The Marq @ Paterson Hill - Singapore - District 09-10

The Marq @ Paterson Hill - Singapore - District 09-10

Without compromise, the Marq on the Paterson hill offers to the
elements of design and the spaciousness of the bungalow high-end that
they live to the inside of high regulation of lusso of the increase
apartment. The stones throw aways to central shopping, the main labels of way of the
world and the couture of the planner, the finest hospitality and the
MRT stations . The term ‘ a good ones ‘ has close not held never such promise.

Freehold land - 66 exclusive residences set on a 125,000sqft of prime

Each unit comes with a private lift

4 Bedroom units - from 3,000sqft

5 Bedroom units - from 6,000sqft

All the 5 Bedroom units come with a private 15m lap pool

Uninterrupted 180 degree panoramic view across Orchard Road skyline in Singapore

Singapore Real Estate - Buy, Sell, Rent, invest, Singapore Property

Buy, sell, rent,invest, Singapore real estate: private property, residential apartments, commercial and industrial properties. HDB flats for sale and rental. Foreign investors, buyers, tenants or relocating expats can easily find their ideal landed house, bungalow, semi-d, terrace, condominium, townhouse, private apartment, HDB, HUDC, office, shop, factory, warehouse & land right here.

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com ( email me )

http://www.hotvictory.com

Helios Residences @ Cairnhill - Singapore - District 09-10

Helios Residences @ Cairnhill - Singapore - District 09-10

The imminent development of freehold (with the maximum height of 20-storey and approximately 80 units) is situated strategic along the road of Cairnhill, neighbor to the light to Cairnhill - development luxurious of an other Tai of the wing. A pure five-minute is right
walks via from the road of the orchard - main strap of shopping and entertainment of Singapore where the residents can acquire to satisfying of their heart to the centers trades them important which the city of Ngee Ann, paragon and Wisma. They can enjoy the tea afternoon with the friends to the many alfresco coffees or to the hotels 5-star which Hilton Hotel, the hotel of Marriott and Goodwood parks the hotel situated along the road of the orchard. The residents can also choose to stretch themselves or to have reunions of transactions to the randelli I excluded which to you the randello of Tanglin and randello the American who is situates to you here close.

The very famous hospital which the hospital of Elizabeth of the support can be found to the inside of the vicinity while the excellent schools which the Chinese school of the girls Singapore , the school of Anglo-Chinese and the secondary school of the girls of the Raffles are right a short drive via.

Residents of this main development to not only enjoy I privilege of an address prestigious but also the convenience adi amenity and to of the near facilities therefore like tranquility of one the estimated residence.

Easy accessibility as the development is situated second just via from the super highway centers them that it is connected conveniently to other important super highways, residents the airport of Changi and the place of Raffles will find to travel to all the parts of comprised Singapore one breeze total. The public transits, which MRT and the bus, are moreover ready available to the inside of the wandering distance.
Type: Condominium

Location: 60 Cairnhill Road,Singapore

Tenure: Freehold

Site area: 7,402.40 sq m (79,679 sq ft)

Units: 140

Singapore Real Estate - Buy, Sell, Rent, invest, Singapore Properties

Buy, sell, rent,invest, Singapore real estate: private property, residential apartments, commercial and industrial properties. HDB flats for sale and rental. Foreign investors, buyers, tenants or relocating expats can easily find their ideal landed house, bungalow, semi-d, terrace, condominium, townhouse, private apartment, HDB, HUDC, office, shop, factory, warehouse & land right here.

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com ( email me )

http://www.hotvictory.com

Singapore F&B exports to UAE up 67% to $171m

Singapore F&B exports to UAE up 67% to $171m
SINGAPORE’S food shipments to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) jumped 67 per cent to hit $171 million in 2007, International Enterprise Singapore said yesterday.
The republic’s exports of food and beverage (F&B) products have more than doubled since 2005; and with the UAE’s recognition of the Halal Certification System of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore since 2006, the uptrend is likely to continue, said the government’s trade promotion arm.

‘Singapore F&B products are known not only for their taste and high standards of production, but also their creativity and variety in the Middle East, and that has boosted the demand for Singapore’s F&B’, said Lim Ban Hoe, regional director for Middle East and Africa at IE Singapore.

Some of these products will be on show at Gulfood 2008, the largest trade show for the F&B sector in the Middle East, which is taking place from Feb 24 to 27 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Some 22 Singapore firms are taking part, among them vendors of local snacks like roti prata and frozen rice balls, freshwater fish, coconut and pineapple based foods, dumplings and dim sum, vegetable oils like palm and sunflower, 3-in-1 coffee, soya sauce, rice noodles, and fruits and nuts.
 
A firm selling disposable microwavable containers - perhaps the only non-edible Singaporean product on display - will also be present.

Singapore has some 700 food manufacturers, with more than half catering to overseas markets. Total trade generated by the industry in 2007 was $17.6 billion, up more than 15 per cent from the previous year.

Two-fifths of exports went to key markets like Japan, Malaysia, China and Indonesia.

Source : Business Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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Mindy Yong

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US recession could knock 1-2 points off growth: Sigapore SM

US recession could knock 1-2 points off growth: Sigapore SM

S’pore can depend on growth in China, India to sustain its economy, he says
By MATTHEW PHAN

A US recession could knock ‘maybe one or two percentage points’ off the growth of small, open economies like Korea or Singapore, but if a country gets the basics right, it can cope, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said during a televised interview while visiting Korea.

Mr Goh: Korean investors could use Singapore as a springboard not only for South-east Asia, but also to the Middle East or Europe 
‘Have a good budget, have a good economy and strong fundamentals,’ said Mr Goh. ‘If our basics are right, we can cope with it. We have the surpluses to see the people through a very bad patch.’

Further, Singapore will be able to depend on Chinese and Indian growth to sustain its economy, he said.

‘Without China growing or without India growing, I think we will be very badly hit. But because we have prepared ourselves for this, we can now seek some comfort in the growth of China and India’, said Mr Goh.

Korea, which will see its newest President-elect Lee Myung Bak take office next week, should set itself the goal of being an open economy, in order to compete, he said.

Asked whether the incoming government might succeed in pushing through an Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Korea and the US, Mr Goh - who helped negotiate the Singapore-US FTA in 2003 - said the key is to reach out to stakeholders who might be affected.

In Korea’s case, the agricultural sector would be very much against the FTA, he said. ‘You have to reach out to them to tell them that maybe they may suffer some loss of income through competition, but there are other ways to help them.’

Further, ‘you’ve got to reach out to the wider economic community to tell them that the benefits to the whole economy outweigh the losses in some areas’, he said. Another issue would be American concern over exports of Korean automotives to the US.

‘If you can solve the beef and automotive problems, I think you can get the Congressmen in the US and the National Assembly members here to support the FTA. It is very important for Korea to have an open market in the US, where the tariffs would be much lower than they are now for your exports,’ said Mr Goh.

As for Korea-Singapore relations, Korean investors could use Singapore as a springboard not only for South-east Asia, but also to the Middle East or Europe; conversely, Singapore firms could use Korea as a launch pad to the US, China and Japan, said Mr Goh.

‘We can be your port in South-east Asia and you can use our port for transhipment. If Korea has an open skies policy, you can be the hub for North-east Asia. We have an open skies policy. We can be a hub for Korea, if Korean Airlines flies to Singapore and beyond. These are possibilities,’ he said.

Another potential area for cooperation is joint-investment in third countries, like in the Middle East, while on the flipside, Koreans and Singaporeans could work together with the Arabs to invest in Korea or elsewhere, he said.
Source : Business Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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S’pore to see increase in international arbitration work

S’pore to see increase in international arbitration work

Plans to open up sector to lure more foreign participation
By MICHELLE QUAH

(SINGAPORE) The level of international arbitration work in Singapore is set to burgeon - with latest measures to liberalise the legal industry here only serving as further impetus.
 
 
Legal practitioners are predicting that proposals announced by the government last year to deregulate the profession - in particular, those to open the industry to greater foreign participation - will significantly boost international arbitration work.

One key recommendation is to introduce a new Qualifying Foreign Law Firm scheme - under which, up to five foreign law firms will be allowed to practise Singapore law. The move will not just boost the business of foreign law firms, but the legal industry as a whole.

Drew & Napier, the first Singapore law firm to be named by Asia Legal Business as the International Arbitration Firm of the Year, sees the breadth and depth of disputes heard in Singapore increasing - signalling a growing maturity of alternative dispute resolution.

‘We have seen a significant shift in the nature of arbitrations in the last five years alone. The dispute values have risen very substantially,’ observes Drew & Napier Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal.
‘We have seen a significant shift in the nature of arbitrations in the last five years alone. The dispute values have risen very substantially.’
 
- Drew & Napier Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal 
 
 
 
 
‘In addition, the choice of law for many of our arbitrations is no longer Singaporean law, but increasingly laws of foreign jurisdictions. This is a testimony to our country’s neutrality and high standard of the rule of law, as well as its attractiveness as a place to conduct business, even contentious business,’ he adds.

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) - set up in 1991 to meet the demands of the international business community for a neutral, efficient and reliable dispute resolution institution in Asia - also notes the level of international arbitration work here increasing.

The number of international cases administered by the SIAC has doubled in the last few years - from 35 in 2003, to 70 in 2007.

‘And we expect to see a further increase, going forward, with the initiatives the government has put in place,’ says SIAC Registrar, Sabiha Shiraz.

She notes that parties from China, Indonesia and India have been, and continue to be, the biggest users of SIAC’s international arbitration services.

Foreign law firms here are also bullish.

White & Case LLP Singapore partner, Bertie Mehigan, notes: ‘My personal view is that there will be more arbitration work in Singapore in the coming years. The economic growth of China, India and other Asian countries; the fact that there are very large projects and transactions across Asia involving domestic and international participants and that the legal systems and dispute resolution mechanisms in many of these growing economies lag behind Singapore will be the factors that present the opportunities to Singapore.’

And DLA Piper’s regional managing partner, Desmond Ong, says: ‘From personal experience, there are an increasing number of international arbitrations being conducted here.’

SIAC believes that cases likely to benefit from these increased opportunities will mainly be in the construction, large infrastructure projects, oil and gas sectors. The importance of Singapore as a hub for Asia has seen White & Case appointing three new partners, Chen Guan Feng, Brad Roach and Thong Huey Yann, to its Singapore office - to build on the firm’s capabilities in bank finance and restructuring, and energy and project finance sectors.

Drew & Napier also sees IT arbitrations - involving enterprise-wide software contracts - as a growth area. Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull notes: ‘Singapore has always been a preferred destination for multinationals to set up a regional office for Asia. And one aspect of having a regional office here also involves setting up a regional IT operation in Singapore. Inevitably with large software contracts, disputes will arise over areas like programming, source codes, delivery, implementation and so on.’

‘There is a lot of nitty-gritty and minutiae involving source code issues that can be quite esoteric. These matters can be broken up and examined thoroughly, often taking weeks. So arbitration is well-suited both for technical reasons and for its ability to accommodate lengthy proceedings,’ Mr Bull adds.

Intellectual property - and cases involving bilateral and multilateral investment treaties are other specialised areas where cross-border disputes are increasingly being arbitrated in Singapore.

‘We are also getting involved in more disputes involving the energy industry. With oil and coal prices escalating rapidly, suppliers are breaching supply contracts as they are no longer willing to deliver based on the earlier, much lower price stipulated in the agreement,’ adds Mr Bull.

SIAC’s Ms Sabiha concludes: ‘The increasing level of international arbitration work here will serve to benefit the legal services industry as a whole - and it will be something practitioners will look forward to.’
Source : Business Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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No arguing about it, US recession is ‘already here’- Singapore

No arguing about it, US recession is ‘already here’- Singapore

It’ll be over by end of 2008 but initial recovery mild, says Lehman strategist
By SIOW LI SEN

(SINGAPORE) The United States recession is already here, though some economists still argue about it, said Jack Malvey, Lehman Brothers chief global fixed income strategist. But it’s really not that bad, and certainly not the end of the world.
The good news is that the credit recession of 2007-2008 will be resolved by the end of this year.

The bad news? The recovery will be mild, at least initially, said New York-based Mr Malvey who was in town last week.

Since 1945, recessions have occurred about every five years and averaged 9-10 months, said Mr Malvey.

In the US, what began as the sub-prime crisis last June - and which has now spread to other sectors of the economy - has created widespread negative sentiment.
‘2009 will be … a slow growth, slowly healing US economy. So (we’ll be) out of technical recession possibly before the end of this year … moving into a sort of extended healing process.’
 
- Jack Malvey, 
Lehman Brothers chief global fixed income strategist 
 
 
 
And the popular media has capitalised on this, said Mr Malvey who met with reporters last Friday.

Since the beginning of 2008, he noted, some of the programmes on cable TV have included specials on the Black Death of 1346-1348 and its possible re-occurrence, the fate of the Earth once all humans are gone, the catastrophic effect of a mega-methane eruption from the floor of the Pacific Ocean and life-ending gamma rays from the detonation of a nearby supernova.

The US recession will over by end-2008, with slow recovery next year and clear blue skies in 2010, said Mr Malvey.

‘I think that the US recession will be over (by end-2008) to the degree that actually we have found to be in recession. Fiscal stimulus puts money in the hands of consumers in the third quarter, monetary policy will have been accommodative for a year as of September 18, 2008,’ he said.

The US Federal Reserve started to cut interest rates last September in response to the credit freeze and, more recently, the United States Congress has approved a US$152 billion stimulus plan to rescue the ailing US economy.

‘The uncertainties of certain aspects of this credit recession will be resolved, we’ll know the fate of the monolines (insurers) for example, CDOs (collateralised debt obligations) write-offs will mercifully have petered out, so I think a lot of elements will contribute to a resurrection in terms of the US economy,’ said Mr Malvey.

But it will be a slow recovery, U-shaped rather than V-shaped, he said.

‘2009 will be … a slow growth, slowly healing US economy. So (we’ll be) out of technical recession possibly before the end of this year …. moving into a sort of extended healing process.

‘It’s probably 2010 before we have clear blue skies again in the US and because these things move in different velocities around the world, maybe some regional economies start their recessions, slow down a little later and may heal a little later, maybe they’re still in recovery mode in 2010,’ he said.

He was most optimistic about Asia where he said the average growth will exceed that of the US, Europe and Latin America.

Japan is the most at risk, being the Asian economy closest to the US, according to Mr Malvey. He said that Japan has 40 per cent risk of succumbing to recession at the end of 2008.

‘Other parts of Asia, we do not see high risk of succumbing to outright recession in the course of this year and next,’ he said.

Source : Business Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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Credit crunch boosts Singapore dollar debt market

Credit crunch boosts Singapore dollar debt market

For firms fleeing volatile credit markets in the US and Europe, Singapore is an oasis
By SIOW LI SEN
(SINGAPORE) Foreign banks and companies facing a liquidity squeeze from their traditional funding sources are turning to Singapore’s debt markets for funds.
 
‘Notwithstanding the global market volatility, there continues to be liquidity in Singapore for rated, good quality issuers to tap the Singapore market. We expect global financial institutions to continue to tap the Singapore dollar market as an alternative funding source.’
 
- Tan Lay Hoon, 
OCBC Bank’s head of capital markets 
 
 
 
The Singapore dollar corporate bond market is getting a nice boost from the turmoil in the global financial markets, and bankers here say they are seeing a big increase in interest from foreign issuers fleeing the volatile US and European credit markets which spooked investors have abandoned.

‘We’re an oasis of calm compared with the volatility over there,’ said one observer.

Bloomberg data showed that in 2007, foreign issuers tapping the Singapore dollar bond market made up 55 per cent, or $6.9 billion, of the total corporate issuance.

In 2006, foreign issuers raised $5.8 billion and 44 per cent of total corporate bond issuance was in Singapore dollars.

Thomson Financial’s data shows that there were 73 foreign issuers in 2007, up from 64 in 2006.

According to Clifford Lee, DBS Bank managing director and head of fixed income, foreign banks are keen to diversify their funding sources.
 
‘Definitely we’re getting more enquiries from foreign banks,’ said Mr Lee. Previous bond issuance in Singapore dollars by foreign issuers were more on an exploratory basis, he added.

‘Previously they had many sources, in US dollars, euros and yen,’ he said. ‘This year it’s different; they’re coming because they need the funding.’

Tan Lay Hoon, OCBC Bank’s head of capital markets, said: ‘Since 1997, the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has promoted and encouraged foreign issuers to tap the Singapore dollar bond market. Over the years, various foreign corporate and financial institutions have tapped the Singapore dollar market for varying issue sizes.

‘Last year, after the onset of the US sub-prime crisis, OCBC, together with Morgan Stanley, jointly led Morgan Stanley’s $510 million Singapore dollar issuance.’

This month, OCBC was the joint lead arranger for Lehman Brothers’ bond issue to raise $250 million, at a coupon of 4.2 per cent. This was sold to a wide range of investors, predominantly Singapore domestic buyers.

Lehman’s bond issuance was the firm’s third and biggest in Singapore dollars. It is also the largest Singapore dollar foreign investment bank issuance so far this year.

‘Notwithstanding the global market volatility, there continues to be liquidity in Singapore for rated, good quality issuers to tap the Singapore market,’ said Ms Tan.

‘We expect global financial institutions to continue to tap the Singapore dollar market as an alternative funding source,’ she added.

Funding costs have naturally risen in line with the increased risks and liquidity concerns, bankers said. Spreads are widening, said Ms Tan.

It’s not just a question of costs having skyrocketed in the US and European credit markets, but whether funds are available, said DBS Bank’s Mr Lee.

Risk-averse investors there have abandoned the markets. ‘Here, they are tapping new investors,’ he said.

But Asian investors are fully aware of the situation in the global financial markets and of the increased risks all round. So the execution of deals is taking a little longer.

‘There are increased liquidity concerns and increased risks … and the investors are very aware that the longer they wait, the (more) spreads will widen,’ said Mr Lee.

‘It’s like the Singapore property market - sellers want to sell high and buyers want to buy low,’ he added.

Herbert Moos, Asia-Pacific treasurer for Lehman Brothers, said that the bank has a very strong liquidity position and can access global markets.

Raising Singapore dollars is part of its strategy of building a diversified franchise, he added.

In 2007, non-US dollar revenues made up half of Lehman Brothers’ total revenue, up from 37 per cent in 2006, he said.

‘Singapore is a mature developed market with significant investor base … and a stable pool of investors,’ he added.

A report last year by MAS on the local debt market said that there has been a discernible trend in the number of foreign issuers tapping the Singapore dollar bond market.

In 2006, about one-quarter of Sing dollar-denominated new issuance, including Singapore government debt, was attributable to foreign issuers, representing more than twice the volume in 2005, MAS said.

Foreign issuers included the Asian Development Bank, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates Airlines, Export-Import Bank of Korea, and General Electric Capital Corp. In terms of geographical distribution, Asia-Pacific companies continued to make up a significant portion of 47 per cent of the foreign entity issuers in 2006, comprising 18 per cent Korean issuers and 10 per cent Middle Eastern issuers.

Source : Business Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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January inflation may be as high as in 70s oil crisis - Singapore

January inflation may be as high as in 70s oil crisis - Singapore
 
Price pressures expected to ease later in the year though, say experts

By Bryan Lee, Economics Correspondent 
INFLATION could hit levels not seen since the oil crisis of the late 1970s, with consumer prices possibly jumping by as much as 7 per cent last month from a year ago.
A lethal combination of surging food and oil prices worldwide, coupled with higher housing and transport costs at home, will produce an eye-popping figure when the actual number is published today, say economists.

While much of the price acceleration was due to external factors, experts said some of the increase was ’self-inflicted’, citing hikes in road usage tariffs and taxi fares.

The good news is that last month’s inflation rate is likely to be as high as it gets this year, with experts adding that a big part of the rise could be attributed to technical reasons rather than real increases in living costs.

‘Think inflation went to the moon in December? Fastern your seatbelts. It’s going to shock even more in January,’ wrote DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah in a report.

Mr Seah reckons prices jumped by 6.6 per cent last month, accelerating from an already high 4.4 per cent in December.
Goldman Sachs economist Mark Tan thinks the figure could be nearer 7 per cent.

If they are right, January’s consumer price index (CPI) would be the highest seen since 1982, when aftershocks from the 1979 oil crisis were still being felt.

Goldman predicts full-year inflation will come in at the upper end of the official forecast range, which was raised two weeks ago to between 4.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent.

Mr Seah has pencilled in a 5 per cent full-year average.

Singapore is not alone in facing the spectre of escalating living costs.

Despite worries over a slowing world economy, inflation fears are high on the agenda in Asia and even the United States, the epicentre of the global slowdown.

But economists said government actions have added to price pressures in Singapore.

The upgrade in the annual values of Housing Board flats will be one of the biggest contributors to the CPI, even if this factor is a largely technical one. A property’s annual value is taken as the theoretical rental income it can fetch in a year.

Given the red-hot property market, the one-off revision has been a long time coming and will add about 1.5 to 2 percentage points to the CPI, economists say.

Another technical factor driving up the CPI was last July’s hike in the Goods and Services Tax, the effects of which should last until June this year.

But less theoretical were the higher transport costs, which came after the Government approved sharp increases in taxi fares and raised electronic road pricing rates while adding more gantries.

‘The spike might be largely technical but, for the man in the street, he has obviously seen how much more he has to fork out for food. For him, it’s quite real,’ said CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun.

Most experts expect inflation to stay high for the next few months. Snowstorms in China could worsen food inflation, while oil prices have shot past US$100 per barrel.

These observers expect slowing global growth to ease price pressures later in the year.

Economists were divided over whether the the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would tweak its monetary policy in April to fend off imported inflation.

Fortis Bank currency strategist Joseph Tan believes the MAS will steepen the permitted appreciation rate of the Singapore dollar.

‘The MAS is behind the curve in inflation. Since October, we’ve had a lot of surprises on the inflation front, which shows that we’ve underestimated inflation,’ said Mr Tan.

Others, such as Standard Chartered Bank economist Alvin Liew, said growth concerns would take precedence, noting that a stronger Singdollar would make local exports less competitive.

‘The Budget has been generous with handouts to help the lower-income group to cope,’ said Mr Liew.

‘The Finance Minister has also said that there’s a limit to how much a stronger Singdollar can fight inflation. That’s a tell-tale sign that the authorities don’t want the Singdollar to strengthen that much more.’

Weighing the costs

RISING oil and food prices have worsened inflation across the globe, but in Singapore, other factors have also played a role in pushing up the consumer price index (CPI).
Housing: The upward revision in the annual values of HDB flats alone should bump up the CPI by another 1.5 to 2 percentage points.

GST: The effects of last July’s hike have yet to subside.

Transport: The recent hikes in taxi fares and ERP rates, plus the addition of more gantries, have made daily travel more expensive.

Source : Straits Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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Mindy Yong

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New trust fund: 1,000 families likely to sign up - Singapore

New trust fund: 1,000 families likely to sign up  - Singapore

Safeguards to prevent hanky-panky in scheme to help disabled kids when parents die

By Theresa Tan, Community Correspondent 
 
ABOUT 1,000 families are likely to sign up for a new trust fund that will support disabled children when their parents die, according to Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan.
Yesterday, Dr Balakrishnan gave more details about the plan, which The Straits Times reported on Saturday.

A trust company will be set up in the coming months to run the fund and its money will be held by the Public Trustee’s Office, which is part of the Ministry of Law.

Said Dr Balakrishnan: ‘We feel the Public Trustee’s Office’s involvement will give people confidence their money is in safe hands and there will be no hanky-panky, fraud or those kinds of problems.’

The trust company will be ‘very tightly monitored and regulated’, he said.

The fund should address the deep anxiety many parents feel over who will provide for their disabled children when they are dead.

Those with deep pockets can create their own trust funds, which invest money and make regular payouts to beneficiaries.

But middle- and lower-income families rarely have enough money for the sizeable investment it takes to start a trust fund.

The new trust fund is designed to help those families pool their money, said Dr Balakrishnan.

The Government will provide administrative support to get the scheme up and running, and also educate parents on the types of financial tools available, such as CPF, to ensure financial security of their disabled children, he added.

News of the trust fund offered some relief to parents like Mr Lim Jun Han, who has a grown-up son with Down’s Syndrome.

Mr Lim, a 63-year-old retired civil servant, said: ‘At least when we are not around, I know there is a reliable institution which can look after the financial needs of my son, who can’t manage finances.’

Dr Balakrishnan said an estimated 1,000 families are expected to sign up in the fund’s first five years of operation.

It is unknown how many disabled people there are in Singapore. However, there were 4,500 students studying in schools for the disabled last year, according to past reports.

Dr Balakrishnan also said yesterday that the Government will soon discuss in Parliament proposed laws that will give Singaporeans a say over who will look after them if they should lose their minds.

‘Over the next few months, or certainly by next year, we will have more safeguards and more options for the disabled and those worried they may become disabled as they grow older,’ he said.
 

Source : Straits Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Project deferral: Singapore HDB upgrading not affected

Project deferral: Singapore HDB upgrading not affected 

By Jermyn Chow 
 
A GOVERNMENT decision to postpone up to $3 billion worth of public projects will not affect upgrading programmes for Housing Board flats, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.
The postponement affects some projects, like hawker centres and school upgrading, but ‘urgent projects’ like the NUS University Town - which will house athletes for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010 - will not be put on the back-burner, he said.

Other projects that will go on as usual are the building of expressways and the Downtown Line.

‘We have (a) sufficient budget to be able to continue with our upgrading programmes. At the same time, of course, HDB will have to look into ways in which it can cut the costs, improve the methods and productivity, and make sure we cut down on waste,’ he said in Tampines yesterday.

The deferring of public projects is to help ease pressure on the construction sector, government officials said last November.

About 590 HDB blocks in 58 locations, including Yishun, Tampines and Hougang, have been selected for work under HDB’s revised upgrading schemes.

These schemes include the Home Improvement Programme and Neighbourhood Renewal Programme unveiled last year.

Mr Mah repeated assurances that they will not be shelved.

The ongoing lift upgrading programme is also ‘on schedule’ to be completed by 2014, he said.

The upgrading of public housing and the remaking of new towns like Punggol and Yishun will raise the value of Singaporeans’ assets, said Mr Mah.

That will mean they are better set up for their twilight years, if they choose to sell their flats back to the Government for retirement funds, he said.

He added that more details of the Government’s lease buy-back scheme would be revealed during the Budget debate.

At least 25,000 people here are eligible for the scheme, which is open to those aged 62 and above who own a two-room or three-room flat.

On the demand for flats, HDB has said it is stepping up its building programme and plans to launch 4,500 flats early this year.

This comes after a record 10,240 applications were received for just 278 four-room, five-room and executive flats in mature estates such as Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah and Geylang.
Source : Straits Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

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Inflation likely hottest issue at Budget debate - Singapore

Inflation likely hottest issue at Budget debate  - Singapore

61 MPs to speak on topics such as rising business costs and adult training

By Keith Lin 
 
THIS year’s Budget, with its generous buffet of rebates and top-ups to defray rising living costs, has put a smile on the faces of many Singaporeans, observes MP Zaqy Mohamad.
But he bemoans the lack of help for companies struggling to cope with cost increases.

‘No matter how much you help consumers and the population at large, escalating business costs could translate into structural inflation - and people will end up losing jobs,’ said the MP for Hong Kah GRC, ahead of the start of the Budget debate in Parliament today.

Hence, he is hoping the Government will introduce measures to lower such costs as rent and foreign worker levies.

Mr Zaqy is among 61 MPs who will take to the floor during the debate, Parliament’s annual marathon that kicks off about a week after the Finance Minister presents the Budget.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam delivered it on Feb 15, his first after taking over the portfolio from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last November.

The first two or three days of the sittings will focus on the Budget statement, before Parliament evolves into what is called the Committee of Supply to scrutinise each ministry’s budget and policies.

To get to speak on a ministry’s plans, an MP tables a token ‘cut’ of the ministry’s budget, which he withdraws after the minister responds to his queries.

In all, MPs have filed a total of 401 ‘cuts’ this year, compared to 372 last year, Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi told The Straits Times in an e-mail on Friday.

But each MP will have to adhere to the same 18-minute limit in total that they had last year to speak on all their cuts, Mr Abdullah said. The 18-minute limit was imposed in 2006.

Many of the speeches during the debate are expected to revolve around one burning issue: inflation.

Although unemployment has plunged to a 10-year low and the average worker’s bonus soared to a 17-year high, costlier food, transport and health care drove inflation to a 25-year high of 4.4 per cent last December.

MPs are also expected to speak extensively on the topic of adult training, in light of a new national masterplan to bolster the Singapore workforce through continuing education and training.

Mr Tharman, in his Budget speech, announced that spending on training for adult workers will double to $400 million a year by 2010.

Said Mr Seng Han Thong, the deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Manpower: ‘It’s not just older and low-skilled workers, but the entire workforce, that needs to be educated on all the training options available, so they can be well-skilled to take on the new jobs that will be created over the next few years.’

Others like Dr Teo Ho Pin, who chairs the GPC for Home Affairs and Law, want more attention on green issues.

The MP for Bukit Panjang feels this year’s Budget fell short of addressing the green movement, such as giving companies financial incentives to construct environment-friendly buildings.

‘While it’s important to tackle the issue of rising living costs, having a quality living environment is equally essential,’ Dr Teo said.

The Budget debate is expected to wrap up on March 6.

Source : Straits Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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More rules for Singapore private schools from next month

More rules for Singapore private schools from next month 

Current rules fall short of ensuring quality of course, teaching standards

By Sandra Davie, Education Correspondent 
NEW measures will be put in place next month to better protect the growing number of local and foreign students opting for the private school route here.
Details will be revealed in Parliament soon, the Education Ministry told The Straits Times.

The new measures will mark yet another move to ensure standards in the private education sector, filled with about 1,200 operators offering anything ranging from tuition and computer courses to diplomas and degrees.

Previous moves were focused on protecting vulnerable foreigners who come here in the hope of an education but were left high and dry when schools folded or operators scooted off with their fees.

One move, a fee protection scheme requiring schools to buy insurance or deposit student fees into a separate bank account, has given students some assurance.

But the measures fall short of ensuring standards in teaching and the quality of courses offered, as a Straits Times check on private schools found out.

The more discerning student would be able to weed out the better institutions from the rest but for most, especially foreign students lured by agents, it is a tougher call.

Ms Shirley Lim, 21, chose to study for a business degree at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), which is one of the more established and reputed private schools here.

‘I was told employers don’t really trust the qualifications from the ‘two-classroom’ type of private schools,’ she said.

Foreign student R. Devagi, 22, from Chennai, India, is now trying to win a place at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), after having studied at two other schools.

Both had promised more than they delivered. One school, she said, boasted on the Internet of ‘a campus’. ‘But it had only two classrooms when I got here.’

About 80,000 foreign students are enrolled in public and private schools here, and more are expected to come given the Government’s push to have 150,000 students by 2015.

An aspiring school operator need only register his school with the Education Ministry. Those who want to enrol foreign students have to win the CaseTrust for Education mark, under a scheme that was started three years ago.

Consumer watchdog Case screens schools on their cancellation and refund policies, the accuracy of information given to students and their dispute-resolution procedures.

But a Straits Times check on some of the 327-Case approved private schools here showed that the checks fall short - especially on accuracy of information.

Among the breaches were schools offering courses from bogus universities and teaching staff with dubious qualifications.

Background checks on the school operators also raised questions about who should be allowed to run schools.

The reputable bigger schools like SIM and MDIS say more stringent checks are needed.

MDIS secretary-general R. Theyvendran said: ‘Every time a private school here goes under, all other schools are affected, sometimes for months and years. Students and their parents in China still remember AIT.’

AIT Academy and Unicampus closed suddenly three years ago, leaving 900 students, mostly foreigners, stranded.

SIM chief executive officer Lee Kwok Cheong agreed that ‘reputation is everything’ in the education industry.

‘Students and their parents are spending time and money. The degree must be of value at the end of the day,’ he said.

Source : Straits Time  - 25 Feb 2008

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Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com