CPF cuts not likely for now, says NTUC chief Lim Swee Say

CPF cuts not likely for now, says NTUC chief Lim Swee Say

By Ca-Mie De Souza,

SINGAPORE: Central Provident Fund (CPF) cuts is a last-resort measure to keep business costs down, said Labour chief Lim Swee Say in an exclusive interview on Monday.

He added that the Manpower Ministry (MOM) will soon announce measures to help existing and laid-off workers afford retraining programmes.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the world economy will grow at about 2 per cent next year – more than half that of last year’s and worse than the growth levels in the last financial crisis in the late 1990s.

Twice-retrenched Roger Soh first lost his job in 1998 and had found it hard to find re-employment. Even his last job as a relocation consultant fell through when fewer expatriates were sent to Singapore.

The 53-year-old former forex trader is now an administrator at the Singapore Professionals and Executives Co-operative, earning one-eighth of his previous salary.

“I was looking for a job based on my experience and my background, but the job market is really tough. I’ve come to a point where I think I should change my mindset if something comes along. It’s good to just take the job and see how it goes from there,” Mr Soh said.

West Coast GRC MP Ho Geok Choo, who started the Singapore Professionals and Executives Co-operative in 2000 to help PMEBs find gainful employment, sees opportunities for this group of workers in the current crisis.

“We are going to see the emergence of what I call ‘the freelance economy’, made up of consultants, made up of sub-contractors, made up of outsource agents,” said Ms Ho.

Apart from venturing into freelancing, Mr Lim said tripartite partners are ready to ramp up their existing Employment and Employability Programme, including one that helps executives re-skill for a new industry.

“If he or she is prepared to go for retraining, prepared to adapt to a new working environment, there’s still hope for our retrenched workers to go back to the job market again.

“As we go through the recession, a growing number of workers will have to adapt themselves and maybe take on a different job with different pay,” said Mr Lim.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is working with the DBS Staff Union to help its retrenched staff find jobs through retraining. DBS recently announced that it would cut 900 jobs by the end of this month.

As for concerns about CPF cuts – a social security scheme to keep business costs down – Mr Lim said for now, this would likely not be implemented.

“Any talk about CPF cuts at this moment is way too premature because there are 1,001 things we can do to prepare ourselves, to strengthen ourselves to ride through this crisis,” he said.

Mr Lim also assured workers that tripartite partners will not be looking for easy solutions for companies, which may be painful for workers.

- CNA/so

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 11 Nov 2008

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Resorts World at Sentosa starts hiring for Universal Studios

Resorts World at Sentosa starts hiring for Universal Studios

By May Wong,

SINGAPORE: Resorts World at Sentosa wants to hire 2,300 people for its theme park operations by the second quarter of next year.

Its assistant vice-president for Communications, Robin Goh said the company has started to fill 300 managerial and supervisory positions for the Universal Studio operations here.

The integrated resort will send 100 of them to the Universal Studios in Orlando, US for about four months of training. Mr Goh said some of the 200 managers will spend about two weeks there.

He said this will cost Resorts World at Sentosa about S$5 million and is part of the company’s training budget.

This news comes less than a month since Marina Bay Sands Resort announced its massive recruitment drive.

Resorts World at Sentosa confirms it is on track to open in early 2010.

Mr Goh said the integrated resort will also keep its promise of offering 10,000 jobs where Singaporeans will get priority in the hiring. Of the 10,000 jobs, 30 per cent or 3,000 jobs will go to the Universal Studios operations here.

In addition, Resorts World is also working with four polytechnics - Temasek, Ngee Ann, Nanyang and Singapore Polytechnics.

They are planning to send about 100 of the poly students to the Universal Studios in Orlando for internships starting next year. They will spend about four months there.

When the students return home, they may get a job at the Universal Studios in Singapore. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 11 Nov 2008

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Las Vegas Sands secures US$2b capital funding, remains committed to S’pore project

Las Vegas Sands secures US$2b capital funding, remains committed to S’pore project

By Wong Siew Ying,

SINGAPORE: Las Vegas Sands said Tuesday it has secured over US$$2 billion in capital funding commitments to avoid violating loan agreements.

President and Chief Operating Officer William Weidner said in a conference call that Sands expects to close the transaction by the end of the week.

He continued to say that however, there will be some changes to Sands’ overseas resort developments.

It will stop construction work at two sites in Macau’s Cotai Strip pending project financing arrangements.

Mr Weidner said Sands hopes to have an agreement with a major Chinese bank within the next three to six months.

Sands will also suspend the building of its St Regis Residence luxury-condominium project in Las Vegas indefinitely.

The operator said it expects to save US$1.8 billion by delaying and curbing plans for those projects.

But Sands said it remains committed to its Marina Bay Sands project in Singapore, and expects to open the resort by late 2009 according to plan.

Sands said it expects a significant return on capital from the Marina Bay Sands resort project.

It assured that the current capital market conditions will not significantly impact the integrated resort development in Singapore.

Sands also released its third quarter financial results overnight.

It narrowed its net loss to US$32.2 million, compared with US$48.5 million a year ago.

Sands said this is due to increases in operating income and an income tax gain.

Revenue increased by two-thirds to US$1.1 billion.

- CNA/yb

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 11 Nov 2008

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CapitaLand has not held talks with Las Vegas Sands over Singapore Marina IR

CapitaLand has not held talks with Las Vegas Sands over Singapore Marina IR

Artist’s impression of The Marina Bay Sands

SINGAPORE: Property developer CapitaLand said it has not held any talks with Las Vegas Sands over the integrated resort at Marina Bay.

The comment follows market talk that CapitaLand may step in to take a stake in the resort, given financial difficulties at Sands.

In its statement, CapitaLand said it is watching the current global environment and studying opportunities related to distressed companies or assets in Singapore and other core markets.

Las Vegas Sands has been aggressively expanding, but the current credit crunch is hurting its ability to raise funds for its various projects.

In a statement last Friday, the US gaming operator stressed its commitment to the Singapore project.

But latest reports from the US said Las Vegas Sands is warning that if it fails to raise money to meet certain debt obligations, that will raise substantial doubts about its ability to continue.

- CNA/so

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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Singapore Govt may take stake in Marina IR

Singapore Govt may take stake in Marina IR

Venture with CapLand if Las Vegas Sands goes bankrupt: Report

Work on the Marina Sands integrated resort goes on even as Las Vegas Sands said last week that it may default on debt and face bankruptcy. But it has reiterated its commitment to the Singapore venture.

THE Singapore Government may form a venture with CapitaLand to take over one of the country’s two integrated resorts if Las Vegas Sands fails to stave off loan defaults, CIMB-GK Research said yesterday.

Las Vegas Sands, the gaming concern that said last week it may default on debt and face bankruptcy, has reiterated its commitment to the US$4 billion (S$6 billion) Singapore venture.

The company has drawn down at least $2 billion from a $5 billion credit facility by several banks for the project.

‘If Las Vegas Sands cannot cough up its share of equity, the Singapore Government is likely to step in,’ Mr Donald Chua, a Singapore-based analyst at CIMB-GK, wrote in a report.

‘A viable option could be a 49:51 joint venture between the Government and CapitaLand, with CapitaLand taking a controlling stake.’

Las Vegas Sands was one of two gaming companies that won the right to build casinos in Singapore after the city state lifted a four-decade ban on them in 2005, to diversify the economy and create jobs.

The company said last week it faces ’substantial doubt’ about its ability to survive and may be short of cash for US$16 billion of projects in Asia.

In an e-mail statement yesterday, it declined to comment on its earnings announcement.

CapitaLand said in an e-mail that it has not held any discussions with the Las Vegas-based company, adding that it is seeking investments in the ‘continuing global recessionary environment’.

‘Potential opportunities will be carefully explored and evaluated, ensuring that an acquisition is made only at the right time, right price and when target returns are met given the current difficult economic operating environment,’ CapitaLand said.

The Singapore Tourism Board said in an e-mail response to Bloomberg queries yesterday that it remains ‘in dialogue’ with Marina Bay Sands and will ‘work closely’ with the company to complete the project.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said Las Vegas Sands’ development will go on, even though it is ‘under pressure’ as the company had taken on big debts while expanding to places like Macau.

As Beijing has restricted the number of Chinese travellers who are allowed to go to Macau, this has caused Las Vegas Sands’ share price to decline, MM Lee said.

‘But in Singapore, that project will go on because we are not depending on China and Chinese workers coming in from the rest of China to visit our integrated resorts.’

CapitaLand formed a partnership with MGM Mirage in 2005 to bid for the project that Las Vegas Sands won.

It also teamed up with Bahamas- based Kerzner International to submit a failed bid for a second integrated resort on Sentosa island.

The developer also invested in an entertainment project in Macau last year, giving it a foothold in the world’s biggest casino market by gaming revenue.

Mr Liew Mun Leong, CapitaLand’s chief executive officer, said last month the developer’s cash position stood at $4.2 billion, enabling it to seek opportunities for acquisitions.

Participation in the integrated resort, as well as possible provisions for the value of its land holdings amid a slump in prices, will raise CapitaLand’s net gearing, or debt-to-equity ratio, to more than the company’s target of 0.8 times, CIMB-GK’s Mr Chua wrote in his report.

‘While it is currently well-capitalised, we believe the sheer size of the Marina integrated resort project could pose substantial funding strains.’

CapitaLand shares yesterday rose seven cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $3.24. It has dropped 48 per cent this year, against a 45 per cent retreat in the benchmark Straits Times Index.

Still, taking a stake in the Marina Bay integrated resort could boost the company’s net asset values and earnings outlook, Mr Chua wrote.

‘If the funding hurdle can be crossed through different schemes of arrangement, we believe a possible participation in an integrated resort could spell exciting long-term values for the group,’ he added.

BLOOMBERG

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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Price fall ‘unlikely to dent Singapore economy’

Price fall ‘unlikely to dent Singapore economy’

Sector’s downturn manageable, says Citibank report

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

PRIVATE home prices are on a downslide, but their decline is unlikely to have a major impact on the economy, according to a new report by Citibank.
More than 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing anyway, which is still on a price uptrend, it said. HDB resale prices rose 4.2 per cent in the third quarter, while prices of apartments, condominium units and landed homes fell 2.4 per cent. This was the first decline in four years.

Even private home dwellers who see their property values dip are unlikely to cut back on spending, said the bank. Real estate wealth here is illiquid compared to other countries - meaning it cannot be easily converted to cash - so a fall in home values will have little effect on how much consumers spend.

Citibank economist Kit Wei Zheng estimated that a drop of 15 per cent in the prices of private homes could knock 0.4 to 0.6 percentage point off economic growth.

This would be due largely to lower construction investments as developers delay projects to wait out the downturn, rather than because home owners feel poorer and spend less, he said.

While ‘not negligible’, the effect of falling private home prices on the economy is ‘not particularly large’.

‘A housing downturn confined to the private residential segment should be manageable,’ said Mr Kit, adding that a slump in exports and financial services would have a more significant drag on Singapore’s economy, currently in a technical recession after two straight quarters of negative growth.

Singaporean home owners are often described as ‘asset rich, cash poor’, because they cannot or are unwilling to unlock the value of their property, Mr Kit noted. If they could do so, they would be able to turn the value of their homes into cash for spending.

Unlike in bigger countries, Singapore has no ‘cheap’ suburbs where people can buy a similar or even better house and sell their existing one in the city for capital gains, he said.

Singaporeans also tend to have a ‘psychological reluctance’ to realise the value of their property by downgrading to a smaller, cheaper home.

In countries like the United States, financial instruments such as reverse mortgages allow home owners to get cash for their homes even while they are living in them, added Mr Kit.

With real estate here so illiquid, home prices are not directly related to consumption spending. In fact, the Citibank report says this relationship could be reversed in Singapore: Lower home prices could mean that aspiring home buyers have more money to spend.

Of course, a property downturn also means fewer home sales, which would hit economic growth more than a fall in home prices, Mr Kit said.

A drop in property transactions would eventually lead to a decline in business services, among other things.

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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Brown unveils plan to reform global finance

Brown unveils plan to reform global finance

Proposals include boosting bank lending and free-trade push

By Jonathan Eyal, Sraits Times Europe Bureau

When the financial crisis first erupted, Mr Brown (seen here) wanted to remake the International Monetary Fund altogether. Now, he has changed tack and is merely demanding a more powerful IMF.

LONDON: Days before world leaders gather to tackle the financial crisis, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for the most radical reform of international institutions in over half a century.
How that is to be accomplished was to be sketched out by him at a banquet last night hosted by the Lord Mayor of London - a traditional venue for unveiling major new policies.

In remarks released to the media ahead of the event, Mr Brown admitted that the international financial system was facing ‘a night of uncertainty’.

But having earned plaudits for his pioneering role in bailing out crisis-hit banks, the British Premier exuded confidence. ‘It is now in our power to come together so that 2008 is remembered not just for the financial crash…but for the resilience and optimism with which we faced the storm,’ he said.

And recalling that the current financial institutions were conceived in the last year of World War II, the British leader appealed for ‘a new multilateralism that is both hard-headed and progressive’.

Essentially, Mr Brown is offering a five-point plan for the overhaul of the international financial system.

This should involve the recapitalisation of banks - allowing them to resume lending to businesses and families despite their dodgy debts; a better coordination of fiscal and monetary policies between governments; additional money for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help poorer nations; a push on free trade; and greater transparency of the international financial system.

While admitting that this is a huge agenda of change, Mr Brown insisted that nothing less would do. ‘My message,’ he was expected to tell Britain’s political and business elite last night, ‘is that we must be forward looking, and not be frozen by events. We can seize the moment and in doing so, build a truly global society.’

Mr Brown is not the only leader to make such appeals. French President Nicolas Sarkozy - who, as the rotating head of the European Union, will actually play a bigger role at the economic summit where the leaders of the world’s biggest economies will meet in Washington this weekend - has also called for a fundamental change in ‘the rules of the game’.

But Mr Brown went further, by setting the effort in the broader context of free trade. He called on the world to avoid the ‘beggar-thy-neighbour trade protectionism that has been a feature in transforming past crises into deep recessions’.

And in a direct appeal to United States President-elect Barack Obama, he called on America and Europe ‘to lead the global effort to build a stronger and more just international order’.

However, the British leader also skirted some inconvenient realities.

When the financial crisis first erupted, Mr Brown wanted to remake the IMF altogether. Now, he has changed tack and is merely demanding a more powerful IMF.

But even that cannot be achieved without additional funds from countries with the largest financial reserves - China and some of the oil-rich Middle Eastern nations - and China is already baulking at offering more cash.

Furthermore, whatever system of international financial supervision is put in place, nobody knows how this can be enforced. Mr Brown himself ignored previous advice from the IMF about Britain’s economic condition.

IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn is already warning that expectations for change ’should not be oversold’, saying ‘things are unlikely to change overnight’.

Caution is certainly advisable. Even during World War II, governments needed two years to reach a consensus on the creation of financial institutions.

And with a new US president due to take office in January, they are unlikely to rush now, just because Mr Brown made a good speech.

CALL FOR RESILIENCE

‘It is now in our power to come together so that 2008 is remembered not just for the financial crash…but for the resilience and optimism with which we faced the storm.’
Mr Brown

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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Singapore Sentosa IR to recruit 300 for theme park

Singapore Sentosa IR to recruit 300 for theme park

DBS in talks with resort to help its retrenched staff find jobs

By Lim Wei Chean

Ms Karen Lim, 32, is one of the first few to be hired for Universal Studios Singapore. She is an assistant manager for park operations. — ST PHOTOS: DESMOND LIM

RESORTS World at Sentosa has launched its first major recruitment drive, and has moved to see if it can hire workers who have been retrenched, including those from DBS Bank.
The integrated resort (IR) has started to fill 300 fairly senior positions - 200 managers and 100 supervisors - to take charge of its 20ha Universal Studios theme park.

To attract applicants, it will dangle a special carrot: a chance to go to Universal Studios Orlando in the United States for a training stint that could last up to four months.

At the launch of the drive yesterday, the IR’s head of human resources, Ms Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, said: ‘Resorts World at Sentosa is open to working with organisations that may be undergoing restructuring, including banks.’

DBS confirmed that it is in talks with the resort.

Said a spokesman for the bank: ‘It is our priority to help DBS staff with the transition. What’s more, the bank has been in talks with companies in various industries with regard to outplacement and career opportunities just for them.’

The resort will not say how many local people and foreigners it will hire.

But Ms Seah-Khoo said: ‘We have always promised and are committed to hire as many locals as possible.’

She conceded, however, that some of the 200 managerial positions on offer will have to be filled by foreigners, as there are few here who have experience in working at such attractions. The resort is currently in talks with people from overseas theme parks like Disneyland.

But she said that the rest will mostly be Singaporeans. Most of the 100 supervisors, she said, are likely to be Singaporeans, and they are the ones who will be sent for the Orlando training stint.

The positions on offer now include ride and show service managers, attraction supervisors and executive chefs.

When asked about starting salaries for the jobs, Ms Seah-Khoo declined to comment, citing ‘competitive reasons’.

But she added that they would be ‘commensurate’ with market rates.

Among the first to be hired for Universal Studios Singapore was Ms Karen Lim. The 32-year-old had previously worked in Ducktours and looked after attractions in Sentosa Leisure Group.

She will be looking after admissions to the park for Resorts World at Sentosa.

She said: ‘I was willing to take a pay cut just to be part of the team.’

Resorts World at Sentosa has also arranged for 100 students from Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic to be the first to get internships at the Universal Studios parks in the US.

This, the company said, is part of its promise to bring benefits to Singapore.

The recruitment drive for theme park workers is a prelude to a bigger campaign in June next year, when the resort, which opens in March 2010, will look to fill the bulk of the 10,000 positions available.

Ms Seah-Khoo said it is holding talks now with various government agencies on recruitment and training initiatives.

By the end of next year, Ms Seah-Khoo expects to increase the number of staff on the payroll to 8,000. The remaining 2,000 will be hired just before the resort’s opening.

Singapore’s two IRs are expected to generate some 20,000 jobs.

Response has been keen: Marina Bay Sands, which kicked off its hiring blitz late last month, has received more than 10,000 responses to date.

More jobs in store

Resorts World at Sentosa has opened a world of job opportunities for Singaporeans.
IN TOTAL, 10,000 workers needed for:

Theme park operations: 3,000 Mascots, manning rides and counter staff for admissions booth.

Casino: 3,000 Croupiers, cashiers, technicians to maintain gaming machines, et cetera.

Hotels, retail and restaurants: 3,000 Housekeeping, waitressing and cleaning.

Other corporate functions: 1,000 Information technology support, corporate communications and other support roles.

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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Singapore strikes gold in gaming ‘Olympics’

Singapore strikes gold in gaming ‘Olympics’

Team also wins a silver at World Cyber Games

By Tham Yuen-C

A SINGAPORE gamer has delivered the Republic’s first gold medal from the World Cyber Games (WCG), considered the Olympics of the cybergaming world.
Mr Jared Beins, 19, beat Mr Steven Anderson from the United States to become the top player of mobile phone game Asphalt 4.

Another medal, a silver, came from Mr Danny Koo, 28 in the fighting game Virtua Fighter 5.

‘The best part was waving the Singapore flag for the first time ever,’ said Mr Beins, whose gaming name is Slyfoxlover.

The national serviceman was representing Singapore for the first time at an international meet, and had set aside two hours every day in the last three months to practise the car racing game.

It was the first year that mobile phone games were played at the WCG, in a bid to attract a wider range of competitors.

‘They’re very simple,’ said Mr Beins, of mobile phone games. ‘Anybody can figure them out.’

Aside from those, casual games such as Guitar Hero III and Fifa 2008 were also introduced this year.

Singapore fielded 19 gamers in nine games at the annual tournament’s grand finals in Cologne, Germany. Some 800 players from 78 countries competed in 14 computer, console and mobile games such as Warcraft III and Halo 3.

Singapore’s other medal, from another WCG newbie, Mr Koo, was hard-fought.

‘When my teammate Wilson [Chia] lost against the US, I was really nervous,’ he said.

Players assume different characters with different skills in the hand-to-hand combat game. The business development manager of a fine-dining restaurant lost in the final round to Japan’s Hiromiki Kumada, the country’s top player.

‘He’s won a lot of national tournaments,’ said Mr Koo, who went to Japan in August to spar with the gamers there.

To compete on the world stage, players first have to win their regional championships.

The wins put Singapore in the top seven of the medal tally - behind gaming powerhouses like first place-winner South Korea which was followed by the Netherlands and the US - and more than made up for the disappointing performance at last year’s tournament.

At the WCG finals in Seattle last year, all but one of Singapore’s top gamers crashed out after the first round.

‘We’re an underdog, no one expected us to get two medals,’ said Mr Herman Ng, managing director of Rapture Gaming and manager of the Singapore team.

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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China sees $877b package also as stimulus to world economy

China sees $877b package also as stimulus to world economy

Premier Wen says top priority is to maintain stability, avoid volatility

By Tracy Quek, China Correspondent

CHINA’S 4 trillion yuan (S$877 billion) stimulus package will be a big boost not only at home but also for the global economy, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday.
A day after Beijing unveiled the massive package, he was quoted by Chinese media as saying: ‘We must implement the measures to ensure a fast and stable economic development.

‘They are not only for the needs of the development of ourselves, but also our biggest contribution to the world.’

News of China’s moves cheered stock markets yesterday, though questions remained about the details of the plans.

Mr Wen said the priority was to maintain economic stability and development and to avoid volatility.

Top of the agenda is to achieve ’steady and relatively fast’ economic growth and avoid ‘economic ups and downs’.

He said that the economic stimulus should be quick and decisive, and that it was important to speed up the construction of infrastructure and increase incomes to boost consumption.

At the same time, export growth must be maintained and there should be stable development of the property market, which is known to be a pillar of the country’s economy.

The Premier was confident that China could ward off the imminent global financial slump, according to a statement on the government’s website yesterday.

His comments come ahead of this weekend’s meeting in Washington where the leaders of 20 major economies will meet to discuss a response to the global financial crisis.

China is moving decisively, as growth fell to 9 per cent in the third quarter this year, its lowest level in five years. The financial crisis is affecting the global economy, with the United States, Europe and Japan battling to stave off recession.

Beijing said the money - with 100 billion yuan earmarked for this quarter alone - will be spent over the next two years mainly on infrastructure projects such as low-rent housing, basic rural infrastructure, roads and rail.

The government will also loosen credit rules to facilitate easier loans to businesses and ease corporate tax burdens.

The package has been touted as the biggest-ever stimulus plan undertaken by China, and the largest announced by any country so far.

The Shanghai market jumped 7.27 per cent. Asian investors welcomed the news, with Japan’s Nikkei ending 5.81 per cent higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 3.52 per cent.

Markets in Europe also rose, as did the Dow yesterday, surging 172.04 points (1.92 per cent) to 9,115.85 in opening trade.

Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index also rose 1.16 per cent to 1,885.02 points while shares of Singapore-listed Chinese firms and local companies with substantial operations in the country made bigger gains.

Positive sentiment aside, some questions remain.

‘It looks like a huge deal but the devil is in the details,’ said Beijing University Finance Professor Michael Pettis, who said it had to be new spending to really matter.

Experts noted that the 4 trillion yuan included programmes announced in recent weeks.

But the Associated Press quoted Asia regional economist Tim Condon of Dutch bank ING as saying that China has set the pace for expansionary policies elsewhere.

Its measures could boost demand for iron ore from Australia and Brazil, factory and construction equipment from the US and Europe and industrial components from throughout Asia.

‘Faster growth in China will be better for its neighbours. For every country in the region, it’s either their top trading partner or is on the way to becoming the top,’ Mr Condon said.

Globally, he added, ‘countries that supply capital equipment look like they will be the front-line beneficiaries of this package’.

Source : Straits Times - 11 Nov 2008

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