Employees satisfied with work-life balance more likely to recommend company to others-Singapore

Employees satisfied with work-life balance more likely to recommend company to others-Singapore

By Yvonne Cheong

SINGAPORE : According to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt, employees who are able to strike a good work-life balance are twice more likely to stay in the job than those who are not.

They are also more likely to recommend their company to others as a good place to work.

Work and recreation may often seem like competing priorities, but at PricewaterhouseCoopers, work-life balance, in its various forms, is considered a strategic priority.

The accounting giant recognises that is one way to retain Gen-Y employees, who are looking for fulfilment and not just good compensation. And it is not just the rank and file who need to have balanced lifestyles.

Deborah Ong, Staff Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said, “The tone at the top is very important, so our partners have to be able to lead by example and show that they have a variety of interests as well. So, we do have partners who are very passionate about marathons, about being involved in the Ironman, and they have been able to take time away to pursue these interests.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers said individuals who pursue their interests tend to be more energised employees.

However, while firms may be willing to help facilitate the balance, much depends on the individual’s ability to manage time.

Ms Ong said, “I think the key to work-life balance is what we call flexible time. A lot of the time management…depends on the individual. So we actually encourage the individuals to firstly define what does work-life balance mean to them, so that they can manage their time according to their objectives.”

Experts said it is important to recognise that work-life balance means different things to different people.

For some, it means more time with the family, but for others it can mean pursuing their interests or a sport.

Ms Ong said, “For example, the younger ones would love to have parties after office hours because they like to go to the clubs starting at eight, ten. And when we start our functions at seven, they come at eight and they all want to party until midnight.

“Whereas for the older staff who have families, they guard their time after work very closely, so what we do for them is that we then arrange lunch time talks, so the timing is important.”

Companies have also found that younger employees prefer to work in organisations which contribute to the community and, more recently, which emphasise caring for the environment. - CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 12 Jan 2008

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Asia’s cruise industry expected to see high growth in 2008

Oerlikon Solar invests over S$38m to set up Asian hub in Singapore

Oerlikon Solar invests over S$38m to set up Asian hub in Singapore

By Geraldine Ding/Rachel Kelly
SINGAPORE : Swiss supplier of solar energy solutions, Oerlikon Solar, is investing more than S$38 million to set up its Asian hub in Singapore.

The manufacturing-R&D hub is the company’s first facility outside its home base.

Oerlikon’s facility in Singapore will assemble and test equipment used to make thin-film silicon solar panels. It will double the company’s production capacity by 2009.

It will also house Oerlikon’s sales, technology and customer training centres, as well as its largest pilot line for product certification in the world.

Oerlikon is setting up base here to tap into the rapidly growing solar panel market in Asia.

Jeannine Sargent, CEO, Oerlikon, said: “Asia will the the biggest market segment for us over the next several years. We see the growth that’s happening and Asia will be the leading area and region for thin-film and photovoltaic solar growth over the next several years.”

The facility is expected to be completed within a year. Oerlikon will employ 100 people by 2009, and increase that by up to 50 percent in the next two years.

According to the Economic Development Board, the investment is a strategic boost to Singapore’s development of a vibrant, world-scale solar industry. It will also help create many spin-offs for supporting sectors here.

Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director, Economic Development Board, said: “Oerlikon will be relying on our local supplier industry to provide a whole range of component and parts. So this is a wonderful opportunity for our local supply industry to diversify, upgrade and enter a high-growth area.”

Oerlikon expects its global sales to reach more than S$900 million this year. - CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 12 Jan 2008

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Oil price hike affecting Singaporeans’ mode of transportation

Indonesian Air Force to probe crash that killed Chemoil founder

Indonesian Air Force to probe crash that killed Chemoil founder

Helicopter had no clearance to take civilians, says chief of staff

By Nicholas Fang & Arlina Arshad
ILL-FATED: This Sikorsky Twinpack S-58 helicopter carrying Chemoil’s Mr Chandran crashed in Sumatra on Monday. — ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN

PEKANBARU (SUMATRA) - THE Indonesian Air Force says Chemoil Energy founder and chief executive Robert Chandran should not have been flying on the military helicopter that crashed in Sumatra on Monday.
Mr Chandran died of injuries sustained in the accident. The 10 other passengers on the aircraft were injured.

A total of seven civilians and four Indonesian military personnel were on board the ill-fated Sikorsky Twinpack S-58 helicopter.

Indonesian Air Force chief of staff Vice-Marshal Subandrio said misconduct was suspected regarding the presence of civilians on board the military aircraft, and that a probe would be launched into the incident.

Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta yesterday, he said: ‘There is neither permit nor security clearance from the headquarters so we concluded that the flight has breached procedures.’

He was quoted by Xinhua as saying: ‘The air force will take necessary actions against officers responsible for the misconduct according to the existing laws,’

It has emerged that the trip to Riau province’s Pekanbaru was the first to the area by Mr Chandran. The trip was not on his schedule. Pekanbaru is the capital of the Riau province.

The Straits Times understands that Mr Chandran had flown to Jakarta on Sunday for a business meeting. There, he had met an Indonesian businessman who then invited him to see his oil palm plantation in Pekanbaru. Mr Chandran accepted the offer and flew from Jakarta to Pekanbaru on a domestic airline on Monday - the day of the helicopter crash.

The Indonesian businessman then arranged for the military helicopter to take them around the plantation the same day.

The helicopter crashed at about 3pm, apparently due to engine trouble, near Desa Lubuk Ogung, a rural area 40km east of Pekanbaru. Mr Chandran died on the way to hospital.

He had been due to return to Singapore on Monday evening as he had another business meeting to attend here.

Sources told The Straits Times that it is possible for Indonesian military helicopters to be chartered. But it is usually a private deal between the Indonesian Air Force and civilians.

Mr Chandran’s body was cremated on Thursday and a memorial service attended by political leaders, business associates and friends was held that same night.

Chemoil directors are expected to meet today to discuss the search for Mr Chandran’s replacement.

The global marine fuels supplier had said earlier that operations at its Singapore and overseas projects would continue as normal.

Chemoil shares, which are listed on the Singapore Exchange, slipped by 3 per cent, or 1.5 US cents, to 47.5 US cents yesterday.
Source : Straits Times  - 12 Jan 2008

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Brokers turned down free live Singapore STI feed, says FTSE

Brokers turned down free live Singapore STI feed, says FTSE

Move causes some inconvenience but trading largely not affected: Dealers

By Alvin Foo, Markets Correspondent
NOT SIGNING UP: Local broking firms have opted not to connect their machines to the live data feed that supplies the index values, even though the information is free for now. — ST FILE PHOTO

DEALERS and remisiers linked to local brokers in Singapore no longer have access to live values of the newly revamped Straits Times Index (STI) on their trading terminals.
This is because these brokers have opted not to connect their machines to the live data feed that supplies the index values, even though it is currently being offered free of charge by the index’s owners.

The Straits Times understands that the problem boils down to a dispute over the cost of the feed.

Under a new partnership, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Singapore Exchange (SGX) and London’s index specialists FTSE relaunched the STI on Thursday, along with 18 other new FTSE ST indexes.

Prior to this week’s relaunch, the STI was calculated by SGX and distributed together with its stock prices feed. But from Jan 10, the revamped STI and the new FTSE ST index series are calculated by FTSE and distributed separately.

The new-look STI now has 30 component stocks instead of 47, and the new FTSE ST indexes include those that track mid-cap and small-cap stocks, as well as sectors such as property and finance.

According to FTSE deputy chief executive Donald Keith, the three index partners intend to eventually charge local brokers for the live feed that supplies the index values.

But for now, they have offered the feed free of charge.

‘The live data feed is being offered to Singapore brokers for free, and the three partners intend to re-evaluate this arrangement only after at least a year,’ said Mr Keith.

‘The brokers just have to sign up and their traders will get the data live on their trading terminals.

‘Unfortunately, they have declined to sign up.’

Broking houses contacted yesterday by The Straits Times chose to remain mum and did not want to shed any light on why they spurned the free live feed.

OCBC Securities’ managing director, Mr Hui Yew Ping, who as chairman of the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) is said to have led the negotiations, was tight-lipped. The SAS is an association comprising local brokers.

Spokesmen from DBS Vickers and Phillip Securities also declined to comment.

Meanwhile, traders and remisiers said that although the lack of an index data feed inconveniences them somewhat, stock trading has not been affected.

One dealer said: ‘We’re now getting live STI values mainly from the websites or the Bloomberg terminal.’

Live values of the new STI and 18 indexes are available for free at the websites of SPH, SGX, NextView and ShareInvestor.

‘But one problem with using the websites is that we have to refresh the page to get updated figures,’ he added.

Quick access to live data is key to traders. Society of Remisiers (Singapore) president Albert Fong said: ‘We’re in a fast-moving industry in which prompt information is crucial. Now, we’ve been inconvenienced.’

The SGX is working with the Society of Remisiers to put the real-time numbers on its website.

Charging for index data is prevalent in most major financial markets, including New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

And there is a reason why such data attracts a fee, said FTSE’s Mr Keith.

‘FTSE compiles stock indexes all around the world. I can tell you that there’s tremendous work involved in maintaining and revamping an index, as well as creating new indexes that the market will find useful. All this comes at a cost.’

The revamped STI has a re-created history going back to 1999, while the new indexes have been running on a trial basis since October last year.

Mr Keith added: ‘The index partners are commercial organisations and can’t be expected to give it out free. The issue is whether there’s value for money and I’m confident about the value of the package we are providing.’

He noted, for example, that the index partners are now providing data for 19 indexes that offer ‘unparallelled coverage of the Singapore market’ - instead of just the STI.

Industry watchers are hoping that the issue will be resolved soon.

Securities Investors Association of Singapore president David Gerald said: ‘I hope an amicable resolution can be found as soon as possible in the interest of all concerned, especially the retail investors.’

Source : Straits Times - 12 Jan 2008

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Singapore 5 new ERP gantries built outside city area

Singapore 5 new ERP gantries built outside city area

Mostly in residential areas, they will be activated only when traffic flow worsens

By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent
READY: This new ERP gantry at Toa Payoh Lorong 6 is one of five which will be switched on when traffic flow falls below ‘optimal speeds’, says the LTA. — ST PHOTOS: BRYAN VAN DER BEEK

MOTORISTS can expect to pay more to use the roads over the next few months when five new ERP gantries - mostly in the heart of residential areas - are up and running.
The gantries are in Upper Bukit Timah Road (outside Hume Park), Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Upper Boon Keng Road, Kallang Bahru Road and Geylang Bahru Road.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said these gantries will be switched on when traffic flow falls below ‘optimal speeds’ - defined as 45kmh to 65kmh for expressways and 20kmh to 30kmh for non-expressways. Sources expect the ranges to be raised this year, which means Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) could be implemented on more roads - even in the evening.

Some residents are already voicing concern over why the new gantries are in their neighbourhoods.

Commenting on the gantry outside Hume Park, Bukit Timah resident Bervyn Lee, 43, said: ‘The road here can get jammed. But will a gantry solve the problem?

‘My feeling is that it will just redistribute traffic around,’ the director of sports culture at the Singapore Sports Council added.
Toa Payoh resident Tony Chan, 68, a retiree, wanted to know why the Lorong 6 gantry was at the entrance to the residential area.

The LTA spokesman said the new gantry plugs a gap in an outer ERP cordon that seals off non-expressway routes into the city. He said if gantries were at exit points of Toa Payoh, more residents in the estate would be affected.

But the spokesman added that ‘the new gantries are built because traffic conditions on these identified roads may soon deteriorate below the optimal speed range’.

When the new ones are operational, the motoring public will have more than 60 gantries to navigate. Indications are that more will come as the Government shifts the taxation burden from vehicle ownership to usage.

Gantries in the residential heartland will also have an impact on those who take taxis.

Cabbies tend to avoid ERP-controlled roads because of the extra cost incurred. Hence residents in Toa Payoh, for instance, might find it difficult to hail a cab in the morning when the Lorong 6 gantry is switched on.

‘To many drivers, ERP is a big deterrent,’ said cabby Myke Purba, 62.

Source : Straits Times - 12 Jan 2008

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Brain drain worry hits close to home

Brain drain worry hits close to home

THE worry over brain drain has hit close to home for Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Yesterday, he related this story from within his family: ‘I have a grandson who has just gone to MIT, he’s doing economics… Fortunately for the father, he decided to apply for a Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship, which means he is bonded to come back.

‘He has written to his brother, who has just got his baccalaureate results, and says: ‘Don’t take a scholarship’.’

The older brother reasoned that the younger one, with his interest in studying IT, would have no shortage of employers wanting him later: ‘Any number of people will be searching for you.’

The Minister Mentor, who was speaking at the Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition, did not name either grandson, but it is likely that the PSC scholar is Mr Li Hongyi, the third of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s four children.

He was awarded a PSC scholarship to study economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

The other brother is Haoyi, who recently got his International Baccalaureate results, scoring 43 out of a possible 45.

MM Lee cited their story to illustrate just how real the threat of a brain drain is to Singapore.

‘Our problem now is we have an educated population, educated in English, which makes them marketable,’ he said.

‘Way back in the 1960s, we were net gainers because the wealthy countries, mostly whites, excluded Asians. So Malaysians, Chinese and others, Indonesians came here… Now they leave, they go to Australia and New Zealand, Canada, US, and big open countries. Our students are now being harvested from the top colleges in the US… It is a real problem,’ he said.

Despite the brotherly advice, it appears that MM Lee’s younger grandson will be applying for a scholarship.

He told his grandfather over their Sunday lunch that he is planning to apply for an Infocomm Development Authority scholarship and do IT. ‘He doesn’t want to work in any other,’ said MM Lee.

MM Lee added: ‘I hope he does apply and he will come back.’
Source : Straits Times - 12 Jan 2008

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MM’s keys to living long and successfully - Singapore

MM’s keys to living long and successfully - Singapore

By Lee Siew Hua

THE Minister Mentor has calculated his date with destiny.
His mother died of stroke at 74. His father was 94 when he died. Now that MM Lee Kuan Yew himself will turn 85 in September, he says: ‘I’ve reached the halfway point.’

But he is living long and successfully - the theme of his dialogue at the first Silver Industry Conference - as his days are high in stimuli and he is fully connected to the world.

He would have shrunk away if he had retired, he said. ‘Retirement means death,’ he said, putting this point in the darkest light several times.

At a time when extending the retirement age is being debated, he thinks that those who expect to retire at 62 for a life of enjoyment are making the biggest mistake of their lives.

‘If you want to see sunrise tomorrow or sunset, you must have a reason, you must have the stimuli, to keep going,’ he said.

His own father exemplified that. He swam every day and kept himself active. After retiring from the Shell company, he became a salesman, surprising people by selling watches at BP de Silva.

‘But it kept him busy,’ Mr Lee said. ‘It kept him meeting friends.’ His father had a routine, he added.

In a dialogue filled with family stories told with a light touch, he revealed how at each turning-point of life, he made choices to stay alive.

In his 30s, he was very fond of drinking and smoking.

Once, he met foreign correspondents, and an unflattering picture was printed. ‘I had a big belly…a beer belly,’ he told an amused audience of businessmen, policymakers and activists.

So he played more golf, but the belly stayed. ‘There was only one way it could go down - consume less, burn out more.’

He quit smoking soon after he lost his voice and could not thank voters when he won a City Council election in 1957.

He would puff 10 cigarettes on stage before each campaign speech, watching people, sensing the mood.

‘Three speeches a night, plenty of cigarettes, a lot of beer after that, and the voice was gone.’

His one-hour-plus dialogue showed a less-glimpsed side of the nation’s founding father as he spoke freely of his frailty.

But, true to his forceful nature, he fought each brush with mortality.

At one turning point in the 1970s, his daughter, about to graduate as a doctor, found him breathing heavily on the Istana lawn.

He told her: ‘I feel an effort to breathe in more oxygen.’

She said: ‘Don’t play golf. Run.’

He was not one bit keen on running, but loved golf. So in between golf shots, he started walking fast. Later, he ran.

After a few years, he told himself: ‘Golf takes so long. The running takes 15 minutes. Let’s cut down the golf and let’s run.’

Another time, his doctor gave him a medical encyclopaedia, and he zoomed in on the ageing section to learn more.

‘As you acquire more knowledge, you then craft a programme for yourself to maximise what you have,’ he said.

In his case, he said, he has ‘led a very active life, connected with the world’.

And all that he has accumulated, he interprets it for Singapore, he said. Including his ideas about ageing vitally.
Source : Straits Times - 12 Jan 2008

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US recession fears push gold to record level

US recession fears push gold to record level

Precious metal hits US$898 and could go even higher as investors seek an alternative store of value

By Bryan Lee

GOLD hit a record US$898 (S$1,286) an ounce yesterday and could reach US$1,000 soon as fears of a US recession drive investors to seek safety in the yellow metal.
A perfect storm of faltering stock markets, global economic uncertainty, Middle East tension and a free-falling US dollar is elevating gold as an alternative store of value.

That view took on even more urgency yesterday after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke hinted at more interest rate cuts, which would further weaken the greenback.

‘The probability is very high for gold to hit US$1,000 an ounce over the next three months,’ said UBS Asia-Pacific metals distribution head Stephan Schlatter. ‘It’s hard to be negative about gold, given the current situation.’

The gold rush began last year and has increased more than 30 per cent over the past 12 months. It is already up 7 per cent since Jan 1.

It did slip back to US$894 an ounce last night after reaching US$898 earlier in the day.

Ms Mae Leong, who helps manage $183.1 million of gold-related stocks in United Overseas Bank’s United Gold & General Fund, said yesterday that the uncertain times are tailor-made for the precious commodity.

‘With a generally poorer macroeconomic outlook, investors are looking to gold to diversify their assets,’ said Ms Leong.

Ms Leong added that gold prices are also typically higher in December and January, driven by jewellery demand in India and China.

Private banks here said interest in gold among local investors has been rising, whether it is in the form of simple gold certificates or more complex structured instruments.

Jittery investors around the world are so keen to have something solid in their portfolios that prices of other precious metals, such as silver and platinum, have also hit records, but these do not have the same safe-haven cachet gold enjoys.

Gold is widely seen as an alternative universal currency to the US dollar. When the greenback falters, gold prospers, as is happening now.

Many experts reckon the metal will keep heading north, given the increasingly negative outlook in the global economy.

Much of gold’s recent allure stems from the gloom in the US.

Mr Bernanke’s speech in Washington made clear that the central bank believes tight credit conditions stemming from the sub-prime mortgage mess are threatening the broader US economy.

But the rate cuts that the Fed is almost certain to announce later this month will devalue the US dollar as investors will seek better returns from other currencies.

Yet those same rate cuts risk adding to inflation, and that will only further boost gold as it is seen as holding its value better against paper assets in such times.

Inflation is also not being helped by soaring oil prices.

And to complete the toxic cocktail, analysts point to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Pakistan.

But Mr Schlatter warned that it may not be the right time to dip your toes into the gold market, given its sky-high price.

Still, for many people, gold is more than a mere investment.

Bank Julius Baer analyst Venkatraman Nageswaran said: ‘Retail investors can kill two birds with one stone and buy gold jewellery.

‘This way, they can keep their wives happy and make a good investment as well.’
Source : Straits Times - 12 Jan 2008

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