Singapore population hits 4.6 million

Singapore population hits 4.6 million

Number of foreigners increasing faster than citizens, PRs
SINGAPORE’S economic planners think the country can hold 6.5 million people, a size they feel will be ideal to keep the economy humming.
 
 
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, however, feels the optimum population size for tiny Singapore might be smaller, between 5 and 5.5 million.

The latest numbers released yesterday by the Singapore Department of Statistics - after some refinements that exclude persons who were away for at least 12 months continuously, in line with United Nations guidelines - show that Singapore is just less than one million people away from hitting that figure recently suggested by Mr Lee.

Singapore’s total population has swelled to 4.6 million - and that was seven months ago.

The drive to attract foreign talent to make up the local shortage is apparently bearing fruit. The number of foreigners who work and live here has crossed the one-million mark.

In the past five years, the figure grew three times as fast as the number of Singaporeans and permanent residents.

The result: foreigners made up 22 per cent of Singapore’s total population as at June 2007, up from 18 per cent in 2003. From 2006 to 2007, the number of foreigners jumped nearly 15 per cent to 1,005,500.

Locals and permanent residents rose by less than 2 per cent to 3,583,100.

Source : Business Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Google moves to derail Yahoo buyout - NEW YORK

Google moves to derail Yahoo buyout - NEW YORK

Microsoft expects Yahoo’s board and shareholders to accept offer quickly
(NEW YORK) Standing between a marriage of Microsoft and Yahoo may be the technology behemoth that has continually outsmarted them: Google.
In an unusually aggressive effort to prevent Microsoft from moving forward with its US$44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, Google has emerged with plans to play the role of spoiler.

Publicly, Google came out against the deal, contending in a statement that the pairing, proposed by Microsoft last Friday in the form of a hostile offer, would pose potential threats to competition that need to be examined by policy makers worldwide.

Privately, Google went much further. Its chief executive, Eric E Schmidt, placed a call to Yahoo’s chief, Jerry Yang, offering to help fend off Microsoft, possibly in the form of a partnership between the companies.

Google’s lobbyists in Washington have also begun plotting a case against the deal to make with lawmakers. In addition, several Google executives made ‘back-channel’ calls over the weekend to allies at companies like Time Warner, which owns AOL, to inquire whether they planned to pursue a rival offer and how they could assist. Google owns 5 per cent of AOL.

Despite Google’s efforts and the work of Yahoo’s own bankers to garner interest in a bid to rival Microsoft’s, one did not seem likely, at least at this early stage in the process.
 
Frequently named prospective suitors including Time Warner, News Corp, and AT&T have not begun work on a bid. They suggested that they did not want to enter a bidding war with Microsoft, which has much deeper pockets than those rivals and could easily top their offers.

Meanwhile, people close to Yahoo said that the company received many inquires from potential suitors in the media, technology and private equity industries. Some inside Yahoo have even speculated about the prospect of breaking up the company. That could mean selling or forming a joint venture for its search-related business and spinning off or selling its operations that produce original content, they said.

One person involved in Yahoo’s deliberations suggested that ‘the sum of the parts are worth more than the whole’, arguing that its various pieces like Yahoo Finance, for example, could be sold to a company like News Corp for a huge premium while Yahoo Sports could be sold to a company like ESPN, a unit of the Walt Disney Co.

Rival companies were less optimistic about such a breakup strategy. ‘No one can get to a US$44 billion price, even if you split it into a dozen pieces,’ an executive at a major media company said. ‘And the price is going to be higher anyway. That was Steve’s opening salvo,’ this person said, referring to Microsoft chief executive Steven Ballmer.

Yahoo would consider a business alliance with Google as a way to rebuff Microsoft’s takeover proposal, a source familiar with Yahoo’s strategy said.

Yahoo management is considering revisting talks it held with Google recently on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft’s bid. At US$31 a share, Yahoo believes that the bid undervalues the company, two sources said.

Microsoft said yesterday that its unsolicited offer for Yahoo was generous and it expects Yahoo’s board and shareholders to agree to the buyout quickly. ‘We trust the Yahoo board and the Yahoo shareholders will join with us quickly in deciding to move down an integrated path,’ Mr Ballmer said in an annual meeting with analysts.

Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell said that the company may borrow money for the first time ever to fund a portion of the 50-50 cash and stock offer for Yahoo. — NYT, Reuters
Source : Business Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Singapore Subsales may spike again as projects near completion

Singapore Subsales may spike again as projects near completion

Prices could soften if ’specuvestors’ are forced to offload properties
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) Speculative activity took a breather in Q4 last year as the number of subsales as well as their share of total private home deals were down sharply from the preceding two quarters of 2007. However, many in the industry are wondering whether subsales will again spike closer to the physical completion dates for some high-profile projects sold substantially on deferred payment (DP) schemes.
Among the projects that will be keenly watched are The Sail @ Marina Bay, The Coast (at Sentosa Cove), The Grange, and The Suites at Central in the Devonshire Road area, all of which were sold amidst much hype. The first two projects are scheduled to receive Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) next year and the latter two, this year.

The coming wave of subsales - if there’s one - may not be so much a reflection of speculative froth in the market but rather of buyers seeking to offload their units before the DP expires.

Those who bought their properties on DP schemes would typically have paid 10 or 20 per cent of their purchase price to the developer with the next payment (of 75 per cent or 65 per cent, respectively) deferred till the project receives TOP. By TOP, the developer would collect 85 per cent of the sale price.

Such buyers can shop for a bank loan until closer to the project’s TOP date.

However, buyers who picked up multiple units in some of these developments on DP schemes and are still sitting on them may not be able to secure sufficient housing loans to foot the bills when the projects obtain TOP.
 
Banks may turn cautious over advancing loans for multiple property purchases. Some, for example, may only be prepared to lend up to 70 per cent - based on their credit assessment and servicing ability of the borrower - instead of 80-90 per cent, of the purchase price of the property or its current value, whichever is lower.

These ’specuvestors’ may find that it makes more sense to sell their units in the subsale market before they receive a big bill from developers.

Such subsales, while apparently ‘forced’ by the difficulty of finding enough housing loans, could still yield handsome gains for such investors - given the huge rise in upmarket home prices.

However, if a sizeable number of such properties come on the subsale market, some sellers may be willing to accept below-market values. This will clip developers’ pricing power when they sell new projects in nearby locations.

Already, BT understands that some individual investors, anticipating ‘dumping’ from speculators, are teaming up to snap up some of these units at below-market prices.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang reckoned that some buyers who purchased units on DP during the initial launches may begin to review their options around five to six months ahead of TOP. ‘Supply of such properties in the subsale market could potentially increase from the latter half of this year, which could potentially see prices easing,’ Dr Chua said.

Of course, it may be a different story altogether if sentiment in the high-end market picks up again.

A lot will also depend on the holding power of those who still have units they’ve bought from developers. Some may not face problems getting housing loans, because they have the ability to service them. Such buyers may just go ahead and pay that big instalment when the project receives TOP.

Another factor that will bear on the extent of ‘forced’ subsales is the profile of buyers in each project - the mix of those who bought units with a view to living in them, and those who purchased with an eye on flipping before the project’s completion.

A seasoned property agent told BT that a condo in the East Coast area receiving TOP soon recently saw several buyers offering their units at prices considerably below what was being achieved just a few weeks ago - before the stock market plunge.

Then there’s another theory. While we may see a flurry of subsales for projects sold in the past on DP, it will be a different story going ahead.

With no new projects approved by the authorities for DP schemes since DP was scrapped in late October 2007, new launches going ahead will attract fewer potential speculators. This is because those who buy into projects without DP schemes know they will have to make regular progress payments to the developer and in all likelihood have to obtain housing loans.

‘You’ll see more genuine buyers in the market,’ as ERA Realty Network divisional director Andrew Soh said. ‘Developers may still be able to maintain current prices, or even achieve higher prices. But instead of weeks, it may take them months, or even years, to sell out projects.’

‘As new project launches attract fewer speculators, I may have to sell physical homes and not just paper (options),’ he quipped.
Source : Business Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Budget may soothe fears over costs creeping up- SIngapore

Budget may soothe fears over costs creeping up- SIngapore

Businesses worry over transport bills, economists expect some goodies
By LYNETTE KHOO AND CHEN HUIFEN

(SINGAPORE) Amid concerns that the costs of living and doing business could go up, economists expect the upcoming Budget to provide some form of relief.
 
 
These could come in the shape of more cash handouts, particularly targeted at the low to middle-income groups, as well as a cut in top personal income taxes from the current 20 per cent.

‘I think something similar to last year’s GST offset package will be introduced. My guess is that it will be quite targeted to the lower-income group,’ Citi economist Kit Wei Zheng said.

‘There is a chance that it will come more in the form of cash,’ he added. The $4 billion Goods and Services Tax (GST) offset package over a five-year period that was announced last year comprised of $1.8 billion in GST credits while the balance was in the form of rebates.

Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew noted that the strong economic performance last year has placed the government in a good position to offer more cash handouts.

‘But we are not looking at any increase in CPF contribution on the employer side or the employee side because that will increase business cost,’ he said.

Economists predicted a potential cut in top personal income tax from 20 per cent, after the government shaved two percentage points off the corporate tax rate to 18 per cent last year in what was seen as a pro-business Budget.

Now there are fears that costs are creeping up. Last year, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.1 per cent year on year, a significant jump from the one per cent seen in 2006, partly due to the two percentage-point hike in GST in July last year. The CPI jumped 4.4 per cent in December from a year ago to hit a 25-year high fuelled by higher transportation, food and healthcare costs. ‘Perhaps, of greater concern is the risk that if inflation stays persistently high, inflation expectations could become more entrenched, pushing up wages and leading to a second-round impact on the CPI numbers,’ Mr Kit said.

Sharing this sentiment was CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun. ‘Barring a sharp downturn in the global economy, domestic price pressures are likely to persist, due to short-term supply constraints,’ he said.

The recently announced changes in ERP charges and the uncertainty of whether means testing in public hospitals would lead to higher insurance premiums have also raised concerns over higher living and business costs.

To curb congestion on the roads, the government is raising the ERP base charge from the current $1 to $2 and the incremental charges from $0.50 to $1 from July. The increase in ERP revenue is more than offset by a 15 per cent cut in road tax and a reduction of additional registration fee (ARF) for vehicles from 110 per cent to 100 per cent of the Open Market Value (OMV).

These ERP changes take effect from July onward, when the effect of a two percentage-point GST hike last July would have waned.

For now, economists and businessmen alike are circumspect about how the impact of higher ERP charges and the offsetting measures of lower road tax and ARF on inflation will eventually play out.

‘While the usage costs may go up, I believe it should be offset by lower car ownership costs,’ said Wee Piew, CEO of steel stockist HG metal. ‘As I understand this is not a revenue-generating measure by the government but a car population containment measure, so I believe incremental costs for businesses should be negligible.’

Stanchart’s Mr Liew believe that the costs of being stuck in traffic jams and losing man hours could be just as detrimental to businesses as an increase in transport costs, if not more.

But Mr Kit of Citi wondered what it would take for motorists to change their daily routine.

‘The ERP by itself might not have a huge impact, but it’s the cumulative effect - all these price increases coming together,’ Mr Kit said, citing higher food prices and electricity tariffs, an upward revision of HDB annual values and higher taxi flag-down rate.

Some businesses will likely feel the heat of higher ERP costs on their operations, whether they are couriers, manufacturers that deliver goods on a regular basis or companies whose employees take taxis to make sales trips and workers who may soon demand higher transport allowances or wages.

Kim Ann Engineering believes that the group’s delivery and logistic cost will increase eventually when more gantries are added as it delivers goods to many light industry estates.

‘We have eight delivery trucks/vehicles to various directions. Other than Express Highways, we will soon have to pass Alexandra and Toa Payoh gantries when they’re in operation,’ Lau Tai San, chairman and managing dirWector of the group, said.

Predeep Menon, executive director of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said most of the association members are bracing themselves for a significantly higher cost structure.

‘What’s happening now is that most businesses are being hit by the costs first. Then, they will need breathing time to see how to adjust to it and how best to avoid certain expenses,’ Mr Menon said.

Many economists expect CPI for the first half of this year to hover around 5 per cent year on year.

Inflationary pressures would then taper off in the third quarter where the GST effect would have dissipated and further moderation in the fourth quarter due to a high base of comparison in a year-ago period, they said.

Stanchart and DBS are expecting the full-year CPI to come in at 4 per cent year on year, CIMB-GK is predicting 4-4.5 per cent, while Citi raised its inflation forecast for 2008 to 5 per cent from 3.8 per cent previously.
Source : Business Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Factory output shrinks, weaker outlook -Singapore

Factory output shrinks, weaker outlook -Singapore

By Alvin Foo 
 
SINGAPORE’S key manufacturing sector is still growing, but it has - for a second straight month - been expanding at a slower rate, according to a key indicator.
Also, output from the nation’s factories will weaken further and even shrink in the coming months, economists have predicted.

They say the outlook for manufacturing seems ‘pretty dim’, with a likely contraction due to an economic slowdown in the United States, Japan and Europe and this month’s festive period.

The data, released yesterday by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM), is the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a forward-looking indicator based on a survey of purchasing executives at more than 150 companies in Singapore.

The PMI dipped 0.5 points to 50.5 last month after falling to 51 in December from 53.8 in November. The index indicates a contraction in the sector if it is below 50, while above 50 means an expansion.

Last month was the PMI’s eighth straight month of expansion.

The PMI’s dip last month was due to a fall in new manufacturing and electronics as well as new export orders.

‘There is a cause for worry if new orders demand from the overseas and domestic markets does not pick up fast in the coming months,’ said SIPMM executive director Janice Ong. ‘Anecdotal evidence from the survey suggested that local manufacturers were faced with further slowing global demand from key foreign markets - the US and Japan.’

Economists expect the manufacturing sector to remain weak in the first half before staging a rebound.

Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin said: ‘It should contract for the first half before seeing a recovery in the second half. We expect the US to show growth in the fourth quarter with the aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.’

The electronics sector PMI grew marginally at 50.8, down 1.5 points from the previous month, due to weaker growth in new orders from domestic and overseas markets.

Ms Ong said a key worry was a second month of contraction in the electronics inventory index. ‘If this contraction persists, then electronics production output will be affected and, consequently, growth in the electronics sector may be derailed,’ she warned.

Economists are pessimistic on the sector’s outlook. CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said growth was likely to be subdued in the first quarter. ‘It should dip below 50 for February because of the holiday-shortened month. The snow storms in China may also affect new orders.’

Government data released last month showed that factory output slowed more than expected in December last year, setting the stage for another weak year for the sector.

Industrial output shrank 1.7 per cent, a bigger slide than November’s 0.5 per cent contraction.
Source : Straits Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Singapore GIC ‘prepared to adjust terms of UBS deal’

Singapore GIC ‘prepared to adjust terms of UBS deal’ 
 
THE Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) is prepared to adjust the terms of its deal to buy 9 per cent of UBS to help the Swiss bank win shareholder approval, GIC deputy chairman Tony Tan was quoted as saying yesterday.
UBS, Europe’s hardest-hit bank from the credit crisis, received a lifeline of 13 billion Swiss francs (S$17.1 billion) from GIC and an undisclosed Middle East investor in December to shore up capital hurt by hefty United States sub-prime housing losses.

Under the deal, UBS will pay GIC - which will invest 11 billion Swiss francs - and the Middle East investor a coupon of 9 per cent on securities that can be converted into shares within approximately two years of the issue of the notes.

However, the terms of the deal have drawn ire from some smaller shareholders who said it is unfair that they cannot participate in the mandatory convertible bond, with some calling for a rejection of the deal.

‘We would be prepared to adjust the terms,’

Dr Tan said, according to the transcript of his interview with the Financial Times in Davos.

‘We would be prepared to see how we could help them. But we have signed an agreement with them so that has to be honoured.’ UBS has scheduled an extraordinary general meeting for Feb 27, when it will seek approval for the investment.

REUTERS
Source : Straits Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Investors want to size up 4th-gen leaders - Singapore

Investors want to size up 4th-gen leaders  - Singapore
 
THE absence of a fourth-generation political leadership ‘worries’ the Government a lot because the predictability of leaders to come is vital for investors, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
‘In Singapore’s case, predictability of leaders to come is a very important asset,’ he said on Sunday at the end of his visit to Qatar and Dubai.

Investors were keen to meet future prime ministers to get a sense of policy direction under a new leadership, he indicated.

He said that when he was the deputy prime minister, he had visitors asking to see him: ‘The reason was to size up whether this man touted to take over from Lee Kuan Yew will be able to succeed in his job and what is his thinking like.’

The same thing happened to PM Lee Hsien Loong, when he was the DPM: ‘Lee Hsien Loong had so many visitors who were sizing him up, what his thinking would be, will he change policy, will he be somebody who will safeguard investments.’

Judging from the flow of investments into Singapore, investors do not expect policies ‘to go the other way’ when there is a leadership change, he noted.

Therefore it is important to offer ‘consistency of policymaking’ to Singaporeans and to investors, he said.

Turning to the next generation, he said: ‘There are leaders in the present Cabinet who can take over from PM Lee Hsien Loong if necessary. We have that confidence…

‘But the age gap between them and Lee Hsien Loong is a matter of three to four years. Hopefully we would want Lee Hsien Loong to carry on for quite some time, until he is 65 or so.

‘Which means the present leader who could take over from him will be around 60 to 62. If necessary he can do it for a few years.’

Meanwhile, the search is still on.

‘We are still looking for somebody in their 30s and hopefully by the next election, we should be able to field a couple who can become core members of the new team.

‘But who can be the PM is too early to say. But there should be a group of people we all regard as the core of the fourth generation.’

New leaders have been in the news.

Minister Mentor Lee told an Institute of Policy Studies forum on Friday that the present ‘A Team’ of political leaders are good for another two elections.

If the ’silhouette of a fourth-generation A Team’ is not apparent in these elections, there will be reason to worry.

The thinking is that political newcomers need at least two terms to mature into Cabinet ministers.
LEE SIEW HUA

Source : Straits Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Grow economy, draw investments to fight inflation - Singapore

Grow economy, draw investments to fight inflation - Singapore

S’pore can tap Middle East and China to grow; inflation here lower than other nations: SM

By Lee Siew Hua 
COOL FACTOR: SM Goh visiting the Mall of the Emirates, which has its own ski slope inside. — ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
 
DUBAI - SINGAPORE can tackle the rising cost of living with a clear focus on spurring economic growth and wooing foreign investments, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
One front of this growth strategy is to open new doors in the Middle East and China, said Mr Goh on Sunday, at the end of his week-long visit to Qatar and Dubai.

‘I would say concentrate on generating economic growth and bringing foreign investments into Singapore,’ he said in an interview with Singapore journalists.

‘When there’s growth, people are employed, at least you can buy something. You have income, even though inflation is high.’

And salaries will hopefully grow faster than inflation in most instances, he said.

But the Government is also mindful that there will be cases of workers whose salaries will not rise faster than inflation, he said.

‘Here’s where the Workfare Income Supplement comes in. Maybe we could look at what we can do for them in the coming Budget.’

He added: ‘We have always done it in the past - some special distribution to special groups.’

The big picture, he said, was that inflation in Singapore is low by most countries’ standards.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday that this year’s inflation ‘could be 5 per cent, maybe even more. Especially in the first half, it is going to be high’.

But, SM Goh said, Dubai and Vietnam are experiencing inflation rates of over 10 per cent. In China, it is easily over 7 or 8 per cent.

‘All countries face this pressure because of high oil prices and because of the diversion of farm lands to grow biofuel,’ he said.

So in Malaysia, there was the phenomenon of a cooking-oil shortage, as palm-oil plantations are being diverted for biofuels, he observed.

Member of Parliament Ahmad Magad, who was in SM Goh’s delegation, said that Singaporeans need to know that the pressures of inflation are very much felt in the Middle East, too.

Another economic challenge facing Singapore this year is the possibility of the United States tipping into recession. In the short term, some industries may be affected, said SM Goh. ‘But in the medium term, if you have a stream of investments coming in, you’ll be all right.’

His forecast for Singapore is still bright: ‘In my own view, this year we should be able to do fairly well. MTI (Ministry of Trade and Industry) still retains its forecast of 4.5 to 6.5 per cent growth for this year.’

His expectations of a fairly good year rest on a set of good performers in the economy. ‘Construction is still very active in Singapore. There are signs that the electronic cluster may begin to pick up. Financial services are still doing well.’

But Singapore exports may be affected. This may happen if there is a US recession and, at the same time, China grows a little slower, he said. ‘But on the whole, there are enough activities to give us the confidence that we should be able to grow within the range of 4.5 to 6.5 per cent for this year.’

Source : Straits Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Better traffic access for Singapore Sentosa, VivoCity and HarbourFront

Better traffic access for Singapore Sentosa, VivoCity and HarbourFront
 
Volume likely to rise due to IR, new condos; works to start in June

By Maria Almenoar 
 
THE roads leading to Sentosa, VivoCity and HarbourFront will be widened to cater to an anticipated increase in traffic into the area.
With one of Singapore’s two integrated resorts opening on Sentosa and new condominiums to be built in the area by 2010, traffic is likely to go up by 30 per cent, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) yesterday.

The Sentosa Gateway junction at Telok Blangah Road now sees about 6,000 cars during the evening peak period.

By 2010, the number will likely be between 8,000 and 9,000.

LTA director of transport planning Lina Lim told reporters yesterday: ‘Without the improvement works, I think we would expect very long queues and not being able to clear junctions…’

The road widening works, expected to begin in June and be completed in 11/2 years, will span a 2km stretch from the junction of Keppel and Kampong Bahru roads to the junction of Telok Blangah and Henderson roads.
These are the improvements to be made:
An extra lane will be added to both sides of Telok Blangah Road, to give each side four lanes;

Another lane will be kept specially for cars turning left into Sentosa Gateway from west-bound Telok Blangah Road, to make two left-turn lanes;

Another lane will be added for vehicles turning right into Sentosa Gateway from east-bound Telok Blangah Road, making three lanes there;

Adding an extra left-turn lane for vehicles going from Sentosa Gateway to Telok Blangah Road, to make three lanes there.
Other changes: Kampong Bahru Road will be widened, and improvements will be made to the Henderson Road/Telok Blangah Road junction and the HarbourFront Walk/Telok Blangah Road junction.

The viaduct which takes cars overhead, in front of VivoCity mall, will have an extra exit built from it.

An exit will be created near Morse Road, just before Henderson Road, which will enable motorists to bypass the HarbourFront area and at least four traffic lights.

Miss Hwang E-wan, a 25-year-old investment banking analyst who lives along Wishart Road off Telok Blangah Road, is glad for this.

To get home, she usually goes through the jam outside VivoCity.

‘The alternative is to use the Alexandra Road exit and then make a U-turn back to my house. This will help me escape all that.’

A VivoCity spokesman said that traffic in the area was generally fine on weekdays but can build up on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.

Sentosa said its plans to increase the number of arrival lanes and to move its admission booths inland would complement LTA’s plans.

An electronic parking guidance system will also be introduced in the HarbourFront area.

Large signboards will alert motorists where carpark lots are available, which will cut down congestion by reducing the number of cars circling the area looking for lots.
Source : Straits Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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Away for over 12 months? You won’t be counted… -Singapore

Away for over 12 months? You won’t be counted… -Singapore
 
By Keith Lin 
SINGAPOREANS and permanent residents who stay abroad for a continuous period of at least 12 months are now excluded from its population count.
The move follows Singapore’s decision to adopt a recommendation of the United Nations (UN), which considers people who are away from the country for 12 months or more as having their usual residence overseas.

This group includes those studying abroad, working overseas and those who have emigrated but have not given up their citizenship.

With the revision, Singapore’s resident population - made up of citizens and PRs - is 3.58 million as at end-June last year.

Including foreigners, Singapore’s total population adds up to 4.59 million, below the pre-revision 4.68 million.

The change was announced yesterday by the Department of Statistics.

Calculations from its website’s figures show that in the last five years, the number of Singapore residents away continuously for more than 12 months hovers between 70,000 and 90,000.

In 2003, they totalled around 80,000 and 90,000 as at end-June last year.

Demographers interviewed said the revision would prevent double-counting and help the authorities plan resource allocation better.

Calling the move ’sensible’, Professor Gavin Jones from the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute, said: ‘Obviously, somebody who is away for years is not going to be studying in the schools here or using the MRT.’

Consultant demographer G. Shantakumar said the new measure helps the UN resolve the problem of double-counting when it makes global population projections.

‘A situation where two countries count one particular person as part of their individual population can be avoided,’ he said.

The change does not affect the number of foreigners living here, which is around 1.01 million as at last June, a 15 per cent rise over 2006.

Source : Straits Times  - 05 Feb 2008

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