S’pore to have its own YOG torch run

S’pore to have its own YOG torch run

Organisers to stick with tradition despite Beijing’s flame trouble
By LEE U-WEN

(SINGAPORE) While Singapore will not be part of the Beijing Olympics torch relay’s upcoming Asian leg, it has been confirmed that the iconic flame will be a key feature of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which will be staged here in 2010.
 
Mr Bubka: The flame symbolises peace and can move and unite people 
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding China’s torch relay, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will keep with tradition and give Singapore its very own torch run, said chairman of the IOC coordination commission, Sergey Bubka.

Mr Bubka, a former Olympic pole-vaulting champion, is head of an 11-member delegation visiting Singapore to assist the Republic’s YOG organising committee as it prepares to host the Games.

‘The flame is a really unique and great symbol that symbolises peace and can move and unite people, so we need to discuss how the torch run will be organised,’ he told reporters.

Details are still being worked out as to whether the torch run route will be purely a local one, or include regional neighbours and beyond.

Trouble has dogged the Beijing torch relay since protesters disrupted the flame lighting ceremony in Greece last month, following China’s crackdown in the Himalayan region of Tibet.

Singapore Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that he viewed the protests partly ‘as a problem of success’.

‘It shows the Olympic movement has a worldwide impact, and because of such an impact, other people with other agendas will want to hijack this process,’ he said.

He added: ‘We want to engage young people, and they will have deeply and strongly-held views that they want to express. But we must make sure that they have avenues to do so, but done in a way that celebrates the Olympic values of friendship and respect.’

At the IOC workshop conducted yesterday at the Singapore organising committee’s headquarters at Kay Siang Road, it was also revealed that none of the competition records would be registered for the YOG, which will have 200 customised events in 26 different sports.

Mr Bubka, 44, explained: ‘In many international federations, there are no championships on this level. You cannot force youngsters at this age (14 to 18 years old) to do so much just to set the record and maybe damage their body. It’s not necessary at this age to speed up development in their career.’

But should any national or world record be broken, a panel of judges will be called upon to assess the results and these will be documented appropriately, said Mr Bubka.

Close to 3,500 athletes from 205 countries will descend on Singapore for the inaugural YOG, which will kick off on Aug 14, 2010. Besides taking part in their respective events, they all have to go through a compulsory education and culture programme.

Dr Balakrishnan, who supports the IOC’s decision to not focus on sporting records, said that Singapore will finalise its list of athletes and teams taking part by this September.

‘This is a great opportunity for all our National Sports Associations to quickly come up to scratch, and showcase their talent. We have two years to identify, nurture and prepare our young athletes to compete at the highest level in their age groups,’ he said.

The IOC team, meanwhile, will continue its workshops here until Friday. It will also visit and assess most of the 22 competition venues earmarked for the event.

Source : Business Times   - 15 April 2008

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Stronger Sing$ may weigh down interest rates - Singapore

Stronger Sing$ may weigh down interest rates - Singapore

Inflows may increase, but stronger currency could hurt exports
By SIOW LI SEN

(SINGAPORE) Amid the clouds of uncertainty hanging over some sectors, there is good news for home loan borrowers. Interest rates are poised to fall to levels last seen in 2003 following the move to let the Singapore dollar appreciate strongly in an effort to fight imported inflation.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will be busier than ever - intervening in the banking system to mop up some of the extra liquidity in order to moderate the pressure on interest rates.

Low interest rates might negate some of MAS’s anti-inflationary measures by helping fuel domestic growth. But economists say MAS will stick to its guns of using the exchange rate as a tool to fight inflation given Singapore’s open economy.

Last week, data showed that the economy grew a stronger than expected 7.2 per cent in the first quarter against 5.4 per cent in Q4, 2007. Inflation rose to a 26-year high of 6.6 per cent.

Analysts expect the three-month Sibor to fall to between 0.75 and 1.00 per cent by the fourth quarter of this year as capital flows are attracted here by a rising Singapore dollar.

The record low for three-month Sibor was 0.56 per cent reached in August 2003, when the US Federal Funds rate was at one per cent, said Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng.
 
Since last Thursday when the MAS decided to reset the Singapore dollar higher, the key three-month Sibor, which is the interbank interest rate, has fallen some 19 basis points to 1.25 per cent.

‘Foreigners are betting the Singdollar will appreciate … the band re-centring would reinforce the market perception that MAS wants the exchange rate to appreciate and increase investor expectations of returns on Singapore dollar assets,’ said Mr Kit. This would exert downward pressure on short-term interest rates.

The Singapore dollar is now expected to rally to $1.31 by the end of the year against the US dollar. It was $1.36 yesterday.

It is not clear if MAS’s move last week will ease inflation significantly given the persistently high commodity prices, record rents and higher transportation charges.

But the more immediate impact of a stronger local dollar could weaken the demand for exports and hurt the profits of foreign companies operating here, given that their costs are in local currency terms, said some economists.

‘There will be a slowdown in exports, likewise for foreign companies, their profit margins will be impacted,’ said Mr Kit.

United Overseas Bank’s Suan Teck Kin thinks there would be a margin rise in inflows by investors to pick up some gains on the appreciating Singapore dollar, but ‘overall, we might not see a wholesale rush of capital inflows’.

‘This is because from a foreign investor’s point of view, currency return is only one component of total return,’ said Mr Suan. ‘So if an investor believes there is more upside to the equity/ bond/property market and the upside is better than other parts of the region, then the capital will follow.’

Still, the market is bracing for more MAS interventions and sterilisations.

‘Investors should expect the MAS to continue sterilising aggressively, so as to moderate the fall in domestic interest rates as a result of its forex interventions,’ said Mr Kit.

MAS has been sterilising in unprecedented amounts.

In February, data showed that MAS sterilised or removed about US$8 billion from the banking system, the second largest amount since May 2006 when it was over US$9 billion, said Mr Kit.

This means that Singapore’s reserves will continue its climb to record levels.

At the end of March, spot reserves reached S$245 billion, up S$18.8 billion from October, he said.

‘Our reserves are always climbing, the same for many Asian countries,’ he said.

Source : Business Times   - 15 April 2008

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$3b payout over the next six months - Singapore

$3b payout over the next six months - Singapore

By Lynn Lee 

SINGAPOREANS fretting over skyrocketing food prices will get some respite in the coming months - in the form of cash and rebates from the Government.
These benefits will add up to about $3 billion this year, the Finance Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

The payouts, with more going to the low-income and the elderly, will take place on three dates.
On April 30, the first of two parts of the Growth Dividends, arising from last year’s Budget surplus, will be given out.

On Oct 1, the second portion will be distributed.
In all, the amounts will range from $400 for low-income earners to $100 for those earning beyond $100,000 a year.

Those older than 60, and former and current national servicemen, will get more.

In-between these dates, there will be another payout.
On July 1, the Government will give out the second round of GST credits and the Senior Citizens’ Bonus for those aged 55 and older and earning up to $100,000.
The GST credits will be given in cash, to offset last year’s hike in the Goods and Services Tax from 5 per cent to 7 per cent. There will be two more payments, with the final amount given in 2010.

The sums will range from $100 to $250 a year, depending on income and housing type.

As for the bonus, older Singaporeans will get between $50 and $250, some in cash and the rest into their Medisave accounts.

Singaporeans who did not sign up last year for their GST credits can do so from today, and get all three payouts.

They can do it online at www.gstoffset.gov.sg, or in person at community centres, CPF service centres and community development councils.

The deadline is Dec 31.

Undergraduate Tan Yanhe, 25, said that the $1,300 his parents will get in total will ‘help pay for necessities like food’.

‘I’ve been tracking the price rises and it’s scary,’ added Mr Tan, who lives with them in a five-room HDB flat in Hougang.

His father, 55, a market stall helper, earns about $1,000 a month, and his mother, 59, is a housewife.

Besides the three disbursements, a host of rebates will also be given out. Among them: utilities, HDB rent, property tax as well as service and conservancy charges.

Students aged seven to 20 will get top-ups in their post-secondary education accounts to fund their studies here.

Secretary Karen Stead, 40, said she will save all the money she gets for a rainy day.

She lives in a five-room flat in Jurong West with her 44-year-old husband, who works in sales at a company selling heavy vehicles, and their two children, 11 and 14.

The family can expect around $2,900 in cash, top-ups and rebates this year.

Source : Straits Times   - 15 April 2008

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More than $8b of Singapore govt tenders up for grabs

More than $8b of Singapore govt tenders up for grabs
 
Budget is double last year’s and the most the Govt has spent since 2003

By Fiona Chan 
CONSTRUCTION WORKS: Major building works over the next year include those on the Gardens at the Bay (seen here as architectural models), a national garden being built in Marina Bay. — PHOTOS: GARDENS BY THE BAY, BH FILE PHOTO
 
 
THE Government will tender out more than $8 billion worth of projects over the next 12 months - more than double last year’s budget and the largest amount in recent years.
The lion’s share - about $5.8 billion - will be used for building and construction works, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday. The rest will be earmarked for buying goods and services and information technology.

This is the most the Government has spent since it started releasing its yearly pre-procurement plans in 2003. These plans, which outline upcoming tenders worth $200,000 and above between April each year and the following March, aim to give potential suppliers early information, so they can make preparations for the tenders.

The $5.8 billion allocated for building and construction already excludes projects put off to ease pressure on resources in the hectic building industry. In total, the deferred projects amount to $3 billion.

Major building works over the next year include those on the Gardens at the Bay in Marina Bay, runway works at Seletar Airport, the Prisons headquarters and several flat-construction programmes.

The Defence Science and Technology Agency is also planning construction at the Pasir Ris Camp, Mandai Camp 2 and Sungei Gedong Camp.

To improve traffic, there will also be large-scale road works implemented, including a new road network at the Jurong Regional Centre.

The Seletar Expressway will be widened from Woodlands Avenue 2 to Upper Thomson Road. The Central Expressway (CTE) will also be widened between its junction with the Pan Island Expressway and Yio Chu Kang Road, and a new major road will link the CTE with Yishun Avenue 7. The Tampines Expressway will get a new interchange and a road connection to Seletar Aerospace Park.

Meanwhile, another $1.2 billion will go towards procuring goods and services, such as equipment and utilities.

Of this, $90 million has been set aside for electricity for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Land Transport Authority, and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

The police force will also spend more than $10 million leasing 2000cc Volvo saloon cars for a three-year period.

Tenders for information technology projects are also expected to be worth at least another $1 billion, the MOF said.

Details on these projects will be announced next month during the Infocomm Development Authority’s annual industry briefing.

Some major tenders in this sector will include those for the new ultra-fast broadband network likely to be kicked off this month. More than $30 million will also be spent on a new human resource system for the civil service.
 

Source : Straits Times   - 15 April 2008

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