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March 1, 2014 – 12:28PM
Singapore (AFP) – Asia-Pacific trade ministers negotiating a huge US-led free trade area said Tuesday they were making headway but differences remain over market access.
In a joint statement at the end of a four-day meeting in Singapore, the 12 prospective members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) said they had made “further strides towards a final agreement”.
“While some issues remain, we have charted a path forward to resolve them in the context of a comprehensive and balanced outcome,” they said.
Talks in December, also in Singapore, ended with negotiators failing to meet a self-imposed deadline to reach a deal by the end of 2013.
The 12 countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam — are divided on a number of issues, including the opening up of protected domestic markets such as agriculture and automobiles.
Other sticking points include limiting the role of state-owned enterprises in the economy, which countries such as Malaysia are opposing, and copyright provisions that critics say would limit the poor’s access to cheaper generic drugs.
“Through extensive bilateral meetings, we have also made progress on market access, which is an important part of our remaining work,” the ministers said in the statement.
“We will continue working toward completion of an ambitious package across all market access areas.”
Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb said in a news conference negotiators had “overwhelmingly broken the back of market access issues” in the Singapore talks, but a deal was not yet complete.
“My sense is that we are 80 percent plus there, but the market access is very important,” he said.
An agreement on market access between the US and Japan — who together make up 70 percent of the total gross domestic product of the 12 countries — is vital to a final agreement, he said.
The 12 countries make up 40 percent of the global economy.
-’Sensitive political decisions’-
Deborah K. Elms, a specialist on the TPP at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said prolonged talks could make the agreement obsolete.
“The rules that are being negotiated, depending on the industry, may turn out to be out of date by the time the rules come into effect, especially for fast moving industries like e-commerce,” she told AFP.
“Most of what is left are sensitive political decisions and the only people who can make those kinds of decisions are ministers,” she said.
“If the ministers cannot see their way clear to reach a decision after four days of engagement, that is disappointing.”
The ministers did not comment on when and where they would meet again.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters “there is no set deadline” for completing the negotiations.
“Our focus is on achieving an agreement among all 12 of us and that agreement needs to be that ambitious, comprehensive, high-standard agreement,” he said.
Froman said he was “working very closely” with US lawmakers to lay the foundations for the granting of “fast track” powers to President Barack Obama’s administration.
These would allow it to negotiate major trade deals which Congress could approve or reject but not amend.
The move faces tough opposition from House Democrats who feel it is too far-reaching.
A statement released Tuesday by three House Democrats said “there is a considerable gap between what is being proposed in the TPP and what the American people and their elected representatives in Congress will allow”.
House representatives Louise Slaughter, Rosa DeLauro and George Miller in the statement called the TPP a “flawed trade agreement”.
Obama has put a high priority on the TPP, seeing it as tying the US more firmly to the dynamic Asia-Pacific region at a time when China’s clout is rising.
Marriott International has unveiled plans to open its first Courtyard hotel in Singapore.
The US hotel company has penned a management agreement for the Courtyard by Marriott Novena – a new 250-room property that scheduled to open in 2017.
The new midscale hotel will form part of a 33-storey mixed-use development, Royal Square at Novena, which will also feature restaurants, retail outlets and medical facilities.
“We are very excited about the collaboration with Marriott International, to bring in the very first Courtyard by Marriott, right here in Singapore” said Wong Swee Chun, director of the hotel’s developer, Hoi Hup Sunway Novena. “The hotel is located next to Novena MRT station, surrounded by offices, shopping malls and the upcoming health city, and is definitely adding a new dimension to the Novena’s skyline.”
Simon Cooper, Marriott’s president managing director of Asia Pacific, said he expects the new property will appeal to “frequent business travellers”, as well as leisure travellers, due to Novena’s shopping malls and its proximity to Orchard Road.
Marriott currently operates two hotels in Singapore; the Singapore Marriott Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.
Associated Press
By Newley Purnell and Lorraine Luk
Bitcoin machines began operating in Singapore and Hong Kong even as the once-dominant Mt. Gox exchange said Friday it was filing for bankruptcy protection.
Tokyo-based Mt. Gox said it lost almost 750,000 of its customers’ bitcoins, marking the collapse of a marketplace that was once dominant in trading the virtual currency. Bitcoin, a virtual currency created in 2009, rose sharply over the course of 2013. At the start of last year, one bitcoin was valued at an easy-to-invest $13. By November, its price had soared to nearly $1,200.
The bankruptcy filing however didn’t bother Hungary native Andras Kristof, chief technical officer of Singapore-based Tembusu Terminals who unveiled Thursday a custom-built bitcoin vending machine inside a small bar called The Spiffy Dapper, located in central Singapore’s Boat Quay district. It allows users to insert Singapore dollars and receive, in return, a piece of paper with a private code to be used with a bitcoin wallet.
Tembusu has three employees and is self-funded. Kristof said the company’s goal is to “provide a good service” to the local bitcoin community, and isn’t concerned with making money off the device for now.
“Bitcoin should be easy to get and spend,” he said, noting that he estimates as many as 40 establishments in Singapore now accept the currency.
Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority announced recently it would treat bitcoin as a service, not money or currency, and even published tax guidance.
Norma Sit, chief executive of Singapore-based bitcoin ATM maker Numoni, told The Wall Street Journal her company opened one machine yesterday and two more today, with another set to open this evening. They are situated at various locations throughout Singapore.
Zann Kwan, owner of Singapore-based Bitcoin Exchange, said she unveiled her company’s first device this morning at the city-state’s Citylink Mall. Similarly, her device, made by British Virgin Islands-based maker Lamassu, allows customers to insert cash to convert it to bitcoin. The Tembusu machine is “not competition,” she said. “It’s good for the community.”
Hong Kong-based Bitcoin platform ANXBTC Friday launched a shop in a commercial building in the Sai Wan area. Customers can provide U.S. or Hong Kong dollars to an employee, who makes a transaction on a laptop. Tariq Dennison, a Hong Kong-based American financial consultant, purchased $100 Hong Kong dollars ($13) of bitcoin, saying he wanted to try out the service.
“People lost money from the shutdown of Mt. Gox because they saved their bitcoin in the exchange system.” he said. “I feel secure with my bitcoin as I save them in my personal electronic wallet.”
Moral of Serangoon
Rahul Goswami (COCHINCHINA) / 1 March 2014
One day, the veil that globalisation wears was torn in Singapore
The popluar idea of Singapore ends at the frontiers of a large rectangle you will not find marked on any map of the island city-state. This rectangle is bounded to the northeast by Race Course Road and Tessensohn Road (that name signalling the cosmopolitan imprint of old Singapore, before it deviated towards technology and finance), to the northeast by one arm of Balestier Road (a Myanmarese name) and the charming Lavender Street (where once sailors vied for the sultry attentions of taxi dancers).
This quadrangular zone is bounded to the southeast by Jalan Besar (which extends from Bendemeer Road) and connects at a right angle to the Sungei Road, whose wide carriageways accommodate the Rochor canal, a narrow watercourse surprisingly clean. Here on Sungei Road was the thieves’ market of old, which until even 10 years ago was a thriving flea market whose vendors gathered every weekend to sell curious odds for dubious ends.
Through the middle of this largish quadrangle, from southwest to northeast, runs Serangoon Road, and it is at the centre of Singapore’s Little India. To this place came the immigrant Indians, brought across the unruly Bay of Bengal by a series of circumstances that had linked the freebooters of Mergui, the British East India Company, and two high officers of a powerful Malayan sultan: The temenggong of Johor and the bendahara of Pahang.
Along the side lanes that led outwards from the colourful stem of Serangoon Road were the sheds and spaces that gave rise to the cattle industries (Kerbau Road had been so thick with them that a century later, when modern Singapore was building its newest underground line in the vicinity, engineers found sedimented buffalo and cow dung, and an old aroma filled the warm evening airs in a way that made the grandmothers retell their stories with that much more vigour).
Along Kerbau and Belilios Roads they plied their trades: Cattle herding, milking, slaughter and meat-vending. Some tales and a few old lithographs are the city’s record of that place in those years. Not long did those early immigrants confine themselves to the labours of animal husbandry, but quickly became goldsmiths, practitioners of ayurvedic medicine, makers of garlands for the temple offerings, textile merchants, purveyors of fresh cooked food and suppliers of the ingredients for those tasty dishes.
And so they made their homes and compiled their modest inheritances, all within the boundaries of the quadrangle outside which the Republic of Singapore questioned itself with dollars and pound sterling, and answered with cheap manufactures, quick trade and an ambition to make money above all else. But inside Little India, contented competence was still practised and valued and the growth of these activities — more community than individual — was the essential element that served, consolidated, defined and swelled the population around and beside Serangoon Road, It enfolded the zone with a most distinctive and quite self-sufficient character that marked it as being different — culturally and economically — from Singaporean society in its careening rush away from its colonial past.
In these times, as they did four generations ago, the new immigrants make their leisurely way to Serangoon Road on Saturdays and Sundays, there to congregate by the thousand. They are South Asian — from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal as much as from the many rural regions of India — and find their freedoms, one day of the week, from the tiresome homogeneity of the rest of Singapore when they cross the invisible threshold of the old quadrangle, welcomed by the aroma of familiar foods, enlivened by the prospect of making new friends, reading letters from home, despatching small savings to distant districts.
Here it was on December 8, 2013, a Sunday, that violence broke out. Official Singapore made not the feeblest attempt to connect the rioting of the immigrant workers with their alienation, poor working conditions and low pay. Educated and privileged Singapore society flailed about to find suitable explanations for the disorder, fearing first and foremost the impact on the stock market and on ‘investor sentiment’.
Forgotten amid the fear were the reasons for Serangoon Road and its sambrani-scented sidestreets to have survived, its cultural heritage largely intact and its spatial relationships respected, amidst the crowded symbolism of Singapore outside, the bullying language of globalisation, of ‘growth’, ‘development’ and ‘progress’.
Rahul Goswami is an expert on intangible cultural heritage with Unesco
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Asia Pacific share market finished last trading session of the week and of the month ended 28 February 2014 firmly in green, as comments by Fed Chairperson Yellen boosted confidence in the strength of the U.S. economy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose a slender 0.1% for a 4% gain on the month.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the Fed was monitoring closely the recent run of disappointing macroeconomic data from US. She said that it remained to be seen if recent data could be wholly explained by cold weather. She further remarked that the Fed would be open to reconsidering it (pace of QE tapering) if there was a significant change in the outlook.
But worries over the tense political situation in Ukraine limited gains across the regional bourses.. Political tensions in Ukraine intensified after armed men shot their way into regional government buildings in the country’s Crimean region and raised Russian flags on Thursday. After the incident, Ukraine’s acting president warned that any movements by the Russian military in Crimea, aside from the Russian Black Sea fleet’s base in Sevastopol, would be treated as an act of aggression. NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, via his Twitter account, urged Russia not to take any action that would escalate tension. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said Ukraine has asked for assistance. The United States told Russia to demonstrate in coming days that it was sincere about its promise not to intervene in Ukraine, as armed men stormed the regional parliament and hours later others seized the airport in a mainly ethnic Russian region.
Among Asian markets, Japan’s stock market declined today, as risk aversion selloff continued on blue chips stocks after the yen appreciated against the greenback on a cautious view of the US economy by Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 0.55% to finish the session at 14841.07, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares declined 0.47% to 1211.66. The benchmark index is now off 8.9% for 2014 after adding 57% last year.
Tokyo market were trading mostly flat by midday, but selling pressure in the local shares mounted in the afternoon, on tracking yen appreciation under the psychologically important Y102 mark against the greenback.
Exporters and other asset plays that were sensitive to dollar movements declined the most as a weaker U.S. currency hurts the ability of large manufacturers to cut prices on goods they sell overseas. Among exporters, Honda Motor lost 1.4%, Sumitomo Realty Development dropped 1.2% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group surrendered 1.9% ND Mitsubishi UFJ down 1.5%. Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries lost 1.7% despite a stock-rating upgrade from Deutsche Bank
Industrials players did well today thanks to better-than-expected industrial output data. TDK Corp added 0.9%.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Preliminary retail sales data on Friday, showing Japan’s retail sales surged 4.4% on year in January, posting the sixth straight year-on-year rise due to strong automobile and electronics sales before the April sales tax hike. The pace of increase accelerated from +2.5% in December as sales of machinery (TVs, air conditioners/heaters, watching machines, etc.) rose 7.5% on year in January after rising 0.8% in December, thanks to strong demand before the sales tax hike in April. Automobile sales jumped 21.4% after +14.5% in the previous month.
Separately, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday that Japan’s preliminary industrial production surged 4.0% on the month in January, marking the second consecutive monthly rise after +0.9% in December.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday that Japan’s consumer price index (excluding perishables but including energy) rose 1.3% on year in January, the eighth straight y/y rise after +1.3% in December and +1.2% in November. CPI excluding food and energy, a stricter measure to judge whether deflation is fading, rose 0.7% on year in January, up for the fourth straight month after rising 0.7% in December. In October 2013, the “core-core” reading posted the first y/y rise in five years since October 2008. Meanwhile, central Tokyo core CPI rose 0.9% in February. It was the 10th straight y/y rise after +0.7% in January, led by higher electricity bills and casualty insurance premiums as well as a rebound in accommodations. The rise in TV prices slowed.
In Australia, Australian stock market finished weaker as investor some garnered profit made during the month. The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index dropped 6.60 points, or 0.12%, to 5404.80. The broader All Ordinaries shed 5.60 points, or 0.1%, to 5415.40. The benchmark SP/ASX 200 Index gained 4.2% during February, while the broader All Ordinaries Index added 4.1%.
Among ASX sectoral indices, information technology issue dived 0.9%, while consumer discretionary issue rose 0.6%, making them top sectoral gainer and loser. Meanwhile financial sector dived 0.3%, energy down 0.2% and consumer staples down 0.1%. Healthcare, utilities and realty issues rose 0.2% each.
Virgin Australia (VAH) shares closed steady at A$0.35 despite the airline announcing a loss in the fiscal first half and declined to issue guidance due to uncertain economic conditions and did not declare an interim dividend. The airline company, joined rival Qantas (QAN) in posting a first half loss, posting the A$49.7 million loss before tax as compared to A$61 million profit in the same period last year. Revenue rose by 6.4% in the period to A$2.2 billion. QAN, which lost 9% in the wake of its A$252 million loss announced yesterday, rose 0.9% to A$1.165.
Woolworths shares closed down 1% to A$36.07 today in spite of Australia’s largest retailer by market value posted a 14.5% increase in first half profit to A$1.32 billion, driven by strong supermarket sales. Its Masters Home Improvement business delivered a worse than expected A$71.9 million loss in the period. Shareholders will receive a fully franked interim dividend of 65c per share. Rival Wesfarmers (WES) added 0.8% to A$42.95.
Shares of James Hardie (JHX) added 6.1% to A$14.50 after the building products maker announced a special US28c dividend to commemorate its 125th anniversary. JHX posted third quarter profit of A$48.76 million thanks to a resurgence in the US housing market.
Oil Search (OSH) shares rose 0.9% to A$8.54 after reporting full year net profit of US$205.7 million, a rise of 17%.
Reserve Bank of Australia said on Friday that private sector credit (lending) rose by 0.4% in January after a 0.5% lift in December. Annual credit growth rose to 4.1% – an 18 month high, in January 2014 from 3.9 in December 2013. Overall housing credit is up 5.6% on a year ago, with investor housing finance up 7.4% – marking the strongest annual growth in three years. Business and consumer credit recorded a healthy lift.
In China, Mainland China stock market finished higher after recouping intraday losses, helped by strength in financials, realty, and consumer related stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 8.95 points higher at 2056.30, extending this month’s gain to 1.1%. The measure, however, slumped 2.7% this week amid concerns the economy will slow as banks curb lending to the real-estate market and a weaker yuan spurs capital outflows.
The Shanghai market closed higher for third day in row. But move on the upward was limited amid caution ahead of Chinese manufacturing data tomorrow and next week’s meeting of the National People’s Congress. Policy makers will meet at the NPC in Beijing on March 3. Market pundits are whispering that policy makers likely to be discuss on topics covering state-owned enterprises, financial industry deregulation, environmental protection, free-trade zones and pension rules.
Shares of Chinese developers and financials rebounded on bargain buying, following steep losses recently, thanks to media reports that China’s major lenders have not tightened or halted their property-related lending business. Domestic media have reported that some lenders such as Industrial Bank Co. had stopped lending to developers, fuelling concerns over a cooling property market. China’s top five banks Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications all said there was no policy change in their real estate-related lending business
Among China Vanke, the largest developer, increased 2% to 6.72 yuan, the most since Jan. 24. Gemdale Corp. advanced 1.2% to 6 yuan. Among lenders, ICBC, the nation’s biggest lender, lost 0.6% to 3.34 yuan, while rival China Construction Bank Corp. declined 0.8% to 3.86 yuan. Founder Securities surged 10% to 5.71 yuan.
Shares of consumer related companies also ended higher. Kweichow Moutai led gains for consumer-staples producers, surging 3.5% to 150.02 yuan. Bright Dairy Food Co. rose 4.4% to 17.63 yuan.
In Hong Kong, shares in the city market extended winning streak for third day in row, thanks to gain in the realty counter which managed to offset losses elsewhere. The benchmark Hang Seng index rose 8.78 points from prior day to finish at 22836.96.
Investment rationale for cyclical assets in the HK supported firmly after comments from Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang on Wednesday that the southern Chinese city’s economy is expected to grow by as much as 4% this year compared to 2.9 per cent in 2013.and 1.5% in 2012.
Hong Kong unveiled a modest package of measures for its working class in its budget on Wednesday, as it tries to ease pressure on its finances while appeasing voters increasingly concerned about the city’s growing income gap. In a speech focused on maintaining Hong Kong’s competitiveness, Financial Secretary John Tsang said its economy grew 2.9% last year compared with 1.5% in 2012, and was expected to expand 3 to 4% this year. The budget contained some tax cuts for the working class but a bumper “give-away” package didn’t materialise this time. Tsang did budget around HK$20 billion in one-off relief measures including tax concessions, rent subsidies for public housing tenants and welfare handouts. But that was below the previous year’s HK$33 billion in one-off assistance. The city’s lower- and middle-income families struggle with rising costs from home prices that have more than doubled since 2008, and the spillover effects of a strengthening yuan. The government recorded a provisional surplus of HK$12 billion ($1.6 billion) for the 2013/14 fiscal year, in line with expectations, but far less than HK$64.8 billion last year.
Among the HK 50 blue chips, 22 rose and 27 fell, with one stock remaining steady. Citic Pacific (00267) was the largest blue-chip loser, retreating 3.6% to HK$11.18. New World (00017) was the top blue-chip performer. It rose 2.3% to HK$10.04. Market heavyweights were mixed. HSBC (00005) nudged up 0.4% to HK$82.25. China Mobile (00941) inched down 0.3% to HK$73.75.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority said total deposits with authorised institutions increased 0.1% in January. As the contraction in demand and savings deposits exceeded the expansion in time deposits, Hong Kong-dollar deposits went down by 0.3% in January. Overall foreign-currency deposits edged up 0.4% in January, and renminbi deposits in Hong Kong grew by 3.8% to Rmb893.4 billion at the end of January. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to Rmb492.3 billion in January, compared with Rmb469.6 billion in December 2013. Total loans and advances picked up 3.7% in January. Loans for use in Hong Kong including trade finance expanded by 4.2% from a month ago, and loans for use outside Hong Kong grew 2.6%. As Hong Kong-dollar loans increased while deposits declined, the Hong Kong-dollar loan-to-deposit ratio picked up to 84.4% at the end of January from 82.1% at the end of December 2013. Seasonally adjusted Hong Kong-dollar M1 dropped 1.8% in January but expanded 4.8% year on year. Seasonally unadjusted Hong Kong-dollar M3 picked up 0.4% during the month and grew 2.4% from a year earlier.
In India, Indian stock market closed nears its 5-week high, on the back of solid gains in gains in TCS, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and ONGC. As per provisional closing, the SP BSE Sensex was up 87.68 points or 0.42% to 21,074.67.
Indian marker saw buying pressure largely after BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for this year’s Lok Sabha elections Mr. Narendra Modi’s reformist agenda and promised policy implementation in a speech on Thursday, 27 February 2014, and on dovish remarks from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, 27 February 2014. The market sentiment was also boosted by data showing that foreign funds remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Wednesday, 26 February 2014.
Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, said on Thursday, 27 February 2014, that India’s traders and grocery store owners must learn to compete with large modern stores and online retailers. “We should not worry about the challenges from global trade,” he told a gathering of the Confederation of All India Traders. Rather, he said, small traders should emphasise on quality of their products to compete better and could enter into contracts with big online retailers to create “virtual malls in small shops”. With the general elections fast approaching, Modi also laid out his economic views separately at a conference on the Indian economy on Thursday, 27 February 2014. “Speedy, yet sustainable economic growth that is inclusive of all is the need of the hour,” he told a crowd of businessmen, bankers, economists and diplomats. As India is vast, he said there are no tailor-made solutions for the problems of the entire country. “The government must identify the strengths of each state and devise strategies accordingly,” he said. Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, said he also favoured introducing a nationwide goods and services tax (GST), a long-pending reform expected to bring a uniform market, reduce costs of businesses and increase government revenue. Modi answered only two questions from members of the audience, one of which was related to energy security. He said he preferred using the country’s own natural resources such as solar energy and wind energy to energy imports.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, New Zealand’s NZX50 added 0.5%. South Korea’s KOSPI index added 0.1%. Taiwan’s Taiex index grew 0.45%. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index added 1.1%. Malaysia’s KLSE Composite rose 0.2%. Singapore’s Straits Times index jumped 0.38%.
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Taxi drivers on strike stand near the Eiffel tower as they protest in Paris February 10, 2014. — Reuters picLONDON, Feb 26 — During 2013, two of Europe’s most popular vacation destinations—Paris and London—ended up near the bottom of Trivago’s Reputation Ranking, which lists the world’s top destination cities according to average hotel ratings.
Paris ranked slightly above London this year, but neither city is exactly in a position to boast. In this list of the top 100 international destinations according to hotel ratings, the French and British capitals were in 92nd and 96th place respectively.
Paris and London were outranked by a number of rival European destinations, including Prague (18th), Vienna (23rd), and Berlin (24th).
To maximize their chances of having a satisfying hotel experience, according to the aggregate ratings from Trivago users, travelers should head to Sorrento, Italy; Dresden, Germany; or Gdansk, Poland, which placed in the top three spots.
At the end of the ranking, behind London, are Singapore (97th) and the Indonesian cities of Bandung (98th) and Jakarta (99th).
Manila, in the Philippines, is in the very last place.
To make it into the Trivago Reputation Ranking, cities must have a minimum of 130 hotels and at least 60 ratings on Trivago for each hotel.
Over 82 million traveler ratings went into the calculation of the ranking. — AFP
Related Article
SINGAPORE: The global tourism landscape is becoming more competitive, and as tourists change their tastes, attractions age and rival destinations step up their game, Singapore has to be more imaginative about drawing visitors to its shores, refreshing its attractions and giving tourists an unforgettable experience.
This was the advice offered by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday at the official opening of River Safari, Singapore’s river-themed wildlife park.
The S$160-million River Safari is home to 6,000 animals, including Singapore’s own pair of giant pandas.
For Singaporeans, it is also a place where families can unwind, and where different cultures can meet.
Mr Lee said it offers things to do and see for all ages, and is an example of how Singapore is becoming “a better home” for families.
He added these characteristics also make the country an attractive destination, and is an example of how Singapore can stay ahead in the competitive tourism sector.
He said: “This year marks 50 years of tourism promotion and development in Singapore, in that time the tourism landscape has completely changed. Consumers’ tastes will change, facilities and attractions will age and competitors, other destinations are stepping up their game.
“Therefore, we have to complement our hardware with good software, imaginative projects, which will create unforgettable experiences and make you want to come back for more visits.”
Mr Lee also pointed out that the tourism sector remains what he calls a “high-touch” industry.
This means that technology can help overcome manpower constraints in the industry, but will never fully replace the warmth of people-to-people interaction.
He added that the government is studying how to do more to equip workers with the skills, knowledge and courtesies to do well in the sector.
Meanwhile, there have been concerns of productivity of another kind at the River Safari, as the wait for a baby panda from resident pair Kai Kai and Jia Jia continues.
Claire Chiang, chairman of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: “We are hoping for good news, maybe in the next two years… nature has to take its course and through close observation, and learning from other experts, we will find ways of promoting that connectivity.”
The River Safari has attracted more than 1.1 million visitors since its soft launch in April last year.
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Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam presented Budget 2014 in Parliament on Feb 21 unveiling a number of economic and social measures. The objective is to provide more support for raising business productivity, enhancing social equity and achieving quality growth.
The Productivity and Innovation credit scheme which was due to expire in Year of Assessment 2015 has been extended for another three years until Year of Assessment 2018. In addition, an enhanced version of the scheme called the Productivity and Innovation Credit Plus scheme was introduced for the benefit of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
An SME has been defined as an entity with a turnover of not more than $100 million or having not more than 200 employees.
Such SMEs can now claim 400 per cent tax deduction or allowances in respect of expenses incurred on qualifying activities up to a limit of $600,000 per qualifying activity a year (instead of the $400,000 limit under the current PIC scheme).
On the social side, to honour 450,000 Singaporeans belonging to the Pioneer Generation (those who were at least 16 years old in 1965 and who became citizens on or before Dec 31, 1986), the Finance Minister will set aside an $8 billion fund to meet their healthcare needs for the rest of their lives.
The fund will be used for subsidising their outpatient care, Medisave top-ups and also subsidising their Medishield life premiums.
Mr Tharman acknowledged the contribution of this generation in developing Singapore and hoped that this Pioneer Generation package would go towards creating a fair and equitable society, particularly since many in this generation have now retired, or because they would no longer have access to a regular income, but are surely affected by increased living and medical costs in Singapore.
The following are some of the other major highlights of Singapore Budget 2014:
lInterest and royalty payments to Singapore branches of non-resident companies are currently subject to withholding tax unless the branch had applied for and received a waiver from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
To reduce compliance costs, the Finance Minister proposed to exempt such payments from withholding tax with effect from Feb 21 .
This is a welcome move towards simplification of the tax collection process as Singapore branches of non-resident companies are in any case, required to file tax returns in Singapore and pay taxes.
- SMEs which invest in scaling up their information and communications technology solutions whose adoption has proven to help raise productivity will receive a 70 per cent subsidy for the amounts invested.
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) will pre-qualify vendors and their solutions and reimburse the vendors directly.
- To encourage SMEs to pilot emerging technology solutions that can transform businesses through innovation or automation, 80 per cent of the project costs will be subsidised up to $1 million for each SME. Vendors will be required to submit their proposals to IDA which will reimburse vendors directly based on agreed milestones.
- To encourage SMEs to access high speed connectivity, certain one-time costs and 50 per cent of the monthly recurring costs of fibre subscription plans will be subsidised (subject to caps).
In addition, commercial buildings are encouraged to upgrade their infrastructure such that they are wired up and tenants can have access to high speed connectivity. IDA is proposing to subsidise up to 80 per cent of the costs of one-time infrastructure enhancements up to $200,000 per qualifying building.
- Employers’ contribution to the Medisave account of CPF has been increased by 1 per cent. In addition, CPF rates for those aged 50 and above have also been marginally increased.
The increase in employer contributions will be allocated to the Special Account and the increase in employee contributions will be allocated to the Ordinary Account.
- The dependant parent relief has been increased for taxpayers who are living with as well as those who are not living with their dependant parents/grandparents (including in-laws).
Dependant relief has also been increased for handicapped siblings, spouse or children. It will now be possible to share the dependant relief among taxpayers.
- Excise duties on cigarettes and manufactured tobacco have been increased by 10 per cent.
- Excise duty on liquor has been increased by 25 per cent.
- Betting duty rates have been increased from 25 to 30 per cent.
All in all, based on the Finance Minister’s analysis, Budget 2014 is expected to result in a deficit of $1.16 billion unless the consumption of liquor continues to rise and the property market remains hot and beats market expectations!
SINGAPORE: Hotel room rates in Singapore are expected to remain under pressure in 2014 after falling by 8 per cent year-on-year in 2013.
But analysts also said that some new events in the pipeline may provide support and even help push room rates a little higher.
The events include the crown jewel event of women’s tennis — the WTA Championships — the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, and business conferences.
For some industry observers, this strong pipeline of events is a boost for hotels in Singapore, which suffered an 8 per cent drop in room rates last year.
Derek Tan, equity research analyst at DBS Vickers, said: “The market is stabilising. We are expecting to see good growth from the corporate market this year, and corporate travellers tend to pay a bit more (in terms of) rates on an effective basis.
“From that perspective, we will see — because of a larger mix of corporate travel for this year — the average rate for the industry should see a marginal uplift.”
The average room rate for a mid-tier to upscale hotel in Singapore is around S$220.
DBS Vickers said overall, room rates could increase by 3 to 5 per cent this year.
However, recent tourist arrival numbers paint a less rosy picture.
In 2013, tourist arrivals grew by only 6.9 per cent, down from 10.1 per cent the previous year.
But the slow tourism growth rate is not the biggest worry for hoteliers in Singapore. They are more concerned with the new number of hotel rooms coming up, and that the supply of hotel rooms will continue to outstrip demand.
The number of hotel rooms in Singapore is expected to climb by 17 per cent over the next three years.
According to consultancy CBRE, tourist arrivals will have to increase by 8 per cent this year in order to keep pace with supply.
CBRE said that is going to be difficult to achieve.
Robert McIntosh, executive director at CBRE Hotels, said: “The challenge is now, really, dealing with the additional supply, and dealing with the operating costs of hotels, which have been going up quite dramatically.
“So the profitability, in some segments, has been declining. But that has to be offset by the fact that investors have achieved great results in terms of capital values, where the price in hotels has gone up a great deal. So… those who actually own real estate assets have done very well recently.”
Almost 3,000 new hotel rooms will be completed this year.
Three hotels — Hotel Grand Central, Holiday Inn Express in Clarke Quay, and Traders Orchardgateway Hotel — will account for the bulk of the rooms.
This is expected to bring the total number of hotel rooms in Singapore to 60,000 by 2016.
27 February 2014
Last updated at 16:52 ET
Nurhaida, 29, who is unemployed with six children in Singapore, says it is difficult to make ends meet
Nurhaida Binte Jantan is making dinner. She is roasting otah-otah, a Malay dish of fish paste wrapped in banana leaves, over a portable stove.
She is a 29-year-old unemployed single mother with six children from five to 13 years old. She lives in a tiny flat, just 30 square metres, with little furnishing.
There is no dining table, so the children eat their otah-otah with rice and chillies crouched on the floor.
The children share the single bedroom – their only bedding is mattresses and thick blankets. Nurhaida sleeps on the sofa in the living room.
She receives weekly groceries from charities, as well as about S$600 ($474, £262) a month in government aid and money from a boyfriend. But she admits that it is difficult to make ends meet. She has not been able to afford asthma medicine for her second daughter for months.
“No one can afford to get sick in this house because our finances are too tight. It’s quite tough and a struggle for me to be raising them up,” she said.
“I have to look after this house 24/7… so for me if I were to find a job, it would have to be a night job, so that once they are in bed, I can go out and the older kids can watch the young ones.”
What is surprising about Nurhaida’s story is that she lives in Singapore, one of the wealthiest countries in the world. But it is also one of the most costly.
Singapore recently ranked as the world’s sixth most expensive city according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, and its property market is among the top 10, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The city-state’s efficient infrastructure, relative safety and low taxes have attracted many of the world’s wealthy. It now boasts more millionaires per capita than any other country.
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Watch: Singapore has a hidden poverty problem, as Sharanjit Leyl reports.
Its gross domestic output per individual is among the highest too, at over $51,000 (£30,600), outranking that of developed economies like Germany and even the US in some measures. But the wealth gap is the second-widest among advanced economies in Asia, next to Hong Kong.
So it comes as no surprise that the less well-off would struggle to pay for daily necessities. There is no minimum wage or poverty line set and no welfare provision along the lines of many developed Western economies.
It has become such a problem that anti-poverty campaigners are now posing a challenge – can you make ends meet on S$5 dollars a day?
‘Change the narrative’
According to the campaigners, S$5 a day is what nearly 400,000 Singaporeans are left with after paying for utilities, school, rent, loan instalments and healthcare.
The people behind the challenge are Caritas Singapore, the social and community arm of the Catholic Church. They wanted to change the opinions of Singaporeans about the poor, said Tang Lay Lee, an advocate and social worker from the group.
Singapore’s People’s Action Party has been in power for more than half a century
“Mindsets will not change just with facts and figures about poverty. We want people to feel what it is like to be in the shoes of a person getting by on S$5 a day for food and transport,” she said.
The issue has been raised in parliament by Nominated MP Laurence Lien.
“Social researchers have estimated that 10 to 15% of households are low income. We do not see poverty in your face; it’s not abject poverty around here,” he said.
“And that’s why it’s hard to understand, if you look at the infrastructure, it’s beautiful but what happens behind closed doors is a different matter for most families.”
Mr Lien said that despite government efforts, the problem had got worse in the past decade because of globalisation and the influx of lower-cost foreign workers who have suppressed the wages of many blue-collar Singaporeans. It is meant that the income of the poorest 20% of Singaporeans had stagnated, he said.
But Mr Lien said that national identity was also a contributory factor.
Mr Lien said the influx of foreign workers on lower wages have affected wages of blue-collar workers
“This society has been founded on the basis of meritocracy… if you have been successful, it’s because of your own efforts, if you’re not, it’s your fault,” he said.
“But we need to change that narrative because people have got different opportunities and different conditions that could impede their ability to move out of that poverty trap.”
Welfare ‘crutch’
The budget announced by Singapore’s Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam last week aims to address some of these problems.
The stated aim of the budget, which will push the government into deficit this year and next, is to achieve a “fair and equitable society”.
To do this, the government is offering kindergarten fee assistance to more households to help families like Nurhaida’s, as well as transport subsidies to those with disabilities. But the lion’s share of spending will go to the older generation.
Singapore is spending the equivalent of $7bn on lifelong healthcare subsidies for elderly citizens. Some 450,000 aged 65 and above will get medical benefits ranging from specialist care to medical insurance.
Nurhaida’s children eat their meals crouched on the floor of their tiny flat
The city-state has one of the fastest ageing populations due to the low birth rate, and many of the elderly, dubbed the “pioneer generation”, are credited with the work that built today’s modern, wealthy Singapore.
But despite the wealth, there is increasing discontent. The ruling People’s Action Party, which has held power for more than half a century, suffered its worst election result in 2011. It has since lost two more by-elections, and some analysts say that they are now seeking to placate a more demanding electorate.
Financially, Singapore can afford a welfare state for those in need, said Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University who comments widely about local politics. But politically, welfare is unpopular, he said.
“It is seen as a path to economic irrelevance because it undermines the dignity of work in a society that abhors and just doesn’t do welfare,” he said.
“It’s an abiding fear of becoming enervated by a poor work ethos where welfare becomes a crutch.”
But he admits that Singapore has become more welfare-oriented than ever before, even if that welfare is strictly controlled.
“It’s a social welfare state in-the-making, where the tight-fisted approach is now recognised to take away from nation building.”
But whether Singapore ever goes the way of many other developed economies by providing more welfare for families like Nurhaida’s would be “a tightrope walk”, he said.
SINGAPORE — The Republic’s proposed laws to deal with producers that contribute to transboundary haze could help reduce tensions with Indonesia and spur on-the-ground enforcement in Riau and other areas prone to forest and plantation fires, said environmental law experts yesterday.
The proposed laws, which include fining companies up to S$300,000 for activities outside Singapore that result in unhealthy levels of haze over the island, would neutralise the argument by Indonesia that some culprits are linked to Singapore and Malaysia, they said. The Indonesian authorities may step up enforcement to avoid a situation where a company operating in Riau, for instance, is prosecuted in Singapore, but “free like a bird” in Indonesia, said Dr Laode M Syarif of Hasanuddin University’s law faculty in Makassar, Indonesia.
Singapore’s proposed laws show an affected neighbouring state’s determination to pursue unilateral and extra-territorial measures to deter companies from burning, said National University of Singapore (NUS) Law Professor Alan Tan Khee-Jin. It may appear the “antithesis” of cooperation on a bilateral or regional level, but both types of efforts must go hand in hand, he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on transboundary pollution organised by the NUS Centre for International Law.
Indeed, cooperation from the Indonesian authorities is necessary for Singapore’s proposed laws to be effective, said Dr Syarif, who is also Senior Adviser on justice and environmental governance at the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia.
He was not optimistic that Indonesia, with parliamentary and presidential elections in April and July, respectively, would ratify the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution under the current administration.
Despite the agreement’s limitations and current lack of support from member states — the US$500,000 (S$633,000) pledged to the transboundary haze pollution control fund is “a joke compared to the issue of forest fires”, said Dr Syarif — experts agreed that ratification by Indonesia would lead to progress in areas including monitoring. It would pave the way for an ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control to be set up in Indonesia, for instance.
Despite challenges in curbing burning and protecting its own people from the haze, Dr Syarif said Indonesia has made progress in other areas. The Indonesian Supreme Court is certifying some judges to create a “green bench” to hear cases relating to the environment. The One Map initiative to create a centralised database for geospatial information is completed for nine provinces, including Riau and Jambi, and could be finished by next year.
When it comes to principles governing transboundary pollution, Professor Catherine Redgwell of Oxford University noted that marine and nuclear pollution standards and liability are among the most developed, while air pollution and protection of the atmosphere are not as well-regulated by treaty. International law requires that states prevent significant transboundary harm by exercising reasonable due diligence — how the latter is assessed is flexible and context-specific, she said.
Prof Tan said it is unlikely the region’s transboundary haze problem could be resolved through international litigation because parties have to consent to the case being brought to the International Court of Justice or any other tribunal.
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The 2013 Kuoni Fellowship Awards were presented recently at the Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai to honour the achievers of Kuoni India. The Kuoni Fellowship Awards (KFA) was instituted to recognise excellence in the manner in which Kuoni India customers and its employees were looked after; excellence in an employee’s approach towards self-development; thinking out-of-the-box and as well as looking at the work we do like intrapreneurs; supporting our business internally via various functions and moving forward together as a team.
90 achievers were felicitated and the winners took home trophies to commemorate the fun filled evening. The event was attended by more than 400 Kuoni employees across the Tour Operating, Business Travel and Head office and also included esteemed members of Tourism Boards, and other strategic partners of both divisions, bankers, consultants and auditors.
Distinguished personalities sucha as Anjali Mohanty, Managing Director, Head of TFCMC GTB – India, Deutsche Bank, Kanika Choudhary, Hon. Ambassador Special Envoy, Common Wealth of Pennsylvania, Bridget Goh, Area Director- South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board, Stephan Heuberger, Director, Switzerland Tourism and Bhavesh Dhupelia, Senior Partner, KPMG presented the award to the winners.
“Striving for excellence has always been an important part of the professionalism seen at Kuoni India. For recognizing excellence in our achievers Kuoni India celebrates the Kuoni Fellowship Awards (KFA) which recognizes and rewards Performance, Commitment Capability across divisions through excellence.” said Rajeev Wagle, MD Kuoni India
