Resorts World at Singapore Sentosa awards largest contract of S$1.05b to date

Resorts World at Singapore Sentosa awards largest contract of S$1.05b to date

  
SINGAPORE: Resorts World at Sentosa has awarded its largest building contract to date, worth S$1.05 billion, to a joint venture between major Japanese contractor Kajima Overseas Asia Pte. Ltd. and local player Tiong Seng Contractors (Pte) Ltd.

This brings the total building contracts awarded so far to over S$2 billion. The S$6 billion integrated resort is slated for completion in early 2010.

Kajima-Tiong Seng will construct three of the six hotels in Resorts World and the resort’s thoroughfare, FestiveWalk.

The three hotels - Maxims Residences, Hotel Michael and Festive Hotel - will offer some 1,000 suites and rooms out of the 1,800 to be found throughout the resort.

The contract also includes the construction of a 15,000-square-metre casino located at the basement of Maxims Residences which will feature gaming rooms, suites and lounges.

The joint venture will also build a dual purpose 1,600-seat Le Vie showroom, which doubles as a Plenary Hall, in Festive Hotel. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 24 April 2008

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Singapore Car dealers say demand for commercial vehicles has gone up

Singapore Car dealers say demand for commercial vehicles has gone up

By Wong Mun Wai, 

SINGAPORE: Car dealers said the percentage of commercial vehicles under the Certificate of Entitlement (COE)’s Open Category has doubled in the past few months to about 10 percent. This is because the demand for such vehicles has gone up.

According to the latest bidding results, COE prices for most categories have declined.

COEs for cars less than 1,600cc (Category A) dropped by S$1,330 to S$15,600, while those for cars that are more than 1,600cc (Category B) now cost S$17,510, down by S$1,991.

COEs for goods vehicles and buses (Category C) stand at S$18,151, down from S$18,900, while COEs for the Open Category (Category E) fell S$938 to S$18,451.

Only COEs for motorcycles (Category D) moved higher - up S$140 to S$1,152.

The Open Category tends to follow the highest costing category, given the high demand. And traditionally, dealers use that category to secure sales in other categories.

The Open Category certificates can be used for both small and large cars, but with the increased demand in commercial vehicles, the spillover effect not only pushes up the price of Open Category certificates, but also brings the prices of both categories C and E closer together.
- CNA/so
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 24 April 2008

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Singapore Property price data can yield different conclusions

Singapore Property price data can yield different conclusions

Same figures in flash estimate of property prices can be read very differently
By ARTHUR SIM

THE property price index (PPI) for the first quarter of 2008 will be released soon - and is unlikely to differ from an earlier flash estimate of a 4 per cent increase, despite developers starting to cut prices for new projects.
 
 
So how useful is the PPI? Does data overload cause confusion?

Last week, The Straits Times headline for the story on the flash estimate was ‘Private homes sales recover in weak market’. In The Business Times, the headline was ‘Private home sales tumble, prices weaken’.

As confusing as it sounds, both headlines were technically correct.

One reason could be how data is interpreted and the level of optimism or pessimism - the same figures can be read very differently.

Consider the flash PPI for Q1, which increased despite the quarter being one of the worst in recent years for new sales. Yet the consensus appeared to be that the PPI could still rise this year.

The PPI is essentially a transaction-based index. Properties are split into segments to form sub-indices that are then used to calculate the PPI.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) uses the moving-average method to compute the weights assigned to the various sub-indices. The weights, updated quarterly, are based on the moving average mix of transactions over the past 12 quarters.

While the PPI is widely used as the gauge of Singapore’s property market, this method is not used universally.

In the United States, for instance, analysts are more likely to refer to ‘housing starts’ - the number of homes being built - as a gauge of the market, or more importantly, market sentiment.

There are also indices based on the prices of resale homes alone, as some believe this is a more accurate measure of prices the market will bear.

In Singapore, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has been looking at other ways to track and gauge property price movements.

Recently, JLL’s head of research (South-east Asia) Chua Yang Liang started to monitor the lowest-transacted median prices of properties in the Outside Core Region because he believes these are a more accurate reflection of price tolerance.

While such an index is in the works, Dr Chua says there could also be variables, pertaining to property size and location, that could have a significant bearing.

Recognising that the property market is becoming more fragmented, with the high-end sector in particular supported by foreigners and speculators, URA has provided separate PPIs for different regions, with the Outside Central Region being one and the Core Central Region and Rest of Central Region the other two.

But this has itself led to speculation on which region is performing better.

In one of its more pro-active moves, URA also began releasing monthly data on developer sales in the middle of last year when the market was most ‘exuberant’.

While the rationale at the time was to make pricing of new launches even more transparent, it has inadvertently revealed how prices can be skewed.

Part of this could be due to developers sometimes selling units selectively to ensure prices remain high.

An optimist will interpret this as prices remaining stable, while a pessimist will only see that demand has fallen.

For the current PPI to be meaningful, there should be some correlation with sales volume, as both are tied to the basic mechanics of supply and demand.

However, after comparing sales volume against the PPI since the previous peak in the mid-1990s, no strong correlation could be determined.

One contrarian trend did emerge, and this was that since the last trough in Q4 1998, the PPI is more likely to rise as transaction volumes fall. Unfortunately, this only adds to the confusion.
Source : Business Times  - 24 April 2008

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Need for increased efficiency in financial processing stressed - Singapore

Need for increased efficiency in financial processing stressed - Singapore

CHIEF financial officers (CFOs) can prepare their financial departments for the future by streamlining internal governance processes, according to Keith Stephenson, partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Speaking yesterday at the Asian Hospitality Finance & Technology Conference, which is part of the four-day FoodHotelAsia-2008 exhibition, Mr Stephenson stressed the need to improve the efficiency of financial processing.

He highlighted a common and fundamental problem faced by company boards: stifling governance structures causing a lack of transparency and effectiveness.

‘Boards are approving transactions, taking and selling options they may not even understand. These are common control issues which generally can be seen being practised in Asia.’

According to PWC findings, Asian-based firms devote a considerable amount of accounting resources to transaction reporting. Half the CFOs surveyed revealed their finance departments still spend 50 per cent or more of their time on transaction processing and monthly closing activities.
 
One possible solution is ‘lean financing’ - a process management philosophy which is borrowed off the concept of lean manufacturing, and encourages simple and effective accounting. Implementing it would involve phasing out inefficient practices such as creating finance documentation in an erroneous or extraneous way. This would enable a shift from the traditional outsourced service model to a new collaborative embedded model.

‘The CFO needs to be on top of housekeeping issues,’ said Mr Stephenson. ‘They were the same in 1985 and will always be around to haunt you otherwise.’
Source : Business Times  - 24 April 2008

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Singapore CPI up by 6.7%, a 26-year high

Singapore CPI up by 6.7%, a 26-year high

By EMILYN YAP
THE rise in the consumer price index (CPI) hit 6.7 per cent in March from a year ago, with economists reckoning that the climb may still have a little way to go.
 
On the rise: Food prices rose 7.6%, driven by costlier rice, cereals and other foodstuff 
The CPI increase, a 26-year high, was largely driven by higher costs of food, housing, and transport and communication. Food prices rose 7.6 per cent compared to March 2007 as a result of costlier cooked food, rice and other cereals, milk products, fresh vegetables, seafood and poultry.

Higher accommodation costs and electricity tariffs caused housing cost to increase by 8.1 per cent year-on-year. Costs of transport and communication rose 7.9 per cent year-on-year from higher petrol prices, car prices and taxi fares.

For Q1 2008 as a whole, the CPI was 6.6 per cent higher compared to the year-ago quarter.

Against February though, the March CPI fell by 0.1 per cent.

Some economists noted that the CPI may inch up in the next few months. While ‘we are getting close to the peak - inflation probably has a little further to rise yet - it could well hit 7 per cent in April’, said HSBC economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.

The pressure, however, is likely to ease in H2 2008. According to Mr Prior-Wandesforde, the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) increase in July last year would have worn out by then.

In the same vein, Goldman Sachs economists Mark Tan and Michael Buchanan expected the CPI to peak at around 7 per cent in H1 2008. According to their report, the 6.7 per cent increase in the March CPI ‘was just a touch below the consensus of 6.8 per cent year-on-year’.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry’s forecast of CPI inflation for 2008 stands at 4.5-5.5 per cent. Mr Prior-Wandesforde, though, believed that the range may be breached. ‘We are looking for a 6 per cent average,’ he said.

He also pointed out that inflation is driven not just by supply-side factors, but by demand-side ones as well. In Singapore, ‘domestic demand has been buoyant and is likely to remain so, given the country’s extremely loose fiscal and monetary conditions’, he said.

‘Strong demand is not only pushing service sector inflation higher, but is also contributing to the strength in food and energy prices,’ he added.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore had in April raised the policy trading band for the trade-weighted Singapore dollar, or S$NEER, to counter inflation.

‘We estimate that the S$NEER has since moved close to the top of the new band,’ says the Goldman Sachs report, and ‘we still see further gains for the Singapore dollar, albeit at a more measured pace and increasingly subject to moves in the US dollar’.
Source : Business Times  - 24 April 2008

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Is CCT getting Singapore 1 George Street too easily?

Is CCT getting Singapore 1 George Street too easily?

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

CAPITACOMMERCIAL Trust’s (CCT) $1.165 billion proposed acquisition of 1 George Street from CapitaLand announced last month will be put to a vote of unitholders before June 30 - with CapitaLand abstaining.
By all accounts, CCT unitholders will approve the acquisition. After all, it’s not easy for Singapore real estate investment trusts (Reits) to grow through acquisitions these days. On the one hand, tight credit market conditions make it difficult to get debt funding while on the other, Reits are trading at relatively high distribution yields - because of the general stock market slide - making it difficult to make yield-accretive acquisitions if they need to raise equity to foot the bill.

CCT, however, is more fortunate. It won’t be issuing any equity and has secured full debt funding for its proposed purchase of 1 George Street; and even then, its gearing will rise to only about 40 per cent from 27 per cent now.

However, CapitaLand shareholders will not get to vote on the sale of 1 George Street to CCT because the size of the transaction does not cross any of the thresholds that would trigger a mandatory shareholder vote. Put simply, although the transaction is big, it’s small relative to CapitaLand’s size.

Some parties are complaining that CapitaLand should have conducted an open competition to ensure that it obtained the highest price for the award-winning property.

CapitaLand may have gotten more than the $1.165 billion or $2,600 per square foot (psf) of net lettable area that it will get from CCT. A competition would have been more transparent, especially since the deal with CCT involves an income-support element. CapitaLand will top up any shortfall to ensure a minimum annual net property income of $49.5 million till 2013.

Bidding competition

Another reason CapitaLand should have had a bidding competition is because the headline price of $2,600 psf is lower than the $2,700 psf at which the asset was valued in a deal last August when CapitaLand bought the remaining half-share in the property - notwithstanding that confidence in the office market is weaker today and that the higher price earlier reflected control premium.

From the viewpoint of CapitaLand shareholders, the group could make a bigger profit from selling 1 George Street to external parties than the $47.1 million it expects to book from the proposed deal with CCT. (This amount is after accounting for the five-year income guarantee and CapitaLand’s 30.5 per cent stake in CCT.)

Last month, when the deal was announced, CapitaLand Commercial CEO Wen Khai Meng said that the group has a ‘certain responsibility to help our sponsored-Reit to grow’. CapitaLand is aiming for a balanced strategy on its office portfolio by allocating part of it for outright divestment to reap capital gains - as it has done for Temasek Tower, Hitachi Tower and Chevron House - and keeping a core portfolio of office properties for recurring income by divesting them to its sponsored Reits, which provide a tax-efficient structure for holding income-producing assets. Not only does CapitaLand retain a sponsor’s stake in such Reits, it earns fees from managing the Reit - forming an integral part of its successful property fund management model. This strategy is a key attraction to CapitaLand as a stock.

Move is a departure

However, critics also note that CapitaLand’s decision to offer 1 George Street directly to CCT marks a departure of what it has done for its divestments of other Singapore office assets in the past year or so. Temasek Tower, Hitachi Tower and Chevron House were sold through a competitive bidding process to external parties.

In the case of Temasek Tower which was sold in March 2007, CapitaLand Group president and CEO Liew Mun Leong subsequently revealed that CCT had made an offer for Temasek Tower, but its price was below the $1.04 billion offered by the eventual buyer, Macquarie Global Property Advisors Group. ‘Its (CCT’s offer) was below Macquarie’s. We have no reason to give them. That shows we are very transparent. We are not inbreeding. Fair game,’ Mr Liew had said.

Why was 1 George Street different? One point to note is that CapitaLand owned Temasek Tower, Hitachi Tower and Chevron House jointly with other parties, so it could not simply offer these office buildings to CCT on a platter; CCT would have had to compete with other bidders if it had wanted to buy these assets. 1 George Street is also a newer, higher-grade office block compared with the three sold earlier and hence a more desirable asset to CCT.

Perhaps CapitaLand may wish to make clear the criteria it uses in deciding when to offer assets directly to one of its sponsored Reits and when to have an open competition. Otherwise, some big-name overseas property investors may feel that there’s a lack of transparency and a level playing field.

Of course, one could also argue that such investors may have to accept that Reits will always get the first bite when it comes to its sponsor’s assets. After all, that’s what it means to have a long-term sponsor committed to ensuring the Reit’s growth.

Source : Business Times  - 24 April 2008

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Concern mounts as oil price nears US$120

Concern mounts as oil price nears US$120 

Supply worries and Opec’s reluctance to raise output contribute to surge
FEELING THE SQUEEZE: Anxiety is spreading as prices at the pump in the United States and elsewhere continue to set record highs. — PHOTO: AFP
 
INTERNATIONAL concern mounted as world oil prices edged closer to US$120 a barrel yesterday and the world’s top producer called for calm.
Analysts said a weakening United States dollar, supply worries in Nigeria and the Opec cartel’s reluctance to increase output all contributed to the price surge.

In afternoon trade, light sweet crude for delivery in June rose nine US cents to US$118.16 per barrel.

The May contract expired on Tuesday after closing at a record US$119.37 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange, where it earlier hit an all-time intra-day peak of US$119.90.

Global supply jitters have seen oil contracts traded in New York spike by more than US$57 per barrel in the past year. Price records in New York and London have been broken almost daily over the past week.

Brent North Sea crude for June delivery rose five US cents to US$116 a barrel. The contract earlier touched a record US$116.75 in intraday activity.

Ministers from 74 countries attending the International Energy Forum in Rome on Tuesday said oil prices should be at levels acceptable to producers and consumers, while US President George W. Bush also expressed concern about the price levels.

Saudi Arabia’s petroleum minister, Mr Ali al-Naimi, called for calm in the face of runaway oil prices on Tuesday. He said there was no imminent oil shortage.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

The cartel said on Tuesday it would increase its production capacity by five million barrels per day (bpd) by 2012. Current Opec output stands at about 32 million bpd.

Mr Victor Shum, a senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultancy in Singapore, said Opec’s move would have little impact in the near term.

‘Even though Opec has promised to increase production capacity, the long-term supply increase does not resolve the main factors that are underpinning prices now,’ he said.

A weakening US dollar has spurred oil demand because dollar-priced oil becomes cheaper for buyers holding stronger foreign currencies. The euro surged to a record US$1.6002 on Tuesday on renewed jitters about the US economy.

Global supply worries were also stoked after Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell reported an output loss of 169,000 bpd from sabotage of its key pipelines in southern Nigeria.

Shell said on Monday it might not be able to honour oil contracts for this month and next after the attacks.

Exporters say the world may have to live with even higher prices if it wants supplies for the future, as the cost of extracting more from the ground has soared.

‘The oil market is in a state of fear, if not panic,’ said Dr Shokri Ghanem, head of Libya’s National Oil Corporation. ‘Prices will have to stay high in the long term to encourage exploration and production.’

Producers and consumers alike were worried, but for different reasons. Producers were nervous about falling demand, and consumers dreaded economic collapse.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted the US economy may enter a recession this year, and some fear high prices may cause global economic damage.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Source : Straits Times  - 24 April 2008

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Strong Singapore dollar puts squeeze on electronics manufacturers

Strong Singapore dollar puts squeeze on electronics manufacturers 

Economists say overseas demand may fall; S$ at new high against US$

By Chia Yan Min 
 
ANALYSTS say electronics manufacturers in Singapore will be among the hardest hit by the fast-rising Singdollar, which has soared to a new record high against the weakening United States dollar.
Singapore’s currency rose to $1.3482 against the greenback at 5pm yesterday. Six months ago, it was $1.4655. The previous high was $1.3495 last Thursday.

Economists say that while the strong Singdollar is a boon to consumers and US-bound tourists, electronics manufacturers in Singapore will be hurt as pricing is vital to them. A stronger Singdollar makes exports to the US more expensive.

‘The impact will be significant in the electronics industry as compared to industries like pharmaceuticals,’ said United Overseas Bank economist Ho Woei Chen.

‘The electronics industry is highly competitive, making demand for products more price-sensitive.’

Action Economics economist David Cohen said: ‘Industries in which Singapore has a larger market share, such as oil drilling, might be less affected, given that Singapore is a leading producer.

‘Firms in a competitive industry like electronics are more likely to see demand falling as a result of the appreciation of the Singapore dollar.’

Earlier this month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore allowed the Singdollar to jump in value as part of its fight against rising inflation, which is at a 26-year high.

Signs of an export downturn are already emerging.

A recent report by Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng said the rising Singdollar will slow already weaker global demand for Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports, which fell by 5.9 per cent last month, their sharpest slide since February last year.

Another concern is that the Singdollar appears to be rising faster than most regional currencies, which will further dent export competitiveness.

It is up a whopping 20.3 per cent against the Korean won in the past 12 months, and 2.6 per cent against the Taiwan dollar.

One benefit of a stronger local currency is that imported components and other manufacturing inputs are cheaper.

But economists caution that rising production costs, such as labour, paid in Singapore dollars, will hurt manufacturers.

‘The operating environment in general has become tougher for manufacturers in Singapore,’ said CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun. ‘This is because of the rising costs of materials and wages and mounting inflationary pressures.’

Still, economists say many exporters are now more focused on making quality products with a market edge than cost competitiveness. So the currency issue may be less relevant to them.

‘Singaporean exporters no longer compete based on low costs,’ said OCBC Bank economist Selena Ling, adding that most manufacturers in Singapore have ’some sort of edge over the competition that is not based on export prices’.

‘The appreciating dollar and rising business costs will probably have more of an impact on new investments coming into Singapore,’ she said.

But a rising Singdollar remains a force to be reckoned with, say some electronics manufacturers and exporters.

A spokesman for Ellipsiz, a semiconductor manufacturing solutions firm, said the strengthening Singdollar will have a more ‘profound and immediate’ impact on firms than rising business costs.

‘If the Singdollar continues to strengthen against the US dollar, we believe the problem of profit margin compression will worsen.

‘There are ways we can manage rising business costs, such as optimising office space use and manpower costs. In the case of the appreciating dollar, it is more difficult for us to manage the impact as this is a macro-level factor.’

Currency hedging is a possible response, but carries risks, the spokesman added.
 

Source : Straits Times  - 24 April 2008

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Singapore COE premiums for cars and trucks fall after 3-month climb

Singapore COE premiums for cars and trucks fall after 3-month climb 
 
CERTIFICATES of Entitlement premiums for cars and commercial vehicles ended considerably lower yesterday after a breathless three-month climb.
Observers said bookings were lean in the past two weeks as buyers were put off by the higher premiums as well as factors such as record fuel prices and the country’s highest inflation rate in over two decades.

COE prices for cars up to 1,600cc, such as the newly launched Toyota Corolla Altis, fell by 7.9 per cent to close at $15,600. The premiums for cars above 1,600cc, such as the new Honda Accord, ended 10.2 per cent lower at $17,510.

Premiums for the Open COE, used mainly for cars, finished 4.8 per cent lower at $18,451.

COE prices for commercial vehicles, such as vans, trucks and buses, dipped 4 per cent to end at $18,151.

The weaker prices were reflected in the lower number of bids submitted. For instance, only 2,197 bids were received for the 2,036 COEs available in the up-to-1,600cc category - compared with 2,500 to 3,000 bids received in recent tenders.

Bids were so weak that premiums stayed at $1 up to half an hour before the tender closed at 4pm yesterday.

Motor traders saw the slowdown coming.

‘Traffic in all major showrooms has dropped,” said Mr Vincent Ng, product manager at Honda agent Kah Motor.

‘This can be attributed to high prices in last two, three months. But despite that, there are still enough buyers to sustain premiums at current levels.”

Motor traders are expected to lower vehicle prices in line with the lower premiums.

The exception was motorcycle COEs, which closed 13.8 per cent higher at $1,152.
Source : Straits Times  - 24 April 2008

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$1b Singapore Sentosa hotels deal goes to S’pore-Japan joint venture

$1b Singapore Sentosa hotels deal goes to S’pore-Japan joint venture 

By Lim Wei Chean 

A SINGAPORE-JAPAN joint venture has been awarded a $1.05 billion contract to build three hotels on Sentosa Island, to date the juiciest plum dished out by the integrated resort.
Kajima-Tiong Seng beat several other companies to build the five-star hotels, officials from Resorts World at Sentosa announced yesterday.

The hotels, which are expected to provide over 1,000 rooms, will be the centrepiece of a $6 billion development on the resort island that will include a casino and a theme park.

The contract is the resort’s biggest to date and brings the value of deals awarded to $2 billion.

Kajima-Tiong Seng is a tie-up between Japanese-led Kajima Overseas Asia and local Tiong Seng Contractors which also built the St Regis Singapore. The firm will also construct the Sentosa resort’s main thoroughfare, Festive Walk.

The three hotels are the latest in a string of big construction projects handed out here. They include a $400 million contract to Sembawang Engineers and Constructors to build another massive resort nearby called the Marina Bay Sands’ North Podium. It is expected to feature a casino, theatres and a retail arcade.

But the hefty construction contracts may not be all good news. They could add more pressure to an industry already stretched by a manpower crunch and the rising costs of raw materials, said Knight Frank’s director of consultancy and research Nicholas Mak.

Construction overheads have gone up 40 per cent in the past two years and are expected to climb another 15 per cent to 20 per cent this year. They have been driven by steep increases in the prices of steel and concrete.

The spikes have already forced big projects like the two integrated resorts to revise their cost estimates.

Last November, Resorts World upped its budget from $5.2 billion to $6 billion.

Marina Bay Sands has also had problems keeping to its projections. Last August, its parent company said that costs are expected to rise by up to US$1.4 billion (S$1.89 billion) - a significant increase on the original US$3.6 billion price tag.

Today’s construction industry is red hot, eclipsing even the heyday of 1997. Over $24.5 billion in contracts were awarded last year, up 46 per cent from the $16.8 billion awarded in 2006 and just above the $24 billion in the boom year of 1997.

Economists have forecast that the industry will grow between 10 per cent and 25 per cent this year, fuelled by developments like the two integrated resorts and the Downtown MRT line.

Government plans to defer about $3 billion in public sector projects to ease pressure on industry costs is also unlikely to make much of a dent.

Construction cost consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall was reported as saying that the move ‘is expected to have a limited impact on relieving construction demand as it will represent around 10 per cent of annual demand’.

Contractors said that aside from raw material costs, labour is their other big headache as ‘wages for workers are off the charts now’.

Staff poaching is a huge problem with companies making up for their shortage by offering workers from rival firms up to $800 more a month.

One contractor who declined to be named said: ‘Every three to four months, we have to revise our pay. If we cannot keep up, the workers will leave.’

Source : Straits Times  - 24 April 2008

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527 cases in a day raise concerns over outbreak - Singapore

527 cases in a day raise concerns over outbreak  - Singapore

Big worry: the re-emergence of a deadly strain

By Judith Tan 
TAKING NO CHANCES: A health check at Just Kids Learning Place at Jurong East. Some 7,560 people have been infected so far this year. — ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
A SHARP rise in the number of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases, coupled with the reappearance of a deadly strain, is heightening concerns about the latest outbreak of the disease.
On Monday alone, another 527 pre-schoolers came down with the childhood ailment characterised by ulcers, rashes and blisters.

This could push this week’s total way past the record 1,245 people who fell ill last week. That figure was itself a 25 per cent jump over the preceding week’s.

So far this year, 7,560 people, mainly those under 10, have been hit. Most had mild symptoms and got well in 10 days; 16 were hospitalised.

One other thing is worrying: The re-emergence of the potentially deadly EV71 strain, which killed seven children here in the 2000/2001 outbreak. Back then, schools were shut down too.

Checks show that this strain caused 19 per cent of this year’s cases.

This was what pushed the Health Ministry into closing three pre-schools and five childcare centres for 10 days, starting today.

Another 12 centres were also asked to do the same voluntarily to break the transmission of the virus, which spreads through contact.

Although Monday’s 527 new infections represented just 1 per cent of the more than 50,000 children enrolled in 744 childcare centres, the authorities have lowered the threshold for closing schools.

Schools will now be asked to close voluntarily if children continue to be infected after 15 days; if over the same period, more than 13 children are infected or if more than 18 per cent fall ill, a mandatory closure is ordered.

Previously, when a school hit these figures, inspectors were sent to do a check before a closure was ordered.

The pre-schools and childcare centres asked to close, either mandatorily or voluntarily, spent yesterday informing parents about the closure so they could make alternative child-minding plans.

Most parents accepted the need for the closure even if it meant some inconvenience.

Administrative manager Jeandy Tan, 40, who has a four-year-old son, said the closure would ‘put our minds at ease’. But some parents, like administrative executive Valerie Kway, 30, were concerned about getting time off from work.

A Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) spokesman said that parents without any form of social support could arrange with childcare centre staff for one-to-one care.

Many of the centres The Straits Times spoke to said they would use the 10 days to disinfect their toys and thoroughly clean their premises. Some are hiring professional cleaners.

MCYS Minister of State Yu-Foo Yee Shoon said surprise inspections of the childcare centres would be stepped up. She had just visited Kidsville Child Care & Development Centre in Yishun Street 21, which has only had three HFMD cases this year.

She added that there was just so much the childcare centres could do, and that parents had to be responsible about keeping their sick children at home.

Her point was echoed by Mrs Shirley Tan, the principal of the Holy Trinity Kindergarten, who urged parents not to treat the 10-day closure of schools as a holiday and take their sick children out as this would defeat the purpose of closing centres.

Mrs Yu-Foo added: ‘The devil is in the daily practice of personal hygiene. If it is observed, I believe we will be able to break the spread of the disease.’
Centres ordered closed by MOH

Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Kindergarten

St Andrew’s Cathedral Child Development Centre

Al-Istiqamah Mosque Kindergarten

Just Kids@Jurong

NTUC Childcare Co-operative (Compassvale)

Pat’s Schoolhouse (Halifax Road)

Learning Vision@Work (KKH)

PCS Jurong West Centre
Centres that will heed a request to voluntarily shut their doors

Cherrybrook Kindergarten

Holy Trinity Kindergarten

PCF Sengkang West

PCF Tampines East

PCF Punggol East

NTUC Childcare Co-operative (Anchorvale)

St James Church Kindergarten

Kinderland Preschool (Yio Chu Kang)

PCF Moulmein - Tai Pei Childcare & Development Centre
Centres planning to stay open despite being asked to voluntarily close

NTUC Childcare Co-operative (Toa Payoh)

Brighton Montessori (Frankel Avenue)

Learning Vision@Work (TTSH
Source : Straits Times  - 24 April 2008

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