PartnerSingapore.org.sg
launched on 17 Aug 2001 contains various tools and links to help
businesses meet the right partner. These include a search engine
that goes through five online databases to gather corporate
information about companies putting up the postings; the deals
market-place where local and foreign businesses post business
opportunities, as well as links to lawyers and venture
capitalists here. The website is set up by the Singapore
Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) to help small and
medium-sized companies here.
worldlabel.com.sg
is a manufacturer of labels including laser, barcode, custom
adhesive labels and more.
This downturn is just beginning. No one can
say how long it will last and how deep the downturn will be. Recovery
will come when the property market in America reaches bottom and begins
to rise. That may not be for many months or even years.
Fortunately, in Singapore, having
learned from the 1997/98 financial crisis, we have not allowed a
speculative rise in residential property prices. Few citizens have
bought homes that they cannot afford to service their instalments on
their mortgages. High price condominiums and office properties have
declined in prices...
Preliminary estimates show that employment
grew by 57,800 in the third quarter this year. This was lower than the
gains of 71,400 in the preceding quarter and 58,600 in the third quarter
of 2007...
Preliminary estimates show that 2,000
workers were retrenched in the third quarter of 2008, up from 1,798
in the previous quarter and 1,827 in the third quarter of 2007...
Growth of the Singapore economy moderated in
the fourth quarter of 2007. Advance estimates[1] show that real gross
domestic product (GDP) rose by 6.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in
the fourth quarter, following a 9.0 per cent gain in the previous
quarter...
With effect from 1 January 2008, the S Pass
quota for all sectors will be increased from 15% to 25%. The new S Pass
quota will come entirely from companies' Work Permit quota which will be
increased for all sectors. Companies can therefore employ more S Pass
holders, in lieu of Work Permit holders, hence improving the quality of
their foreign workforce...
To strengthen our
global talent attraction and retention efforts, refinements will be made
to the PEP scheme. Foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed monthly
salary overseas was at least S$7,000 will be eligible for a PEP. The PEP
will also be granted to former P1 Employment Pass holders upon
application.
These changes
will take effect from 1 March 2008. Existing and new P1 pass holders
working in Singapore that apply for the PEP ahead of the 2-year
requirement will be accorded in-principle approval. They can apply to
take up the PEP at the end of 2 years on their current P1 pass...
The continued tightening of the labour
market this year has also led to significant gains in income and a
reduction in the number and share of low wage workers...
Excluding the
extreme age bands, the employment rate for those aged 25 to 64 edged up
to a new record of 76.5% from 75.5% a year ago. Supported by efforts to
improve employability of older workers, the employment rate of older
residents aged 55 to 64 rose by 2.5%-points over the year to 56.2% in
June 2007..
Effective from 1 January 2008, all new
products must comply with the ACD requirements and notify HSA prior to
sale.
All existing products that are currently
sold in the local market will be given 12 months to notify HSA and to
fully comply with the requirements by 1 Jan 2011...
Early last year, MDA worked with industry
players to successfully kick-off a series of trials on High Definition
TV. Today, HDTV is available to Singapore households over free-to-air,
cable and Internet Protocol or IPTV.
We view the delivery of digital TV services
to mobile devices as a promising new way to deliver media services to
consumers anytime, anywhere. Hence, MDA has proposed a policy framework
to enable the early deployment of commercial mobile broadcasting...
MTI forecasts the Singapore economy to grow
by 4.5-6.5 per cent in 2008. This represents a moderation in growth
towards the economy's underlying potential rate, following four years of
above-trend growth.
The market consensus is that the US
economy will slow down in the first half of 2008 as a result of
weaker credit and housing markets before resuming healthy growth
in the second half. This would support GDP growth in Singapore in
the upper half of the 4.5-6.5 per cent forecast range...
While alphanumeric domain names already
exist, (eg, www.in2015.sg), fully numeric ones like www.123.sg have not
been allowed till now...
SGNIC, the national registry for domain
names, will now also allow pure numeric domain names in all the seven .sg
categories (ie. .sg, .com.sg, .net.sg, .org.sg, .gov.sg, .edu.sg, .per.sg).
The registration for pure numeric domain names will be phased
accordingly:
- 05 November – 28 December 20071:
All qualifying applicants including businesses and individuals can
register. Trademark owners2 will get priority over other
applicants. Example: A company with "123" as its trademark will get
priority for 123.sg, or in any other .sg domain category...
Employment continued to grow strongly as the
economy maintained its rapid expansion. Preliminary estimates show that
employment grew by 57,600 in the third quarter of 2007...
Services continued to lead the employment
gains, adding 34,500 workers in the third quarter of 2007. Manufacturing
posted gains of 11,800. Driven by the growth in building activities,
construction increased its workforce by 10,800, continuing the rapid
increase of the previous quarter...
From 1 November 2007 onwards, persons who
move into or out of Singapore physical currency1 or bearer
negotiable instruments2 (CBNI) the total value of which
exceeds SGD 30,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) will be
required to give a report by filling up a form and submitting it to the
authorities.
The form is available at all checkpoints,
police establishments, Singapore Visitors Centres and branches of
Singapore Post...
Nonetheless, financial markets have
rebounded recently and underlying economic conditions remain
supportive. GDP growth is therefore on track to come in at the
upper end of the 7-8% forecast range this year, up from the
4.5-6.5% forecast during the April review...
In the Singapore economy, growth will
be led by non-IT manufacturing, construction and business
services, which have built up a strong momentum and are more
dependent on regional and domestic sources of demand as well as
developments in specific product markets.
At this stage, our assessment is that
the Singapore economy is likely to expand at a slower rate in 2008
than in the recent past, reflecting weaker global economic growth.
Singapore’s GDP growth rate is expected to come in within its
potential of 4-6% next year...
About 52% of the agencies which took part
this year attained a Grade B and above as compared to the 24% in 2006.
This is a marked improvement and a good testimony to the rising
standards of the security agencies...
Of the 270 agencies in Singapore , 86
did not participate in the grading exercise. Of these 86, 8
agencies were newly licensed in the period of assessment and
therefore could not be graded...
DBS Group Holdings said today that Jackson
Tai will step down as Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to
be with his family in the United States, and his last day at the bank
will be towards the end of this year...
DBS has initiated an extensive global search
for the new CEO. In the interim, with the endorsement of the Boards, Koh
Boon Hwee, Chairman of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, will with
immediate effect take on an active management oversight role. He will
oversee the Corporate Office to ensure continued strong leadership and a
smooth transition over the next few months...
In July this year, Parliament passed the
Optometrists & Opticians Act. The Act which aims to raise the standard
of eye care in Singapore will come into effect on 1 January 2008...
Applications for registration by the
Optometrists and Opticians Board have just started. Optometrists
and opticians are advised to apply for registration before 15
December 2007, in order to continue practising as optometrists or
opticians from January 2008...
"CapitaLand Retail will also project manage the entire development of the
Integrated Hub, which is expected to be completed by 2011.
"The Integrated Hub will stand out in
the one-north precinct with its stunning iconic architecture.
Designed by Andrew Bromberg of AEDAS Hong Kong, the development
will boast over eight levels of Civic and Cultural Zone, and four
levels of Retail and Entertainment Zone, forming the base
structure..."
"By including a stored value wallet with
Over-The-Air (OTA) capabilities, which covers wireless downloads and
top-ups of stored value to NFC phones, the trial becomes a first in
Asia...
"Under the payment solution being planned,
SingTel users will need to download a mNETS application, which will
allow them to store and top up value on the mNETS payment application in
their phones any time. Users will then be able to make payments using
NETS FlashPay by flashing their SingTel mobile phones at NETS
contactless terminals islandwide..."
"After careful consideration, the government
believes that it is necessary to corporatise Changi Airport and to
re-structure CAAS’ existing regulatory and strategic functions under a
new regulatory body...
"Corporatisation will enhance Changi
Airport’s ability to compete in this changed landscape. In being more
nimble the new entity will further strengthen Changi’s position as a
premier air hub...
"Corporatisation is a complex process. We
will plan carefully and explore all possible options. The entire process
is expected to take 18 to 24 months..."
"By 2012, we will require employers to offer re-employment to workers
reaching 62, up to age 65, and eventually to 67. This change will
precede the raising of the Draw Down Age (DDA). By 2012, employers
will be required to offer re-employment up to age 65 but the DDA to
65 will only be effected in 2018 – a significant time lag to help
workers and employers adjust...
"1% additional bonus interest will be
paid on the first $60,000 in a CPF member's combined accounts, with not more than
$20,000 from the OA accounts. This will enhance CPF's existing
risk-free framework...
"While our employment rates are among the highest in the world, our
residents are also among the longest living. The present DDA of 62
years is hence too early and results in the majority of members
prematurely depleting their savings. Thus, we will do the following: a.
progressively raise draw down age..
"Even after changes to DDA, there will be those who live longer than
85. We want to ensure that they have a stream of income for life. The Government will therefore be looking at making annuities
compulsory for members to protect them against outliving their
retirement savings...
"Economic growth in the first half of this
year was 7.6%, higher than we had expected. For the whole year, MTI has
raised its growth forecast to between 7 and 8%.
"The good news is that we have added 111,000
jobs in the first half – the highest number ever. Unemployment is very
low, at 2.4%. Workers are enjoying good wage increases and higher
bonuses because businesses are doing well...
"One reason our income gap is widening is
our ageing population. Singaporeans are living longer than ever. We must
help our elderly live comfortably by keeping medical care affordable,
making our city barrier-free, and our public transport wheelchair
friendly. Those with enough savings will feel secure about their
future..."
"Advance estimates1 show that real
gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 8.2 per cent on a year-on-year
basis in the second quarter, up from 6.4 per cent in the previous
quarter...
"Underpinned by strong growth in the
biomedical manufacturing and transport engineering clusters, the
manufacturing sector is estimated to have grown by 10.2 per cent the
second quarter, up from 4.4 per cent in the previous quarter..."
"Under the Act,
marketers - particularly those based in Singapore or who have
operations here - who continue to spam the “not interested” group
face potential financial penalties. The statutory penalty is $25
for each electronic message, up to a total of $1 million..."
Oversight of corporate governance of listed
companies will be transferred from the Council of Corporate Disclosure
and Governance (CCDG)[1] to the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) with effect from 1
September 2007...
The Code of Corporate Governance will
continue to be implemented through the SGX Listing Rules via the “comply
or explain” approach[2], as is currently the practice...
"The inaugural Awards
ceremony will be held some time in early August 2007
and thereafter, it will be held annually...
"The Awards will
recognise industry players that are innovative in organising
business events and whose expertise and service levels meet global
standards..."
Kingfisher
Marine announces the launch of Azurea, an new
membership scheme that provides easy and affordable
access to the exclusive world of lifestyle yachting...
Azurea is specifically designed for
the busy professional who wants to simply climb on board with his
family or friends and go boating!
The scheme removes all of
the uncertainties associated with chartering and
relieves members of all the responsibilities and
expense normally associated with ownership.
"Part I of
the Bill defines spam. A message is “spam” when it is
an unsolicited commercial electronic message sent more
than 100 times, with the same or similar
subject-matter, during a 24-hour period, or more than
1,000 times during a 30-day period, or more than
10,000 times during a one-year period...
"An opt-out approach
is adopted under the Bill as it balances the need of companies and
marketers to send unsolicited messages for business reasons...
"In order to balance
between consumer interests and industry needs the Bill will
require that each message contains a valid unsubscribe facility,
an ‘<ADV>’ label to mark it out as an advertisement,
accurate header information or subject titles and functional
contact details of the sender...
"The unsubscribe
process has been structured to be consumer-friendly so that even
individuals who receive small volumes of spam have a means of
recourse, without resorting to legal action. The Bill makes it
mandatory for senders to allow recipients to unsubscribe via the
same medium through which the spam was received. This ensures that
unsubscribing from spam can be done easily and conveniently by
replying to an email or SMS..."
"In a pilot test, Police has allowed
beer to be sold in four dormitories1, and where the
beer is then consumed at designated social areas inside the
dormitories...
"Police is now conducting a review to
assess if the sale and consumption of beer can be extended to
other dormitories..."
"I will give lower-income Singaporeans
larger GST Credits.
"Those who live in one- to three-room
flats[4] and have annual assessable incomes of $24,000
or less will qualify for the largest quantum of $1,000, to be paid
out in instalments of $250 per year over four years...
"Next, if you live in a larger home
with an AV of more than $10,000, but you earn less than $100,000 a
year, you will get $400 in GST Credits.
"The top income group comprising those
earning over $100,000 a year will get $100. It is a small gesture,
but recognises that the GST increase affects everyone.
"NSmen and NSFs, including those aged
below 21, will also get an additional $100 of GST Credits, to
recognise their contributions to national security...
"The first instalment will be paid out
on 1 July this year, at the same time as the GST increase..."
"Preliminary estimates show that total
employment grew by 48,800 in the fourth quarter of 2006, considerably
higher than the gains of 35,300 in the same period a year ago, and up
from 43,000 in the third quarter of 2006...
"Total retrenchment for the whole of
2006 was 12,200. Although this is higher than 10,294 in 2005, it
is only about half the number retrenched in 2001 (25,838).
Manufacturing formed the bulk of retrenchments (8,800), followed
by services (3,000) and construction (400) in 2006..."
"The
5-day workweek is the norm, with higher share of
employees now on this arrangement than two years ago.
Close to two in five (40%) full-time employees in the
private sector worked 5 days a week in 2006, up from
34% two years ago.
"Lagging
significantly behind, were the 5½-day (15%), 6-day
workweek (16%), and shift work (17%) each accounting
for less than one in five employees in 2006..."
"The Bill introduces a requirement for
foreign full and wholesale bank branches to maintain a minimum
level of eligible assets in Singapore in proportion to their
liabilities...
"Such a requirement would help to
improve the recovery of assets from a failed foreign bank branch
in Singapore to meet the claims of Singapore depositors..."
"The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has
awarded to IBM the contract to build the core backend technology
infrastructure for LTA’s next-generation smart card e-payment system –
Symphony for e-payment (e-Symphony)...
"The high-performance and high-speed backend
infrastructure is expected to double the present capacity and will be
capable of handling about 10 million financial transactions per day..."
"Having examined a number of outstanding
internal and external candidates for the role, the Board is pleased to
announce that Ms Chua Sock Koong has been selected as Group CEO.
"This appointment is expected to take effect
on 1 April 2007..."
"The SII anticipates offering its front and
back office qualifications in Singapore, otherwise known as the
Certificate and IAQ suite. It has appointed Mona Poomy as its VP based
in Singapore.
"SII
examinations are approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
and there are a large number of international banks with offices in
Singapore who are keen that their workforce are trained to the same
standard of competence as those in the UK..."
Mr Heng
Swee Keat, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of
Singapore
"The Singapore economy grew by a robust 6.4%
last year...
"Barring any unexpected shocks in the
external environment including an escalation in geopolitical risks in
the second half of this year, GDP growth for the year as a whole is
likely to be in the range of 5 to 7%..."
"Continued hiring increases means good news
for Singapore's workforce, while increased optimism continues to fuel
increasing economic growth...
"This optimism is reflected in planned salary
increases and 7% of employers expecting to pay 15% or more, the highest
figure for any market surveyed in Asia..."
Mr Ong
Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director, Monetary
Authority of Singapore
"...First, real estate investment trusts or
REITs. These have seen explosive growth, particularly in Singapore and
Hong Kong over the last 3 years...
"In Singapore, the market capitalization
weighted-average returns since IPO have been exceptional at over 30%.
The market has also moved beyond traditional REITs to other products
like shipping trusts and hotels...
"Singapore is also a fertile ground for
CMBS development due to its stable economic environment (sovereign
credit rating AAA/Stable/A-1+) and robust legal and land title
system which have enabled structured finance issuers to raise
highly rated debt...."
In Singapore, the number of HIV-positive
people has climbed steadily from the first case detected here in 1985 to
2,641 by December 2005. Three out of four (74.77%) who are infected are
actively employed...
In 2005, out of the 255 new cases reported,
a great majority (87%) comprised the age group of 20 - 59 years old,
with those aged 20 - 49 years accounting for as much as 70% of all new
cases...
Amid favourable economic conditions, the
incidence of retrenchment dropped to a twelve-year low in 2005...
The incidence of retrenchment for
professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) dropped to an
eight-year low of 8.0 per 1,000 and a thirteen-year low of 4.8 per 1,000
for clerical, sales & service workers...
In 2005, on average 61% of local2
retrenched workers found re-employment within 6 months of their
retrenchment, slightly higher than 59% in 2004. The improvement was more
pronounced for the better educated workers...
"Today, services make up seven out of every
ten jobs, compared to six out of ten jobs in 1990. In particular,
employment within the financial and business services sector has more
than doubled since 1990.
"But there is also a third, important trend,
and that is that people will have to change jobs more often in their
lifetimes..."
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