planned to open last November but has never got off the ground.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/hong-kong-will-assess-singapores-covid-19-strategy-before-reviving-travel-bubble
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/hong-kong-will-assess-singapores-covid-strategy-before-reviving-travel-bubble

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

MOH lists activities to avoid for 7 days after Covid-19 jab
Swimming, cycling, lifting of heavy weights, and ball and racket games are some of the activities individuals should avoid for seven days after receiving their first and second doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/moh-lists-activities-to-avoid-for-7-days-after-covid-19-jab

2 unlinked Covid-19 cases, with one of them living in dorm
One of the Covid-19 cases reported yesterday resides in a dormitory, the first case reported there since June 14. It is currently unlinked, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The other locally transmitted case reported yesterday is also unlinked.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/2-unlinked-covid-19-cases-with-one-of-them-living-in-dorm

Changi’s T4 may process arrivals from very high-risk countries
Travellers flying into Singapore from countries with high rates of Covid-19 infection may be processed at Changi Airport Terminal 4 (T4) in future. This option is being considered as T4 has a larger capacity than T2, where these travellers are currently being processed, said Transport Minister S. Iswaran in Parliament yesterday.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/changis-t4-may-process-arrivals-from-very-high-risk-countries

*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