IDA earmarks additional $70m to groom local IT talent - Singapore

IDA earmarks additional $70m to groom local IT talent - Singapore

It will fund a series of manpower development initiatives
By WINSTON CHAI AND CHEW XIANG

THE government has set aside a new war chest of $70 million to groom future IT talent and to upgrade the skills of existing infocomm professionals.
 
Dr Balakrishnan: ‘We really need to develop a full complement of manpower that stretches the entire spectrum from maintenance to high-end, cutting-edge R&D.’ 
‘For our local infocomm industry to flourish, the key ingredient is talent,’ said Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, in Parliament yesterday.

To be spread over the next five years, the multi-million-dollar injection will fund a series of manpower development initiatives spearheaded by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

These include programmes aimed at equipping students with industry-relevant know-how before they graduate and funding to help current IT professionals upgrade their skills. ‘We really need to develop a full complement of manpower that stretches the entire spectrum from maintenance all the way to high-end, cutting-edge research and development,’ Dr Balakrishnan stressed.

For the top students at the three local universities, the IDA will roll out its Enhanced Learning in Information Technology initiative to better prepare them for careers in the infocomm industry.

They will be given industry exposure to complement their academic work. For example, the IDA will provide special seminars and workshops and they will be mentored by local IT leaders. They will also get the opportunity to take on local or overseas industry internships.

The number of National Infocomm Scholarships, which covers the costs of pursuing technology-related degrees both locally and abroad, will also be increased over the next few years, Dr Balakrishnan added. For existing IT professionals, he said a Techno-Strategist programme will be introduced by the IDA from this April. This is initially targeted at 1,000 mid-level technology executives and aims to expand their IT-centric knowledge to include business know-how in key economic sectors like healthcare, finance and banking over the next two years.

This adds to current programmes like the National Infocomm Competency Framework, a broad set of guidelines developed by the IDA.

Dr Balakrishnan also responded to concerns about a widening digital divide in Singapore by unveiling a $43 million package to help fund PC ownership schemes, as well as IT literacy programmes for the elderly and disabled over the next five years.

Separately, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang yesterday said that the government will spend $115 million over the next five years on the next phase of its Renaissance City Plan (RCP).

Dr Lee said: ‘RCP3 will continue the work of broadening our audience base and talent pool, and internationalising our artists and art companies.’

He also said that the National Arts Council will set up a $700,000 fund to commission works from local artists. Another $1 million will go into funding exchange programmes between local and foreign artists and art companies, Dr Lee said.

Also in Parliament, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Information, Communication and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan said that the free-to-air television channel Vasantham will be given its own channel, and will broadcast up to 65 hours of programming a week, he said.

The Indian language television channel now shows about 29 hours of programmes a week.

Speaking in Tamil, Dr Balaji said: ‘We have received much feedback from the Indian community asking for the improvement of Vasantham programmes.’
Source : Business Times  - 01 March 2008

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DC rate hike lower than expected - Singapore

DC rate hike lower than expected - Singapore

Average industrial rates up 16.8%, muted increases for most other uses
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

THE government yesterday announced modest, lower-than-expected increases in development charge (DC) rates for most use groups, except industrial.
 
 
‘Limited transactions in the past six months, amidst cautionary sentiment set about the US sub-prime debacle, were probably an important factor for the moderate gains this round,’ said Jones Lang LaSalle regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt.

Knight Frank director Nicholas Mak said: ‘The government may feel that there has been no significant appreciation in land prices in the last few months.

‘And DC rates for most use groups - such as commercial, non-landed residential and hotel/hospital - were already at a higher base because of substantial hikes in the last revision.

‘Industrial DC rates, on the other hand, had seen only a marginal rise the previous round and hence saw the sharpest increase this time.’

DC rates, which are payable for enhancing the use of some sites or putting bigger developments on them, are revised twice yearly, on March 1 and Sept 1, and are listed according to use groups and 118 locations across Singapore.

From today, the average DC rate for commercial use has gone up 1.5 per cent - after the 42 per cent increase in the last round on Sept 1, 2007. The average rate for non-landed residential use has been raised 2.6 per cent, again much smaller than the 58 per cent hike previously, while the average rate for landed residential use has been left unchanged.

For hotel and hospital use, the latest DC rates are up 3.3 per cent on average, compared with a 23 per cent hike previously.

Industrial DC rates have jumped 16.8 per cent on average, against a 2 per cent rise previously.

JLL’s Mr Lui said that the big hike in industrial DC rates is in tandem with growing demand for backoffice space as more firms relocate out of the CBD due to high rents.

For industrial DC rates, the biggest hike of 33.3 per cent was in the Jurong/Lim Chu Kang/Kranji location, which analysts attributed to JTC Corp’s sale of two industrial sites at Jalan Tepong and Pioneer Road/Tuas Avenue 11 at about double the land values implied by the previous September 2007 industrial DC rate for the area.

Similarly, the sale of an industrial plot at Commonwealth Drive/Lane at about four times the September 2007 DC rate-implied land value was probably behind a 32 per cent hike yesterday in the industrial DC rate for the area.

Industrial DC rates were raised by 22.2 per cent each in the Kallang Way/MacPherson/Aljunied, and Braddell/Potong Pasir/Woodleigh areas, based on JLL’s analysis. The rate for West Coast Road/Jurong East was upped 20.7 per cent. Increases of 20 per cent were seen in locations such as Havelock Road, Telok Blangah, Tiong Bahru, Bukit Merah, Redhill, Alexandra and Henderson.

Commercial DC rates stayed put in Raffles Place, Marina Bay, Cecil Street and Robinson Road. Instead, the hikes were mostly outside the central business district, ‘reflecting the trend of office demand being pushed out of the CBD’, Savills Singapore director Ku Swee Yong said.

The biggest increases, of 25 and 23.3 per cent, were in the Toa Payoh/Potong Pasir and Paya Lebar/Eunos areas respectively. The sale price of a 99-year commercial plot next to the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh in October and rising rents at SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar were likely reasons for the increases.

The Marine Parade and Tampines locations each saw a 19 per cent appreciation in commercial DC rates, apparently supported by the sale price of an office unit at Parkway Parade, and rental evidence at Tampines Mall and buildings in the Tampines Finance Park.

For non-landed residential DC rates, the biggest gain of 28.6 per cent was in Ang Mo Kio/Yio Chu Kang as well as an adjoining sector that covers Upper Thomson and Sembawang Hills. Far East Organization’s $601 psf per plot ratio top bid for a condo site next to Ang Mo Kio Hub in September last year - a record for 99-year suburban condo land - was the likely reason for the rate hikes.

The Telok Blangah and Tiong Bahru/Ayer Rajah locations each saw hikes of 22.2 per cent in non-landed residential DC rate. CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that the increases were probably supported by the $639 psf ppr fetched for a 99-year condo site on Alexandra Road last year. Mr Li also pointed to the sale of a freehold site on Margate Road as the likely reason for a 21.4 per cent rate hike in the Mountbatten/Meyer/Broadrick area.

For hotel use, gains of around 9-10 per cent were seen in DC rates for the traditional hotel belts in the Orchard Road, Marina Centre and Singapore River locations, as well as places like Marina Bay, Bayfront and Fullerton Road.

‘The tourism boom is expected to continue as the Singapore government drives towards the 17 million visitors goal by 2015. Orchard Road remains Singapore’s main shopping belt, while upcoming developments in the Marina area such as the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort and the F1 race will further generate demand for hotels in the area,’ Mr Lui said.

The DC use group for hotels also includes hospitals and interestingly, the government did not raise the DC rate for the Irrawaddy Road location where a hospital site last month fetched a record price of $1,600 psf ppr from Parkway group.

A spokeswoman for the Chief Valuer said: ‘Parkway’s record bid was an isolated case. In general, there’s no compelling evidence that market values for hotel/hospital use in the area have moved up so much.’
Source : Business Times  - 01 March 2008

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The S’pore brand: Efficiency, integrity, rule of law

The S’pore brand: Efficiency, integrity, rule of law 

Republic’s image can do with small changes but not at expense of core values: MM Lee

By Chua Hian Hou 
RELAXING GRADUALLY: Speaking at the World Effie Festival, MM Lee says the Government has been trying to change Singapore’s reputation as a prudish and uptight place but not at the expense of the Republic’s integrity. — ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
 
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has a pragmatic approach to the winning Singapore brand he largely built: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; just modify as needed.
Mr Lee told a packed auditorium at Suntec City yesterday that Singapore’s image - efficient, law-abiding, stable but a bit prudish and uptight - can do with a tweak but not at the expense of the nation’s core values.

That means such diversions as bar-top dancing, reverse bungee jumping and casinos can have a place in Singapore, as long as the Republic’s fundamental integrity is not damaged.

Mr Lee, addressing the topic The Branding Of Singapore at the inaugural World Effie Festival, a two-day marketing and advertising jamboree that attracted about 2,000 media professionals from around the world, said Singapore’s winning image had been something of a happy accident.

‘We stumbled on the fact that if we had stability, safety, good health standards, efficient working environment and industrial peace, we can get American multinationals like Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments’ to use the island as their manufacturing base, he said.

These firms were looking for regional bases in the 1960s, but the then-ongoing Cultural Revolution in China had made them wary of sites like China and Taiwan.

Even today, factors like Singapore’s ‘rule of law, integrity of its systems, efficient working environment, rational policy decisions’ keep making it the ‘better environment in the neighbourhood, why you are prepared to pay a premium to be here’ compared to cheaper locales.

The brand’s value has been recognised by other nations, all too happy to tap into Singapore’s expertise, said Mr Lee, a process made easier by the way Singaporeans have absorbed the country’s values and have come to embody the brand itself. He said he was ’surprised to see so many big investment firms have got Singaporeans as chief financial officers’.

Forty years on and the country’s reputation and business attractions - its brand in other words - still ring true, though they have evolved and will continue to evolve.

Singapore has to be ‘alive to the changes around us and move accordingly’, said Mr Lee, giving him an opening to tackle the issue the rest of the world is sometimes fixated on: Singapore’s reputation as a prudish and uptight place.

He said the Government has been trying to change this impression with a gradual relaxation of previous no-nos like bar-top dancing, but these changes should not result in Singapore ‘losing our core values’.

Mr Lee, whose remarks were made in an hour-long interview conducted by Mr Jean-Marie Dru, boss of advertising giant TBWA, cited the integrated resorts.

‘We asked ourselves: Will this destroy some basic policies we have like integrity, (a place with) no money laundering, no sleaze?’

So, the Government studied markets with casinos, such as Macau, Australia and Las Vegas, and determined that the problems were manageable, said Mr Lee.

‘We all have to grow up and learn to take control of our lives,’ he said.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 March 2008

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Property development charges barely budge - Singapore

Property development charges barely budge  - Singapore

Small revision of fees points to dwindling deals, slow price growth

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter 
CITY FRINGE STILL ACTIVE: Some collective sales late last year, including those of Toho Gardens in Yio Chu Kang (above) and 15 terrace houses in Balestier, have lifted development fees for non-landed residential sites in Upper Thomson, Tiong Bahru, Balestier and Chancery, among others. — TOHO GARDEN, ST FILE PHOTO
 
 
IT’S official: the property market has gone deathly quiet.
The Government barely tweaked development charges in its semi-annual revision of fees yesterday, reflecting the property sector’s subdued state over the last six months.

Development charges, which can run in the millions of dollars, are what a developer has to pay to buy and redevelop an existing site.

Average islandwide charges for office, hospital, hotel and non-landed housing sites merely inched up, while landed residential sites saw no change in the fee at all.

This marks a big reversal from last year, when the frantic pace of land acquisition led to record hikes in development charges for many sectors.

In super-hot locations, the fees were even doubled.

This time, the only major change was in the industrial sector, where charges jumped 16.8 per cent - compared to 2 per cent in the last round.

This was due to a previous low base, as well as rising demand for back-office space, which led to recent land sales at benchmark prices in areas such as Commonwealth and Ubi, said experts.

Development charges are set by the chief valuer based on recent land and property values, and are adjusted every six months, so their growth rate can be used to indicate market activity.

Property watchers said yesterday’s small rises show what the market has known for some time: Property deals are dwindling and the pace of price growth has slowed.

‘The rates have been moderated as a result of the limited transactions over the last six months, attributed in part to the more cautionary sentiment,’ said Mr Lui Seng Fatt, the regional director and head of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle.

But fees rose for areas on the city fringe, showing that activity is spilling out from prime spots, said Savills Singapore’s Mr Ku Swee Yong.

Development charges rose for non-landed residential sites in Upper Thomson, Tiong Bahru, Balestier and Chancery, among others.

This was probably due to some collective sales late last year, said Mr Nicholas Mak of Knight Frank.

These include the sale of Toho Gardens in Yio Chu Kang and 15 terrace houses in Balestier.

Mr Mak said the fee rises in these areas could further affect the already cautious sentiment in the market.

The overall impact, however, is ‘not as major’ as that from the last round of hikes in charges, he added.

Still, developers looking for new land will probably start relying more on government sales - which do not involve development charges - than on collective sales, said Mr Li Hiaw Ho, the executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research.

In the office and shops sector, the recent sales of transitional office land helped boost development charges in Tampines and Scotts Road.

Thomson and Paya Lebar also saw bigger hikes than the rest.

Hotel sites had increases mainly in central areas, while the fees for industrial sites rose across the board.
Source : Straits Times  - 01 March 2008

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Singapore Govt to spend $70m on infocomm sector

Singapore Govt to spend $70m on infocomm sector 

Funds will be used to nurture and retain top talent, develop IT experts

By Alfred Siew, Technology Correspondent 
 
THE Government will spend $70 million over the next five years to boost infocomm manpower, as well as sharpen Singapore’s technology edge by retaining top talent.
Parts of the funds are being set aside to develop ‘techno-strategists’ with specialist infocomm skills to serve the health-care, finance and banking sectors.

Meanwhile, top students at three universities will be mentored by industry leaders to pick up skills in the sector.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, said in Parliament yesterday the infocomm sector did well last year. Growth in the sector’s value-add to the economy is forecast to be 6 to 8 per cent.

Dr Balakrishnan was replying to questions from MPs Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah GRC) and Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC).

Mr Zaqy said Singapore is losing its engineering edge, with the best talent leaving for more lucrative deals in sectors such as banking.

Ms Low pointed out that many large infocomm firms set up offices here to do sales rather than research. She urged Singapore to focus on high-end jobs that require innovation instead.

Agreeing with both MPs, Dr Balakrishnan stressed that talent is key to the industry. He noted that more than 80 per cent of infocomm professionals here have tertiary education.

The new funds, he said, will be spent partly on workshops and courses that will help produce 1,000 ‘techno-strategists’ out of mid-tier professionals here.

These experts will then be equipped with ‘deeper’ domain knowledge that is a notch above general infocomm skills.

Dr Balakrishnan said the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) will also nurture the top 20 per cent of infocomm students at the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University .

From this academic year, bright students will be exposed to infocomm policy thinking at workshops and seminars and will learn from mentors from key companies in the industry.

According to an IDA survey released yesterday, the industry hired 130,400 people last year, up 8.9 per cent from 119,700 in 2006. Infocomm hires form about 4.8 per cent of the labour market here, a proportion that has stayed constant over the past few years.

The IDA also released numbers that show small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still shy to take up technology. While 72 per cent have a computer and 66 per cent use the Internet, only 31 per cent have a website.

The figures seem to tie in with Ms Low’s other point yesterday, that SMEs are not adopting technology fast enough.

Dr Balakrishnan said there are a number of options already in place for SMEs. For example, they cam pay just $5 for consultancy services at the Infocomm@SME centre launched last year to help them pick up the necessary information technology tools.

Soon, SMEs can also get hooked up with fuss-free packages of PCs, software and website services the IDA is putting together with companies here. From May, SMEs can buy these packages from as little as $800.

‘As an additional sweetener, IDA will co-fund the first 5,000 SMEs when they take up these packages,’ said Dr Balakrishnan.

He added: ‘Resources are available. However, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink.’

Source : Straits Times  - 01 March 2008

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10.7% bonus payout today - Singapore

10.7% bonus payout today  - Singapore
 
THE last bonus payout for holders of the Economic Restructuring Shares (ERS) will be made today.
Tagged at 10.7 per cent of bonus shares, this round of payouts is the last in the scheme intended to help offset an increase in the goods and services tax (GST) from 3 to 5 per cent between 2003 and 2004.

Eligible Singaporeans received their ERS allocations annually from 2003 to 2005, with each share worth $1.

ERS earned tax-free dividends each year in the form of bonus shares, payable every year on March 1 from 2004 to this year. The rate is a minimum guaranteed 3 per cent, in addition to the real gross domestic product growth rate of the previous year.

The amount of ERS received is dependent on the annual value of the recipient’s home. This works out to $400 for most HDB flat dwellers.

Those who have held on to their ERS over the past five years would have received up to $672 worth of bonus shares.

About 800,000 Singaporeans have yet to fully exchange their shares for cash. The Central Provident Fund Board will inform them via mail, by March 10, about how they will receive their ERS payments.

Singaporeans who have previously received GST credits or cashed part of their ERS through bank accounts will receive their ERS payments automatically through the same accounts by April 7.

The rest will receive a cheque from the CPF Board by April 7. Should they prefer to have their ERS bonuses paid into a bank account, they must provide bank account details by March 24 at www.ers.org.sg or return a completed form - available at community centres or clubs and community development councils - to the CPF Board.

All cheques must be cashed by July 7. Thereafter, cheques will be void and ERS payments will be credited directly into the individuals’ CPF ordinary accounts.

The ERS will close on Sept 1.

Source : Straits Times  - 01 March 2008

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Singaporeans losing out in job boom? Not so: MOM

Singaporeans losing out in job boom? Not so: MOM 

Record number of new jobs going to locals, with most being PMET positions

By Keith Lin 
 
THE Government has made public data to show that Singaporeans are benefiting from the employment boom, contrary to the belief of a few MPs and Internet chatter.
They show that citizens landed a record number of the new jobs created in recent years.

More importantly, the vast majority of the jobs they got went to professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).

And most of these jobs pay a salary above the median income of $2,330 a month.

These are the findings of two new reports released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday, on the situation over the past decade.

Their publication comes amid heated debates on Internet forums, in coffee shops and among MPs such as Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong.

They questioned whether Singaporeans are gaining from the booming economy, which created a record 236,600 jobs last year.

On Tuesday, Mr Siew argued in Parliament that the rising proportion of foreigners in the workforce has likely resulted in a higher share of wages going to them.

Official figures show six in 10 of the new jobs last year went to foreigners, up from five in 10 in 2006.

But this has more to do with insufficient Singaporeans being available to fill the rising number of new vacancies, according to the report giving a breakdown of jobs held by citizens, permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners.

The breakdown, published for the first time, shows all three groups gained from the job boom.

In 2006, the number of Singaporeans who found jobs soared to an all-time high of 64,600.

But with employment at record highs, their share of new jobs fell from 45 per cent in 2004 to 37 per cent in 2006.

More PRs are also working here, with the numbers rising by 8.4 per cent between 1997 and 2006. This growth is the fastest among the three groups of workers.

However, when Singapore suffered a slowdown between 2001 and 2003, foreigners bore the brunt of job losses.

The second study lists the types of jobs Singaporeans filled in the 10-year period.

It shows 95 per cent of new jobs they took up were for PMET positions.

The upsurge resulted in 45.2 per cent of Singaporeans holding PMET jobs last year, up from 39 per cent a decade ago.

On the other hand, the share of Singaporeans holding lower-paid jobs, such as production, clerical, sales and service, had dropped.

The report did not give data on the types of jobs foreigners hold.

But latest MOM figures show most of them are work permit holders doing low-level jobs, like construction workers. They make up 646,000 of the 756,000 foreigners working here.

Labour economists like Assistant Professor Park Cheolsung agree with the reports’ general arguments, but noted that they do not give a comprehensive picture of Singaporeans’ job prospects.

Prof Park, from the National University of Singapore, believes Singaporeans who land the highly paid jobs may already be well qualified, and not because employers are picking them over similarly qualified foreigners.

He said more studies must be conducted to compare the jobs that Singaporeans and such foreigners hold, before any conclusions can be drawn on the employment quality of citizens.

Source : Straits Times  - 01 March 2008

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