HDB to Sheng Siong: 6 wet markets must stay

HDB to Sheng Siong: 6 wet markets must stay

They do not meet criteria for conversion into supermarkets

By Jessica Lim

SUPERMARKET chain Sheng Siong, which is planning to take over six wet markets, has been told by the Housing Board that it cannot convert them into supermarkets.

The wet markets will have to stay because they do not meet the criteria for conversion into supermarkets, the HDB said yesterday.

Applications for such instances of conversion of use are assessed on a case-by- case basis, depending on the needs of residents, stall occupancy rate, operating hours and number of customers.

But while the HDB’s announcement should please residents who are loath to give up shopping in their neighbourhood wet markets, there is still a question mark over the stallholders’ livelihood.

This is because when Sheng Siong formally takes over ownership of the markets, it will have the power to decide whom to rent to, and at what price.

The six wet markets are in Choa Chu Kang Street 62, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 1, Serangoon Avenue 3, Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, Block 623 Elias Road and Fajar Road.

Sheng Siong had earlier said it planned to run ‘air-conditioned markets’ on these sites.

When contacted yesterday, Sheng Siong’s managing director Lim Hock Chee said the chain will wait until its purchase of the six markets is finalised before deciding on whether to let the stallholders stay.

He added: ‘We will be taking over the markets the way they are and we will do what HDB says. There will be no air-conditioning, the markets will stay the same.’

The HDB said that earlier this week, it received an application from Heeton Holdings, the current owner of five of the six markets, to sell them to Sheng Siong.

It has not yet received an application from Bai Sha Market, which owns the remaining market, to sell the property to the supermarket chain.

HDB said it held a meeting with Heeton and Sheng Siong representatives yesterday on the use of the five wet markets after the sale.

It said Sheng Siong was aware it was buying the five properties as wet markets and had confirmed that it would continue running them as such.

HDB said it would like to remind existing wet market operators in HDB premises that approval is needed before a market can be sold or subject to a change of use.

At around the time Sheng Siong’s plans first made the news, it also came to light that there were plans to turn the only wet market in Sembawang into an NTUC FairPrice outlet.

HDB is evaluating that proposal and plans to meet the parties to discuss the site’s proposed use.

Meanwhile, stallholders in the markets that Sheng Siong is planning to buy told reporters about their continued anxiety.

Fishmonger Sia Chen Theng, 39, who runs a stall in the Serangoon Avenue 3 market, said: ‘There is still a big question mark. HDB does not approve the change of use, but will Sheng Siong let us keep our jobs? And if they do, will they raise the rent? We don’t know.’

Over at the Elias Road wet market, vegetable seller Guo Shao Jie, 60, said: ‘We just have to wait and see. We still don’t know if they will rent spots to us or not.’

Housewife Winnie Tan, who shops at the Choa Chu Kang Street 62 market three times a week, is relieved the wet market is staying, but she is also hoping that ‘things don’t change with the new management’.

And teacher Jessie Liau, 55, a regular at the Serangoon Avenue 3 market, said: ‘I like the concept of the wet market. I don’t need the air-con, and I like the stallholders. They are very friendly, and I hope they can stay.’

Source : Straits Times - 10 October 2009

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APEC economies need to focus on next wave of economic integration

APEC economies need to focus on next wave of economic integration

By Wong Siew Ying

SINGAPORE: Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said Asia Pacific economies cannot adopt the “growth-as-usual” attitude as they seek to re-position themselves for new growth opportunities.

He said they need to focus on the next wave of economic integration instead.

Mr Lim said: “We must first start to gradually unwind the global macro imbalances which are at the root of the crisis. We must spread the benefits of growth more broadly across all segments of society so as to maintain the consensus for globalisation. We must start steering our growth paths onto low-carbon trajectories, to mitigate the risks of climate change.”

Speaking at the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council conference, Mr Lim said APEC economies should leverage on each other’s strengths to help all members move up.

Mr Lim suggested three areas for APEC to work on.

First, simplifying procedures and making Free Trade Agreements or FTAs more business friendly.

Citing a recent survey by the Asian Development Bank, Mr Lim said only 22 per cent of the 609 firms polled take advantage of FTAs.

Next, make regional supply chains more efficient.

The Australian Centre of International Economics in a recent study found that a 10 per cent rise in efficiency in supply chain connectivity could result in an increase of US$21 billion a year in combined APEC Gross Domestic Product.

A third area is to improve the business environment through regulatory reform. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel Newsasia - 10 October 2009

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