Prudential in 14-year lease for Singapore Scotts Road site

Prudential in 14-year lease for Singapore Scotts Road site

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter
LONG LEASE: Prudential has locked in an unusual agreement that allows it to lease a four-storey building (left) on Singapore’s first transitional office site for 14 years instead of the usual three to five years. The insurance giant will pay $6.50 per sq ft - or about $975,000 - per month for the $75 million building. Mr Seah, the chief executive, says Prudential sees value in locking in a longer-term lease. — PHOTO: KOP CAPITAL

A BUILDING on Singapore’s first transitional office site in Scotts Road will be completed in September at a cost of about $75 million.
The entire four-storey block has already been leased to insurance firm Prudential, which has locked in an unusual rental agreement that will last for an effective 14 years.

Prudential will pay $6.50 per sq ft per month for the building. At about 150,000 sq ft of space, that works out to $975,000 a month.

The agreement is unusual because most office leases are granted on a three-year basis - although this can range from two to five years - with an option for renewal.

In today’s market of rising office rents, Prudential sees value in locking in a longer-term lease, explained chief executive Philip Seah.

Mr Seah said rents at the Scotts Road building would be half of what Prudential would have to pay to extend its current leases at Fuji Xerox Tower in Anson Road and at Bugis Junction, where it has a combined 130,000 sq ft of space.

Both those leases, as well as Prudential’s third location at Singapore Post Centre, will expire this year.

The firm is seeking a replacement for the Singapore Post location, where it occupies 70,000 sq ft.

In the meantime, Prudential will give up the Fuji Xerox and Bugis spaces and relocate 2,500 of its more than 3,600 staff to the Scotts Road block, Mr Seah said at a ground-breaking ceremony for the building yesterday.

The Scotts Road site, which is being developed by KOP Capital, Hwa Hong Corporation and Dubai Investment Group, is the first and most successful of the Government’s temporary office sites - an initiative launched recently to ease a shortage in office space.

The three other sites that were released garnered lacklustre response, with the latest not even awarded due to inadequate bids.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Production companies less upbeat on first half - Singapore

Production companies less upbeat on first half  - Singapore

More see business conditions for sector worsening, govt survey shows

By Grace Ng

FEARS of a recession in the United States and other markets have cast a pall over the Singapore manufacturing sector’s outlook for the first half of this year, a quarterly government survey has shown.
Significantly more companies polled in the past two months expect business conditions to deteriorate.

On a more positive note, the number of companies that expect production to rise in the first quarter still outweigh those who anticipate a cutting- back of output.

There are already signs of a bleaker outlook for the local manufacturing sector, with the Economic Development Board (EDB) data published last week showing that factories in Singapore had slowed more than expected last month.

Industrial output shrank by 1.7 per cent, a bigger slide than the 0.5 per cent contraction in November, led by a drop in drug production and shrinking electronics growth.

Manufacturers who were upbeat about business conditions barely outnumbered those who had bad vibes about the coming months.

After the 8 per cent who were pessimistic had been subtracted, a net weighted balance of just 2 per cent of manufacturers projected better business conditions, said EDB yesterday in its poll of about 390 manufacturers.

This is much weaker than the net weighted balance of 7 per cent recorded in the first quarter of the previous year.

It was also much lower than the net weighted balance of 25 per cent of manufacturers who held an optimistic outlook during the previous survey of business conditions between October last year and March this year.

With competition exerting more pressure on the electronics sector and demand for electronic goods expected to cool off now that the year-end festive season has ended, the sentiments of electronics makers were muted.

A net weighted balance of 1 per cent expected an upturn.

Nonetheless, the employment outlook is more sanguine, with a net weighted 18 per cent of companies looking to hire more workers in the next three months.

Gloom dominated in the precision engineering cluster, where a net weighted balance of 8 per cent of companies were bearish in anticipation of a seasonal slowdown, a fluctuating US dollar and rising raw materials costs.

The outlook of chemical sector companies remained largely unchanged for the first half of this year, compared with the previous quarter. But some bright spots for these companies are improving regional export markets and robust demand from the construction industry.

Similarly, biomedical manufacturing companies remained unchanged in their expectations as they saw output rising, as well as finished goods stocks earmarked for export next year.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Great Eastern policyholders may be missing out on higher returns - Singapore

Great Eastern policyholders may be missing out on higher returns - Singapore

By Lee Su Shyan, Assistant Money Editor

WITH the takeover battle for The Straits Trading Company commanding the spotlight, a significant transaction by one of its key shareholders - Great Eastern Holdings - has quietly slipped through.
Great Eastern owns about 19.9 per cent of Straits Trading, a formerly sleepy company that is now the subject of competing bids from the family of the late Tan Chin Tuan and the Lee family, who are behind OCBC Bank.

Whoever Great Eastern decides to sell its significant stake to - if it ever does - could make or break either bid.

As this unravels, however, some policyholders of Great Eastern Life, a unit of the listed company, may be missing out on better returns.

Last December, Great Eastern told the Singapore Exchange it had sold shares from its Life fund to a unit of Great Eastern.

Great Eastern Life Assurance sold about 6.3 million Straits Trading shares, or a 2 per cent stake, to a Great Eastern subsidiary, The Great Eastern Trust Private Limited, on Dec 13.

The transaction, according to Bloomberg, was priced at $5.166 a share.

The Straits Trading takeover action, which ignited less than a month later, has made the shares worth far more.

In early January, Dr Tan’s family, through their investment vehicle, Tecity, offered $5.70 a share for the firm.

Last week, the Lee family trumped that with a $5.76 offer, only to have Tecity swiftly up the ante on Monday with a $6.50 per share bid.

The new bid values Straits Trading at about $2.1 billion.

That revised offer meant policyholders could have reaped a good return had Great Eastern retained the stock in its Life fund and accepted the Tecity cash.

If those 6.3 million shares had been sold for $6.50 each, then the stake would have been worth $8.4 million more than when it was sold in December, when it fetched just $5.166 per share.

Great Eastern may have effected the transfer at the end of the financial year as part of its management of its Life funds to boost returns for those holding Great Eastern insurance and investment policies.

And if Great Eastern had wanted to realise some value, selling the Straits Trading stock on the open market would have been difficult, as the daily volume of shares traded at the time was only in the tens of thousands at best.

Great Eastern would have had to find a buyer - say, a fund manager - willing to take the 2 per cent.

While policyholders of Great Eastern Life may have missed out on more profits, this transfer has no impact on the Lee family.

With the shares sold from one Great Eastern unit to another, the Lee family’s stake in Straits Trading, via Great Eastern, remains constant.

Great Eastern is the second-largest shareholder of Straits Trading after Tecity, which has nearly 24 per cent.

The Lee family owns only about 6 per cent, as does OCBC Bank.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Singapore Keppel posts record results, proposes 55 cents-a-share payout

Singapore Keppel posts record results, proposes 55 cents-a-share payout

Net profit jumps 51% to $1.1b and investors can expect a special anniversary payout of 20 cents a share

By Gabriel Chen

IT WAS a bumper harvest for the world’s biggest maker of shallow-water oil rigs with Keppel Corp reporting record revenues and profits for the year.
The company also announced ‘goodies’, as it proudly pointed out, for shareholders, with a special payout as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations this year.

Keppel said the stellar performance prompted it to propose a final dividend of 10 cents a share and a capital distribution of 25 cents per share.

The firm has also proposed a special dividend of 20 cents a share to commemorate the group’s 40th anniversary, bringing the total payout to 55 cents a share.

The slew of good news suggested that the champagne was ready to be uncorked yesterday, but stakeholders and analysts were given a timely reminder that not all is rosy out there.

‘We’re having a period of huge volatility in the financial markets and some uncertainties whether the United States will go into a recession or not, so we cannot say for sure that we’ll get the same volume of business as 2007,’ said Keppel Offshore & Marine’s chairman and chief executive, Mr Choo Chiau Beng, who was responding to a query on whether Keppel’s rig orders will be as healthy this year.

Mr Choo also noted that the order pipeline was still quite strong, especially for deep-water units and production units.

Meanwhile, Keppel Corp executive chairman Lim Chee Onn said the company continues to see opportunities to build ‘growth platforms’. But he added that as Keppel endeavours to continue increasing shareholder value, this will become more challenging as it grapples with increasing uncertainty in the prospects ahead.

Still Keppel’s results were impressive.

Net profit for the 12 months ended Dec 31 last year climbed 50.6 per cent to $1.13 billion, while revenue jumped 37.2 per cent to $10.4 billion compared with the same period last year.

Keppel said this was the first time its annual revenue surpassed $10 billion.

Its offshore & marine arm’s sales accounted for 70 per cent of group revenue. The division’s net order book is now $12.2 billion, and it is accepting orders for 2011 delivery.

Keppel’s property arm, Keppel Land, also made significant strides last year in extending its regional reach and growing its townships and integrated lifestyle developments.

Higher revenue from real estate came on the back of sales of Reflections at Keppel Bay, Sixth Avenue Residences and Park Infinia@Wee Nam in Singapore, Villa Riviera in Shanghai and Elita Promenade in Bangalore.

Group earnings per share for the year rose from 47.7 cents to 71.5 cents, while net asset value per share rose to $3.28 for the year ended Dec 31 last year from $2.67 in the same period a year ago.

Analysts were unfazed by the big payout to shareholders. ‘With a record profit already in the bag, we believe Keppel can well afford to give out bumper dividends without constraining its funding requirements,’ Kelive Research said yesterday before the results were released.

Keppel shares closed six cents down at $11.32. The results were released after the market had closed.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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New jobs created this year: Drop likely - but by how much? - Singapore

New jobs created this year: Drop likely - but by how much?  - Singapore

By Goh Chin Lian & Keith Lin

THE number of jobs added this year could well see a steep decline from last year’s record high of 236,600.
Given the looming spectre of an economic slowdown and the red-hot labour market, economist Chua Hak Bin forecasts that just 70,000 jobs will be created in the whole of this year - one-third of last year’s.

His pessimism stems from the looming spectre of a global economic slowdown.

But not all economists expect the tide to turn so drastically.

Assistant Professor Choy Keen Meng, of Nanyang Technological University, expects the economy to add 100,000 to 150,000 jobs this year.

He thinks in the event of a slowdown in the United States, growth in China and India could continue to lift Singapore.

CIMB-GK research head Song Seng Wun is even more optimistic.

He estimates that job creation could still exceed 200,000 this year because the construction and services sectors are going strong.

International events like the Singapore Airshow this month will give the hospitality industry a boost. Visitor arrivals, especially from the region, also show no sign of a let-up, he said.

‘Guys in the travel industry are (saying it’s) the busiest they have ever been. Many businesses say they are concerned, but at this juncture, they don’t see any slowdown in their business.’

Dr Chua’s projection of only 70,000 new jobs this year would bring job growth back to 2004 levels, when the economy had just turned a corner after the 2003 recession.

He sees the export-driven manufacturing sector as the most vulnerable to a slowdown.

He also notes that the financial services and property sectors, which saw considerable hiring last year, show signs of scaling back.

Singapore’s GDP growth is expected to slow this year to the lower end of the Government’s forecast of 4.5 to 6.5 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent last year.

Of the record number of jobs created last year, 144,500 went to foreigners and 92,100 to locals.

Last year was the first time since the 2001 economic slowdown when the number of new jobs going to foreigners outstripped those going to locals.

Of the 2.73 million people employed here, one-third - or 900,800 - are foreigners.

In the event of an economic slowdown, foreigners are likely to bear the brunt of job losses, going by government data from previous years.

From 2001 to 2003, for instance, foreign employment contracted by 71,600, while local employment continued to grow by 35,600.

National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob remains optimistic about the jobs outlook this year.

She thinks projects such as the integrated resorts and September’s Formula One race will add jobs. Many sectors are also still looking for workers, she notes.

‘If all else fails, surely 900,800 foreigners working here provide a very strong buffer for Singaporeans if we have to face a more drastic situation,’ she said.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Independent surveys confirm Singaporeans living longer

Independent surveys confirm Singaporeans living longer
Also no data to show rich outlive poor; studies aim to show need for annuities
By Keith Lin & Li Xueying

WHEN Singaporeans were told that more than half of those who live to age 62 will live beyond 85, many raised their eyebrows in disbelief.
But independent actuaries from American company Trowbridge Deloitte have ‘more than verified’ this data, with studies that show Singaporeans are indeed living longer.

Separate surveys also indicate there was ‘no robust data’ to conclude the rich live longer than the poor - and thus stand to gain more from a compulsory annuity plan Singapore will be introducing for old-age support.

These two outcomes were made public on Wednesday by Professor Lim Pin, who chairs a committee that had commissioned the studies to address the scepticism among some Singaporeans of the need for the annuity plan.

He made the disclosures when he gave the media a preview of the shape of the upcoming annuity plan. His 18-member, government-appointed committee is tasked to draw up a basic annuity scheme for Singaporeans.

In estimating a life table for annuity participants, Trowbridge Deloitte’s calculations support government data that Singaporeans are living longer, he said.

More details will be revealed on Feb 12 when Prof Lim’s committee makes public its report.

Last year, when the Government announced plans for mandatory annuities, it explained they were necessary because many are living beyond 85 years and they need to have money then.

Some Singaporeans doubt it. Also, they feel the poor will end up subsidising the rich, who may live longer because they can afford better health care.

To settle the issue, the actuarists were asked to do a survey. ‘And they came to us saying that so far, no robust data supports that difference - not robust enough to have any differentiation (in premiums),” said Prof Lim.

‘So what we will recommend is perhaps, we’ll keep an eye on that. If indeed… there is robust data, we have to modify the scheme,” he added.

The committee also sought people’s views. One such person is wealth management consultant Arul Selvam Govindasamy, 35, a member of national feedback group Reach.

He suggested making the premiums refundable. ‘With our stressful lifestyles and the unhealthy food we consume, I think our generation will not live as long as the current elderly,’ he said.

The idea was among five key recommendations made by the committee. NTUC has endorsed them, said Prof Lim.

When contacted, NTUC deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob described the recommendations as ‘positive’ and ’sound’.

Particularly pleased with the refundable option, she said: ‘Many Singaporeans hope to leave something for their families when they pass away, and the new proposal addresses that concern.’

Union leader Lim Kuang Beng, while supporting the plan, called for greater attention to be paid to non-CPF contributors who will be left out. ‘Often, they are the ones who need most help in their retirement,’ he said.

Feeling the same way, Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, said the well-off will buy their own pension plans.

This leaves the risk-pooling in the planned annuity to a smaller and poorer group of Singaporeans, and will jack up premiums, he said.

Manager David Cheong, 37, like many of the seven interviewed, find the recommendations are ‘a slight improvement on the scheme’.

‘At the end of the day, I believe people should be given the freedom to do what they want with their money, rather than have it tied down.’

Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Cabbies worried about higher Singapore ERP rates

Cabbies worried about higher Singapore ERP rates
They fear increases in ERP gantries and charges will turn passengers away from taxis
By Maria Almenoar

TAXI drivers are concerned their livelihoods will be hit by plans for more electronic road pricing (ERP) gantries and the higher rates levied to pass through them.
Cabbies now add the cost of ERP charges incurred to their passengers’ fares, and are anxious that commuters will be turned off from taking taxis because of higher ERP charges.

Already, December’s hike in surcharges, flagdown and metered fares have dampened demand for taxis.

Comfort cab driver Azman Mohamad, 45, said: ‘Passengers are complaining about having to pay to go anywhere. Higher ERP charges mean higher fares, so I won’t be surprised if they will think twice about taking a cab.’

The Taxi Operators Associations (TOA), which represents drivers from the six taxi groups, yesterday urged taxi companies to help their drivers.

In particular, it asked taxi companies to consider giving ERP reimbursements to drivers who do not pick up a fare within 15 minutes of passing a gantry.

ComfortDelGro, the largest cab company here, already does this and gives out more than 200 reimbursements a day.

But other cab companies are likely to find this hard to copy because they do not have the technology in place to do it.

Premier Taxis managing director Lim Chong Boo said he too is concerned about the effects of the new ERP pricing on his drivers, and he is looking into ways to give them rebates.

Plans to expand the ERP coverage were unveiled on Wednesday in the third and final part of Singapore’s Land Transport Review.

In all, 16 new gantries will be in operation by November, bringing the total to 71. The base ERP rate will double to $2, with future increments of $1, instead of the current 50 cents.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim also announced a cut in road tax for vehicles, which comes to $180 per taxi. Cab companies which stand to save millions said they will pass this on to their drivers.

With December’s fare increase, some cab drivers complained about shrunken earnings, but a survey of 5,000 ComfortDelGro drivers indicated that, on average, its cabbies earn $159 per shift, before deducting expenses like rent and diesel costs, up from $153 before the fare increase.

The TOA said it is in the meantime doing its part to help drivers improve on service, to reflect the taxi’s status as a ‘premium point-to-point service that reduces the need to own a car’.

Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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High-end car buyers likely to wait; others may not

High-end car buyers likely to wait; others may not
By Christopher Tan & Tiffany Ong
DIFFERENT SCENES: A Toyota showroom draws the crowds, but the opposite is true for one displaying Jaguars.

TO BUY or not to buy (now)?
This is the question that is splitting aspiring car owners following Wednesday’s news of changes to vehicle taxes and COE numbers.

A straw poll by The Straits Times indicated that buyers of high-end cars are more likely to wait for the cut in the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) next month, while those eyeing mass-market wheels are going ahead and buying.

This is because the 10 percentage point cut in ARF spells substantial savings on a high-end car; savings for the bread-and-butter models are not big enough to make buyers want to wait.

Businessman Kevin Kwee, 37, who is due to take delivery of a Nissan GT-R and Maserati GranTurismo soon, stands to save about $9,000 and $12,500 on them respectively with the ARF cut.

‘I will wait,’ he said. ‘Even if the COE price goes up, I don’t think it will be by $9,000.’

But Mr Sulaiman Omar, 46, will not.

The sales manager, who is considering a Toyota, said: ‘If I were to make a decision about buying a car, it would be based on necessity.

‘If I really need the car, then the 10-point ARF decrease won’t matter much to me.’

The cut will also not matter much to retiree Ronald Sim, 67, who said: ‘I’d rather have a car sooner than later.’ He, too, is looking at a Toyota. ARF savings for the models under this Japanese make range from $1,100 to $3,800.

The ARF cut, together with cuts to road tax and the number of certificates of entitlement (COEs) available, was among measures unveiled to shift some upfront costs of owning a car to usage, and to keep road congestion in check.

But buyers of mainstream models point out that if COE prices jump, most or all savings from the ARF cut would be wiped out.

IT manager Albert Nam, 30, said: ‘If everyone rushes to buy a car once March is here, COE prices are likely to increase.’

Industry experts reckon COE premiums will start to climb from April, on the back of fewer certificates being released. This is because the number of cars scrapped - the key determinant of COE supply - is expected to fall substantially this year.

Mr Raymond Tang, secretary of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, reckoned the COE quota this year would fall by at least 20 per cent.

Fewer COEs almost always mean higher premiums. But by how much will they rise? Motor Traders Association president Michael Wong called that ‘the million-dollar question’.

Another factor will figure in the picture to put a squeeze on COE supply from April next year: the halving of the cap on vehicle population growth to 1.5 per cent a year.

If COE premiums climb by $3,000 to $4,000 - which traders say is possible - the ARF savings buyers of most mainstream cars make will be gone.

Mr Mark Choong, managing director of Toyota distributor Borneo Motors, said consumers will have to make a judgment call: ‘If the current price is within your budget and if it’s a good offer, you should buy. If not, take the risk and wait.’

The negating effect of rising COE premiums aside, car buyers who wait for the ARF cut will face another downside - a shrunken scrap rebate when they eventually get rid of their cars. This is because the scrap rebate is based on the value of a car’s ARF.

But retiree Cheong Kok Weng, 56, said this is ‘all right’. ‘The resale value of the car will drop anyway, so I might as well save on the ARF,’ he reasoned.

JUDGMENT CALL
‘If the current price is within your budget and if it’s a good offer, you should buy. If not, take the risk and wait.’
MR MARK CHOONG, managing director of Toyota distributor Borneo Motors
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Plan for big F1 bash to help pull in 10.8m tourists to Singapore

Plan for big F1 bash to help pull in 10.8m tourists to Singapore
HOT WHEELS: (From left) Deputy chairman and chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Lim Neo Chian, Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran and STB chairman Simon Israel, all wearing racing suits, competed with one another on an F1 model race track last night at the Tourism Industry Night at the St Regis. — ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN

TOURISM officials are planning a bash spanning three weekends in September to go hand in hand with Singapore’s first ever Formula One grand prix race.
Although the details are still sketchy, the Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, decked out in a pit crew outfit, said yesterday that the attractions will include an exhibition on F1 history and the brand new Singapore River Festival.

Dubbed the Singapore GP Season, the party, which will span three weekends, will surround qualifying runs and the race itself, he told a meeting of tourism industry bigwigs.

The tourism board is banking on events like the F1 and other major attractions opening this year, like the Singapore Flyer, to draw in 10.8 million visitors and $15.5 billion in tourist dollars.

Those numbers, if achieved, will set another slew of records for the booming sector. Last year, an all- time high of 10.3 million tourists visited Singapore, spending $13.8 billion.

Industry players like Mr Martin Symes, the chief executive officer of Bezurk.com, a Singapore-based travel bookings web site, noted that the 10.8 million visitor target was not a huge jump over the 10.3 million tourists who visited Singapore last year.

But the hope is that the tourists who do come will spend more here.

Sources also say that events like the F1, the cheapest tickets for which will cost $150, should help with that.

Besides the race, Mr Iswaran discussed several developments which will likely help Singapore hit its tourism targets despite the economic storm clouds on the horizon. These included:

The Volvo Ocean race, which will see super yachts and their teams and fans coming here in November;

Three major meetings and conventions companies have decided to set up shop in Singapore. This will be a boost to the meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) sector, which is expected to bring in at least $10.5 billion in 2015. This will represent 35 per cent of total tourism receipts.

The recently unveiled $360 million plan to train more workers for the tourism industry has already seen 4,300 people signing up and enrolling in tourism-related training courses.

Critics have said that high hotel room rates, which have increased 66 per cent since 2004, and a shortage of rooms are chasing away tourists.

In response to this, Mr Iswaran said that 12,000 rooms will be added over the next three or four years. Plus, 12 more land plots meant for new hotels will be made available in the first half of this year to ease the crunch.

Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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Singapore Marina South cruise centre to open in 2010

Singapore Marina South cruise centre to open in 2010

It will cater to larger liners which cannot berth at existing cruise terminal

By Natalie Soh & Lim Wei Chean

A NEW passenger cruise terminal will come up in Marina South by 2010.
The facility, long requested by the industry, will be able to accommodate the largest cruise liners top-end operators are putting on the high seas.

Although Singapore has become a main stop for fancy cruises by Costa Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Silversea Cruises, the passengers on some ships have had to disembark rather unceremoniously at container terminals here as the existing Singapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront cannot accommodate them.

For example, Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody Of The Seas, the largest cruise liner based here, was too tall for the cruise centre.

Talk of a cruise terminal has been around since 2004, but only last year did the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) confirm that one will be built. It has also, till now, shied away from giving a time frame.

The 2010 date came from the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr S. Iswaran, at the STB’s Industry Night last night.
The terminal will have larger berths and a larger turning basin for the longer, bigger ships cruise lines are building increasingly.

The terminal’s completion in two years will coincide with the completion of two other major projects in the area - Marina Bay Sands integrated resort in 2009, and Gardens at Marina South in 2010.

Cruise line operators were cheered by news of the new terminal last night.

Royal Caribbean regional manager for the Asia Pacific Kelvin Tan told The Straits Times last night: ‘This is the news all cruise lines want to hear, especially those of us who intend to expand and play a bigger role in Asia.’

Silversea Cruises Asia director Melvyn Yap went a step further and called the announcement ‘long overdue’.

Industry players said passengers on these high-end cruises could spend upwards of US$100,000 (S$142,000) on cruises around the world, so the last thing they expect is to have to disembark at a container port - no matter how temporary the situation.

Hong Kong and Shanghai are already a jump ahead of Singapore in wooing cruise operators: Their passenger cruise terminals will be ready by this year.

Some studies suggest 1.5 million cruise passengers will travel through the region in two years’ time.

Singapore is also looking at bumping up passenger traffic from low-cost carriers to bring in tourists, especially from the region.

More details on the new terminal are expected next month.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 Feb 2008

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