Singapore Economy Shrank 2.1% in 2009

Bloomberg.com, 31 Dec 2009
Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s economy is improving after a “volatile” year that saw it shrink for the first time since 2001, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
Gross domestic product fell 2.1 percent this year, Lee, 57, said in his New Year message today. That’s in line with the government estimate for a contraction of 2 percent to 2.5 percent. The trade ministry forecasts the economy will expand 3 percent to 5 percent in 2010, an estimate reiterated by Lee.
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Related:
Singapore economy grew 3.5% on-yr in 4Q, PM says - Theedgemalaysia.com
Singapore premier expects 3- to 5-per-cent economic growth in 2010 - Earth Times
Singapore Says Its Economy Is Set to Grow This Year - The New York Times
Singapore's Economy Expected to Grow by 3-5% Next Year - TopNews Singapore

Singapore’s Economy Probably Shrank, Cooling Pace of Recovery

Bloomberg.com, 31 Dec 2009
Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s economy probably shrank this quarter after six months of growth as weaker manufacturing output cooled the island’s recovery from the global recession.
Gross domestic product contracted an annualized 2.1 percent from the previous three months, after climbing 14.2 percent from July to September, according to the median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The trade ministry will release the data at 8 a.m. on Jan. 4.
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Related:
PREVIEW: Singapore GDP seen falling 0.8 pct in Q4 - Interactive Investor

Trade Battles Threaten Growth Rebound in 2010: Lee Hsien Loong

Bloomberg.com, 30 Dec 2009
Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The year 2009 has turned out better than feared. Decisive responses by governments, and the coordinated efforts of the Group of 20, succeeded in averting financial disaster and restoring confidence.
While the worst is behind us, global prospects will depend on governments drawing the right lessons from the crisis, and taking effective and coordinated steps to address deeper, more difficult problems.
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Singapore’s GIC mulls change to how it defines global inflation

The Malaysian Insider, 31 Dec 2009
INGAPORE, Dec 31 — The government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is mulling over whether to include the inflation rates of countries such as China in its benchmark for target returns on investments, according to a recent interview published in the CommonWealth Magazine.
During the interview, Tony Tan, deputy chairman and executive director of GIC, said: “We’re thinking about this”, in response to a question on whether the time had come to include China’s inflation rate in the calculation of the benchmark.
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Related:
GIC may include China inflation in return target - Reuters

AirAsia-Jetstar tie-up is on

Thestar.com.my, 31 Dec 2009
PETALING JAYA: The proposed partnership between AirAsia Bhd and Jetstar is nearing fruition after a year of talks and the deal will be announced in the first week of January.
A media conference has been scheduled for Jan 6 in Sydney where both parties and Qantas will announce the details of a strategic agreement and how these parties will work “innovatively together’’ so as to drive greater cost efficiencies across AirAsia and Jetstar.
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OPINION: Facebook Rally: Vote The PAP Out? - Willis Wee

Penn Olson, 30 Dec 2009
The People’s Action Party (PAP) is the leading political party in Singapore. Despite holding a majority of seats in the Parliament of Singapore, the PAP has been criticized for limiting free speech amongst other issues. These criticisms have been flicked off many times by the PAP, and many disgruntled users have started voicing their opinions on a Facebook page, titled “Vote The PAP Out“. Just a week since its launch date, the page has gathered more than a thousand fans.
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OPINION: Why buy Playboy if you can look at porn on the internet... and other Lee Kuan Yew gems - Ben Bland

Asian Correspondent, 30 Dec 2009
To quote Singapore's founding father and current Minister Mentor in full:
"Why do you want buy Playboy now if you can go into the internet? You get more than what you get in Playboy, that's that," Lee refuses to say whether or not he has ever partaken of the joys of such computer-based stimulation.
These comments didn't end up in the Nat Geo story, so how do we know that Lee said this? Thanks to the assiduous efforts of the Singapore government's media handlers of course.
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Singapore IT market: government has budgeted S$1.7bn in ICT spending

Live-PR.com, 30 Dec 2009
The total size of the Singapore IT market is expected by BMI to increase from a projected US$5.0bn in 2009 to around US$6.6bn in 2013 as government information and communication technologies (ICT) spending helps to compensate for deferred consumer and enterprise IT spending. The IT market is projected to remain in positive territory in 2009, but growth will be less than in last year.
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Dexus stake in Westfield Whitford sold to affiliate of Singapore's GIC

The Australian, 30 Dec 2009
DEXUS Property Group today said it has sold its half-stake in the Westfield Whitford shopping centre in Western Australia to an affiliate of Singapore's GIC Real Estate for $256.5 million.
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Related:
Dexus Property Group (ASX:DXS) sells 50% interest in Whitford City shopping centre - Finance News Network
Dexus sell stake in WA Westfield - BigPond News

Singapore still world's busiest container port

PortWorld News, 30 Dec 2009
Despite upheaval in the global economy and significantly reduced container throughput especially at the world's top ports, Singapore is still the world's busiest container port ahead of Shanghai, judging by statistics from both port authorities.
According to statistics from the Shanghai International Port Group, container throughput at Shanghai for this year up till November has been 22.6 million TEUs.
Singapore however, handled more over the first 11 months of this year with throughput of 23.6 million TEUs, data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) shows.
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OPINION: Was it another confession? - Chua Chin Leng

Asian Correspondent, 30 Dec 2009
Mah Bow Tan said "he was 'caught off guard' by how the HDB resale market trended north in a recession year" during an interview with Mediacorp as reported in the Today paper. He added, "nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would have been able to predict that this was what was going to happen."
Should the people demand and expect the super talents, the best paid administrators and policy makers to say 'I don't know, I didn't see it coming?'
But one thing the minister knows for sure, the prices will keep going up. And that is because 'the current system is far superior to one that keeps housing cheap through a non market based system.' How did he know? Ah, it is the govt's policy, the way the system is set up and administered, that will dictate that prices must go up and not come down. No need to be prescient or clever to know this.
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Related:
An admission, a confession and a mistake - Asian Correspondent

OPINION: National Geographic interviews a dinosaur - Ben Bland

Asian Correspondent, 27 Dec 2009
The interview with Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew in the January edition of National Geographic is a pretty soft piece of journalism that takes a few perfunctory swipes at the Lee Kuan Yew/Singapore Story while buying into its key myths in a rather unquestioning fashion.
For example, the author of the piece, Mark Jacobson, states that few living leaders have "dominated their homeland's national narrative the way Lee Kuan Yew has". That's true but partly down to the fact that LKY and his supporters have controlled the historical narrative in Singapore using the education system and restrictions on free speech, in much the same way as Suharto did in Indonesia (more of which in an upcoming post).
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Temasek spurns joint-bid invite

Thestar.com.my, 30 Dec 2009
PETALING JAYA: Primus Pacific Partners Ltd, the major shareholder at the centrestage of a buyout tussle for EON Capital Bhd (EON Cap), is said to have made a last minute attempt to mount a counter bid to Hong Leong Bank Bhd’s proposed takeover of EON Cap.
However, sources indicated that Primus’ invitation to Temasek Holdings Ltd, which is the Singapore government’s investment arm, was not likely to materialise as Temasek had declined the offer for a joint bid.
Apparently, Temasek had balked at the idea as there was not enough time to do due diligence. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, it may not be aggressively looking for banks to buy after being burnt in its investments in US banks.
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Temasek is bullish on India's telecom, infrastructure

Business Standard, 30 Dec 2009
Singapore’s Temasek, which is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, manages $6.4 billion assets under in its South Asia portfolio. A majority of these investments are India-centric. The fund has invested in top Indian companies such as ICICI Bank and Tata Sky. The Singapore-based entity’s Senior Managing Director and Head for India, Manish Kejriwal, gives his outlook for 2010.
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LKY: More than 30 years for China to be a superpower

The Malaysian Insider, 30 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, Dec 30 — Just over 30 years have gone by since China first adopted an open-door policy on its way to soon becoming the world's second largest economy, but it will take a much longer time for the country to rise to the status of a world superpower.
Making this point was Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who said that it would take more than another 30 years to “train and educate a whole generation” in a wide spectrum of specialties.
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Wanted: More help for Malay pupils in Singapore — Zakir Hussain

The Malaysian Insider, 30 Dec 2009
DEC 30 — Forty years ago, six-year-old Zuraidah Abdullah came home from school with her mid-year exam result for mathematics inked in red in her report book: 20 marks out of 100.
Fortunately, her mother, who juggled various jobs to help top up her bus driver husband's income, knew where to get help even though she had not been to school.
She asked around for someone who could do maths, and found an older student in their Ulu Pandan kampung to help her daughter.
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Romanian diplomat suspected in Singapore hit-and-run accident

Monsters and Critics, 30 Dec 2009
Singapore - Romania's highest diplomatic representative to Singapore is not being ruled out as a suspect in a car accident that left one dead and two others injured a fortnight ago, according to a local news report Wednesday.
Dr Silviu Ionescu, charge d'affaires of the Romanian embassy, has gone back to Romania, as he was reportedly suffering from diabetes.
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Related:
Romanian Diplomat Suspect in Singapore Hit-and-Run, Times Says - Bloomberg.com

Singapore reaffirms bilingual policy

People's Daily Online, 29 Dec 2009
Singapore's Education Minister Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday reaffirmed Singapore's bilingual policy which remains relevant for economic and cultural reasons.
He said that it is necessary to make appropriate adjustment to respond to changing language environment, with nearly 6 in 10 Chinese students today coming from household where English is the dominant home language, compared to 1 in 10 in 1982.
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Related:
Singapore reaffirms bilingual policy - Xinhua

Keppel to develop waterfront township in Shenyang, China

Asia-report.com, 29 Dec 2009
Singapore developer, Keppel Land, is developing a waterfront township in Shenyang, China, targeting the upper-middle market.
The site is located in the Hunnan New District outside the Second Ring Road and is a 20-minute drive from the city centre.
It was acquired by Keppel Land´s wholly-owned subsidiary, Da Di Investment Ptd Ltd for S$180 million and occupies an area of 30.3 ha.
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Singapore Credit Card Fraudsters Target Small American e-tailers and exporters

Tampa Bay Biz Journal, 28 Dec 2009
Small American e-tailers and exporters are primary targets for Singapore credit card schemes. Singapore is used as the purported ordering point and shipping destination.
Orders are placed via telephone or the Internet, and the supposed buyer may split the order cost between several cards or makes several attempts with various credit card numbers to complete the transaction. Immediate air shipment is requested to Singapore. The business then receives a charge back from the credit card company when the card is reported stolen.
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India To Let Singapore Technologies Join Howitzer Trials

DefenseNews, 28 Dec 2009
NEW DELHI - The Indian government has allowed the Army to invite formerly banned Singapore Technologies to participate in trials to purchase 155mm/52 caliber towed artillery guns.
The company had been banned, along with six other defense companies, in June 2009 in connection with alleged corruption charges. However, the government's move now will allow trials to be held within a month, said a senior Indian Army official.
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Singapore reports low demand of H1N1 vaccines for children

People's Daily Online, 29 Dec 2009
Singapore's polyclinics and private clinics are seeing a low demand for the H1N1 vaccines for children, with an average of only two requests per day, local media reported on Monday.
Local polyclinics said the low demand for the vaccines could be due to many families flying overseas for their vacations and they're expecting more children to come forward for their vaccinations after the school term starts.
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Somali pirates free Singapore-flagged ship

BBC News, 28 Dec 2009
Somali pirates have released a Singapore-flagged container ship that had been held for nearly 10 weeks, an EU naval force in the area says.
It said the Kota Wajar, which had 21 crew members, was freed off the Somali pirate stronghold of Haradere.
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Related:
Pirates free Singapore-flagged ship: EU - The Sydney Morning Herald

Singapore – hotbed of terrorists & arms traffickers II

Johnharding.com, 27 Dec 2009

1. Singaporean Balldev Naidu has been extradited to the U.S.- On Friday, December 18th, 2009, Balldev Naidu was extradited to the U.S. to face terrorism charges. God Bless America! It is about time that at least some of Singapore’s alleged arms traffickers be brought to justice.
2. Singapore’s arms traffickers - Laura Wang-Woodford was arrested on December 23, 2007, at the San Francisco International Airport after arriving on a flight from Hong Kong. She and her husband, Brian D. Woodford, also a Singapore Permanent Resident, and chairman of Monarch, were charged in a 20-count indictment on January 15, 2003.
3. How Singapore arms traffickers operate - The arms trade passing through Singapore is made possible by the issuance of false Singapore End-User Certificates.

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Singapore To Extend Business Loan Schemes By A Year To 2011

Nasdaq
SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- The Singapore government said Monday that it will extend the financial support programs for local companies by a year to 2011 to maintain continuity to sustain the nation's nascent economic recovery.
The government expects to support up to S$8.4 billion in new loans from February 2010 to end-January 2011. But it also noted that the global economic outlook no longer poses a grave risk to the domestic economy.
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Related:
Singapore extends financing schemes for small businesses - People's Daily Online
Singapore extends financing schemes for small businesses - Xinhua
Singapore Govt. Extends Financing Schemes For 1 Year - RTTNews
Singapore Continues Government Financing Schemes For One Year - the Gov Monitor
Singapore to extend S$8.4bil in new loans - Thestar.com.my

Singapore tourist numbers climb

AFP
SINGAPORE — The number of tourists visiting Singapore rose in November at its fastest rate this year, the government said Monday.
The city-state welcomed 830,000 foreign visitors during the month, up 8.4 percent on the same period last year, the country's tourism board said in a statement.
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Related:
Singapore Records Highest Growth Of Visitors In November - Bernama.com
Singapore has highest visitor arrivals growth in November - The Malaysian Insider
Singapore tourist arrivals increase - Earth Times
Singapore tourist numbers climb - MSN Philippines News

Singapore to register newborns' race

People's Daily Online, 28 Dec 2009
Race of newborns will be required by Singapore during birth registration from early next year, local media reported on Monday.
According to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), this offers parents of mixed race marriages the flexibility and choice to decide and declare their child's race upon birth.
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Related:
Singapore: Child’s race for parents to choose - The Malaysian Insider
SINGAPORE TO REGISTER NEWBORNS’ RACE - Brunei fm World

Lee ’s remarks draw widespread criticism from Citizens

TopNews Singapore, 25 Dec 2009
The alleged callous remarks by Singapore's octogenarian leader Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew din have not gone down well with netizens who termed his views very disgusting and very uncalled for.
nteracting with journalist Mark Jacobson during a recent interview with the National Geographic magazine, MM Lee had expressed that he was fully aware of the displeasure of locals over huge influx of migrants who mitigated their chances to bag high paying opportunities.
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Getting Singapore youth to be China-savvy

The Malaysian Insider, 27 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, Dec 27 — Next month, 120 Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduates will leave for China to work as interns and to study at top universities there.
At last Monday’s half-day workshop at NTU organised to prepare them for their trips, they were also given general profiles of the four cities, including special traits of the people there and the different languages or dialects they speak.
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Singapore ramps up security at check points

The Malaysian Insider, 27 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, Dec 27 — It looks like an ordinary trash bin, but it can withstand blasts from up to 6.8kg of explosives planted inside.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) bought 15 of these blast-resistant trash bins last month for the Woodlands checkpoint as a security measure against terrorists, while still providing people with the convenience of having somewhere to throw their rubbish.
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Singapore opposition party member extradited to US: report

AFP
SINGAPORE — A Singapore opposition party member has been extradited to the United States where he stands accused of trying to supply arms to Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, according to a report Friday.
Balldev Naidu, 47, a businessman and co-founder of the Reform Party, was extradited on December 18, the Straits Times newspaper said quoting the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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Related:
Singapore extradites man to US to face terrorism charges - Earth Times
Singaporean extradited to US over arms sales - Radio Australia News
Singapore Extradites Terror Suspect To US - India-server.com

Singapore continues to see low birth rate

Xinhua, 25 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore registered 32,630 new-born babies in the first 10 months of this year, local media reported on Friday.
"A lot of family planning decision is being made based on the economy, like whether a person can keep their job, maintain their job. Their salary over the couple of years would be a main determinant," Chang Yau Hoon, from the School of Social Sciences at the Singapore Management University, was quoted as saying.
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MM Lee: Singaporeans have become "less hard-driving and hard-striving."

National Geographic Magazine, Jan 2010
Over time, the MM says, Singaporeans have become "less hard-driving and hard-striving." This is why it is a good thing, the MM says, that the nation has welcomed so many Chinese immigrants (25 percent of the population is now foreign-born). He is aware that many Singaporeans are unhappy with the influx of immigrants, especially those educated newcomers prepared to fight for higher paying jobs. But taking a typically Darwinian stance, the MM describes the country's new subjects as "hungry," with parents who "pushed the children very hard." If native Singaporeans are falling behind because "the spurs are not stuck into the hide," that is their problem.
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Singapore manufacturing falls most in 8 months

eTaiwan News, 24 Dec 2009
Singapore's manufacturing fell the most in eight months in November as output of pharmaceuticals plunged by more than half.
Industrial production dropped 8.2 percent from a year earlier following a 3.2 percent increase in October, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Full Story

Related:
Singapore's Industrial Output Declines In November - RTTNews
Singapore’s Production Falls as Pharmaceutical Output Falters - Bloomberg.com
Singapore's Industrial Output Declines In November - INO.com
Pharmaceuticals drag down Singapore output - Malaysian Mirror

Unscrupulous advisers hit Singapore's CPF investors

Monsters and Critics, 24 Dec 2009
Singapore - Unscrupulous financial advisers, some of whom are teaming with loan sharks, are manipulating investments of low-income Singaporeans using savings from their mandatory retirement funds, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The advisers have their low-income investors sign blank authorization forms so the advisers can make investments on their behalf. The forms are then used to liquidate positions in CPF investments as often as twice a month to generate business or churn out deals.
Full Story

GIC invests in commodities giant Glencore

The Malaysian Insider, 24 Dec 2009
LONDON, Dec 24 — Glencore, the secretive Swiss commodities trader, took a step towards a public listing valuing it at more than US$35 billion (RM120.26 billion), as investors bought bonds that could give them a near 6 per cent stake.
Capping months of rumours, Glencore said yesterday that it had sold convertible bonds to a group of investors, including energy-focused private equity firm First Reserve.
Other buyers include Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), United States fund manager BlackRock and Zijin Mining Group, China’s largest listed gold company.
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Related:
Glencore opens up equity capital to outsiders - Financial Times
Glencore bond issue clears way for £21bn London float - The Independent
Glencore IPO closer after £2bn fund-raising - Telegraph.co.uk
$2.2 Billion Worth of Convertible Bonds Sold by Glencore - TopNews United States
Going public could provide a rich seam of opportunity for Glencore - Telegraph.co.uk
Glencore’s top staff could net $250m each after hint of IPO - Times Online

Maersk Moves Ship Management Headquarters to Singapore

ScandAsia.com, 24 Dec 2009
From New Year the entire Maersk Ship Management headquarters will be located in Singapore. This has meant a farewell to 80 people at the oil and shipping giant’s headquarters in Copenhagen.
Director of the Company A.P. Moller - Maersk in Singapore Bjarne Foldager says according to Danish business news Borsen: "It's been an ongoing process where around 80 jobs have been moved from Esplanaden in Copenhagen to Singapore.
Full Story

Singapore experiments with energy saving home for the tropics

Earth Times, 24 Dec 2009
Singapore - From outside Singapore's Zero Energy Home it looks like the garden has been extended onto the building's facade. A thick layer of small green plants cover the houses' walls, held there by wire mesh. This is not a home for a wood goblin but Singapore's first home that attempts to produce at least as much energy as it consumes. The south-east Asian city is trying anything the energy saving market has for tropical countries plus a few ideas it has come up with itself.
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PSA continues to damage berth at Karachi's Gwadar Port

The Nation, 23 Dec 2009
KARACHI – Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) has been pressing down the already damaged Roll on Roll off (RORO) Berth at Gwadar Port with the help of weights/sinkers and posing serious danger to concrete slabs, pillars, and its associated work etc., TheNation has learnt.
It was found that PSA instead of making repairs, even an investigation report, to the damage to RORO berth which bulged up, due to collision by M.V Sheng Ming Hong 7 on 17th August 2009, has been hashing up and not interested to go ahead for investigation and rectification of the damages.
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Indian defense ministry give the go-ahead for 155mm artillery gun trial by ST Kinetics

Thaindian News, 23 Dec 2009
New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) The defence ministry has given the go-ahead for trials of 155mm towed guns in which blacklisted armaments firm Singapore Technologies Kinetics is the sole contender in the fray, an official said Wednesday. However, a deal will be signed only after the probe in the corruption case against the company is over.
Singapore Technologies was one of seven firms the defence ministry blacklisted June 5 after its name cropped up in a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) chief Sudipto Ghosh under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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Singapore laws fail to protect migrant domestic workers

Earth Times, 23 Dec 2009
Singapore - Foreign domestic workers have been coming to Singapore since 1978, when the government authorized their employment in the city-state, but current laws fail to safeguard their rights. They work around the clock as maids in wealthy households, often earning less than 300 Singapore dollars (210 US dollars) a month to support their families back home.
More than 180,000 migrant domestic workers live and work in Singapore, predominantly from the Philippines and Indonesia.
But despite their large numbers and long-term presence in the island-state, even more than 30 years later Singapore laws do not guarantee foreign maids the rights and benefits they deserve, claim advocacy groups.
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Singapore cautious about employment outlook in 2010

BusinessGhana, 22 Dec 2009
Even though Singapore's economy appears to be recovering, the country's Manpower Ministry said it will take some time before its employment situation stabilizes, local media reported on Monday.
Singapore's Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said that recruitment and employment opportunities will typically lag behind economic recovery, according to local TV broadcaster Channel NewsAsia.
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Real estate sales drop dramatically in Singapore following market cooling measures

PropertyWire, 23 Dec 2009
Calming measures aimed at avoiding a real estate bubble in Singapore have had a dramatic effect with residential property sales falling 26% in November to their lowest level since January.
Figures from the Urban Redevelopment Authority shows that there were just 600 transactions recorded in November, the fourth consecutive monthly decline since a peak in sales in July.
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Iran buys 2m barrels diesel from Singapore

PressTV.ir, 23 Dec 2009
Iran has bought about 2 million barrels of gas oil (diesel) from Singapore for December delivery to meet its rising winter heating demand.
Traders told Reuters that Tehran has been buying about 400,000-600,000 barrels of gas oil per month since September.
The Iranian government has been obliged in its annual budget to use gas in its power plants instead of diesel.
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Singapore Spends Billion Dollars On R&D

Bernama.com, 23 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Bernama) - Singapore's spending on research and development (R&D) activities is expected to reach the targeted rate of 3.0 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) next year.
The city-state last year spent a record high of S$7.13 billion on R&D which was 2.77 per cent of its GDP compared with S$6.33 billion in 2007.
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Related:
Singapore's R&D gross expenditure records new high - Xinhua

Czech company to help clean water in Singapore

Prague Monitor, 23 Dec 2009
Liberec, North Bohemia, Dec 22 (CTK) - Czech company Elmarco launched cooperation with the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the development of new nanofiber materials used for cleaning water, Elmarco spokeswoman Eva Kijonkova told CTK yesterday.
The research project wants to solve the problem of lacking drinking water in countries where water resources are contaminated, Kijonkova said.
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Singapore consumer prices fall for eighth month

eTaiwan News, 23 Dec 2009
Singapore's consumer prices fell in November for an eighth month from a year earlier as property values slumped.
The consumer price index fell 0.2 percent in the 12 months through November after a 0.8 percent drop in the 12 months to October, the statistics department said Wednesday. Compared to October, November's CPI rose 0.4 percent.
Full Story

Related:
Singapore's CPI falls 0.2% year-on-year in Nov - Xinhua
Singapore consumer prices fall for eighth month - Forbes.com

Singapore airport sees pick up in traffic

Earth Times, 23 Dec 2009
Singapore - Passenger traffic at Singapore's Changi Airport grew in November by 9.2 per cent year-on-year to 3.36 million passengers, according to a report by Channel News Asia Wednesday. But passenger traffic for the January-November 2009 period was 2.4 per cent lower than a year ago at 33.4 million passengers, it said, citing information from Changi Airport.
Full Story

Related:
Singapore Changi Airport reports healthy +9.2% year-on-year surge in November passenger volumes - The Moodie Report
Changi reports 9.2% growth in November traffic - Flightglobal
Singapore’s Changi handled 9.2pc more passengers in Nov - The Malaysian Insider

13 people warned or fined over e-cigarettes in Singapore

Xinhua, 23 Dec 2009
SINGAPORE, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) evicted 13 people for bringing in and selling the much-hyped e-cigarette, local media reported on Wednesday.
The import and sale of e-cigarettes is illegal here because under anti-smoking laws, anything that resembles a tobacco product cannot be imported, sold, or offered for sale. If convicted, a person can be fined up to 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,496 U.S. dollars).
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Politics set to spoil Southeast Asia's recovery

Asia Times Online, 24 Dec 2009
BANGKOK - After suffering contractions not felt since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Southeast Asian economies are poised to bounce back strongly in 2010. As the region whipsaws between bust and boom, governments will be torn between policies that support recovery and contain emerging asset price bubbles, which are already percolating in areas of Northeast and South Asia.
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Mongolia lures Temasek and other Sovereign Wealth Funds

Eurasia Capital, 21 Dec 2009
Mongolia is becoming an attractive investment destination for Asian and Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) that seek gaining exposure to massive untapped natural resources in this frontier land, strategically located at the doorsteps of China, the world’s largest consumer of commodities
Among SWFs, Temasek was the first to make foray into Mongolia. Last year Singapore’s US$120bn sovereign fund together with Hopu Investment invested US$300mn in then Lung Ming (now Iron Mining International), a developer of iron ore mine in Mongolia.
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