Indo-Singapore trade to get a boost
Tuesday, 12 October , 2004, 14:19


To give a further boost to the bilateral business opportunities between India and Singapore, the Network India Real Estate and Finance Sub-Committee was officially launched today by Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry Heng Chee How.

A private-sector initiative, the Sub-Committee was set up, under the auspices of Network India, to give a further boost to Singapore-based companies who are keen to explore India's real estate and finance sectors.

The Sub-Committee, comprising representatives from both Singapore-based companies as well as Indian companies aims to promote bilateral business opportunities between Singapore and India in the real estate and finance sectors.

Heading the Sub-Committee are the President of property company Ascendas Pte Ltd Chong Siak Ching and Chief Executive Officer and Standard Chartered's Singapore Country and Regional Head of Global Markets for South East Asia Lee Boon Huat.

Network India chairman Sat Pal Khattar said, ''Both the financial and real estate sectors are important areas of the Singapore economy, and we have the necessary expertise to make a meaningful contribution through Singapore-based enterprises in India,'' he said.

India's real estate sector has grown in stature with the liberalisation of the Indian economy.

Currently estimated to be in the region of 12 billion dollars, India's real estate development was expected to grow at a pace of 30 per cent annually, of which the housing sector was predicted to grow at an annual rate of 50 per cent in the next four years.

''Such overwhelming demand will allow Singapore companies with expertise in developing large-scale housing projects, to play an active role in India's real estate sector,'' he said.

In addition, India's booming IT and IT-enabled services sector, the fourth largest IT market in the Asia Pacific, translates to an estimated demand for some 60 million square feet of IT space over the next five years, presenting a further plethora of opportunities.

India also has one of the most matured financial markets in the developing world. The total asset size of the Indian banking sector is 270 billion dollars while the total deposits amount to 220 billion dollars in a banking network of over 66,000 branches across the country, noted Network India in a press statement. Competition has been picking up in the banking sector and private entry has also been progressively allowed into mutual funds and, more recently, insurance. The opening up of India's financial services sector offers a myriad of growth opportunities for foreign investors, it said.

A number of Singapore projects in India are already in the real estate and finance sectors. These include the flagship International Tech Park in Bangalore by Ascendas, and the Pocharam township project near Hyderabad by a Surbana-led consortium of Singapore companies.

The Development Bank of Singapore has also been in India since 1994. With the formation of this Sub-Committee, Network India hopes to see an even deeper level of engagement between Singapore and Indian businesses.

Singapore-India bilateral trade and investment ties are also at a high. Total trade within the first eight months of this year jumped by more than 50 per cent as compared to the same period last year, to stand at 7.36 billion Singapore dollars.

In the first six months of this year alone, Singapore's investments into India have also hit a record 95 million dollars, surpassing total investments for the whole of last year, and ranking Singapore as India's third largest investor.

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13587916

ranking Singapore as India's third largest investor.

:eek:

Not bad! Who are the top2?

and thanks for making this thread drwho! :okay:

:eek:

Not bad! Who are the top2?

and thanks for making this thread drwho! :okay:

no2 is Germany or UK :)

no1 must be HNSC! raffie!:);)

wow..I'd think Japan or USA would be in the usual top 2 :eek:

HNSC? I thought it closed down when you went away for so long? :D

raffie no no it is not closed down! HNSC is working on a IPO!:)

Role reversal: China firms set up plants in Singapore

Decision by two companies is the result of aggressive courting by EDB; their entry could signal the start of a trend

By Erica Tay

IN A major coup, the Economic Development Board (EDB) has succeeded in attracting two China firms to set up manufacturing plants in Singapore.

One of them, conglomerate Genesis (China) Investment Holding Company, will be investing $100 million in high-tech plants here over the next three years.
It's more cost efficient in Singapore, says NanoTech chairman Jiang Dezhen. -- TAN SUAN ANN

It has also moved its Asia-Pacific headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore and has plans to hire up to 200 staff here.

The other company, Equation NanoTech, a firm specialising in consumer products engineered with nanotechnology, recently set up here.

It is committing $6 million in two phases to build a packaging cum manufacturing plant, and is currently employing 40 staff.

EDB's China representative James Lee told The Straits Times that this is the first time in recent years that Chinese firms are relocating their plants here, instead of the other way around.

The decision by the two companies is the result of aggressive courting by the EDB's Beijing bureau.

Genesis, a privately-owned holding company of Chinese tycoon Tang Mingjun, is the parent company of four major corporations and 68 other subsidiaries in China.

Mr Tang is the chairman of Genesis. Its annual sales run to 3 billion yuan (S$609 million) with profits of 300 million yuan, and its interests span hotels, tourism, trading, property, insurance and oil exploration.

Mr Tang said he planned to use the Singapore headquarters as the global base for three of Genesis' interests.

They are research and development in infosystem technology and food technology, as well as product packaging and re-exporting.

He said that for starters, the company is investing $20 million to $30 million here by the end of this year.

It has an assembly plant for infosystem security hardware and digital security surveillance systems in Singapore that will start operating at the end of this month.

Mr Tang also hopes to use Singapore as a centre for training international staff and as a gateway to reach out to the world market.

Explaining his decision to move Genesis' regional headquarters from Hong Kong, he said: 'Singapore is a cosmopolitan city with an excellent legal system. Hong Kong is gradually becoming like China, where the government rules the market, whereas in Singapore, market forces rule the market.'

He added: 'The EDB is very attentive to the needs of foreign investors. This gives me a lot of confidence.'

NanoTech chairman Jiang Dezhen echoed his views. She said: 'Factory labour in China may be cheap, but we are making capital- rather than labour-intensive goods. And Singapore offers better cost-efficiency in this respect.'

Explaining how the EDB drew the two Chinese companies to set up shop here, Beijing-based Mr Lee said: 'To get NanoTech to invest here, we liaised with them for three months. In the case of Genesis, it took five months.'

'We arranged trips to Singapore for these businessmen. Mind you, these are not cursory tours, but with specially tailored itineraries to give them an in-depth understanding of our environment.'

Mr Tang said he was impressed with the 'sincerity and patience' of EDB officials, including its chairman, Mr Teo Ming Kian.

He said: 'I was touched by their patience... EDB's Beijing officials gave very factual analyses on doing business in Singapore, and Mr Teo personally came to visit us in China. That was what impressed me.'

Mr Lee said the entry of these two firms is the start of a trend: 'The Chinese government is urging China's businesses to zou chu qu (reach out), and we are there to convince them that Singapore is the place to go to.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,277706,00.html

Explaining his decision to move Genesis' regional headquarters from Hong Kong, he said: 'Singapore is a cosmopolitan city with an excellent legal system. Hong Kong is gradually becoming like China, where the government rules the market, whereas in Singapore, market forces rule the market.'

hmmm...I dont think hkskyline would agree on this but anyway this is good for Singapore and lets hope more such moves from China & India take place! :yes:

hmmm...I dont think hkskyline would agree on this but anyway this is good for Singapore and lets hope more such moves from China & India take place! :yes:

:rofl:

heh but I think it IS a logical choice.:D

No doubt HK might be China's most international city but if Chinese companies want to position themselves OUTSIDE China yet want a supportive environment, I believe Singapore IS a very good choice. Dont forget other Chinese cities are also becoming more globalized so I'm sure HK's relative share of the pie will decrease.;)

heh but I think it IS a logical choice.:D

No doubt HK might be China's most international city but if Chinese companies want to position themselves OUTSIDE China yet want a supportive environment, I believe Singapore IS a very good choice. Dont forget other Chinese cities are also becoming more globalized so I'm sure HK's relative share of the pie will decrease.;)

Haha......ok.....I wonder what'll happen if this is posted in the international threads?? :lol: :runaway:

hmm..then you will get a telephone-directory long diarrhoea of articles and statistics ^^

anyway I might post this in the Asian forum at another time :yes:

^
Emm....might see a pair of couple "arguing" also......:lol:

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 13 October 2004 1701 hrs

Singapore an attractive destination for games publishers
By Jennifer Alejandro, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore wants a slice of the US$1 billion global online gaming market.

As online games are taking Asia by storm, games publishers at X:04, the Xbox games launch, say Singapore still has some way to go to become a games creation hub.

Halo 2 is the much-awaited game of the year, with a budget as big as a Hollywood movie, according to industry speculation.

Games publishers are willing to spend that kind of money because their market is worth US$1 billion.

And Singapore wants a piece of the action.

That is why government agencies like the Infocomm Development Authority are sponsoring events like World Cybergames to lift Singapore's gaming profile, and also starting games creation communities at Nanyang Polytechnic and a games alliance exchange for distributors.

But how is Singapore as a games bazaar?

"Singapore has a very unique culture of gamers being passionate, have a lot of multiple genre and also they love IT," said Yolanda Chan, regional sales director, Xbox.

"Singapore is a great home for us because it's a good central location and there's a lot of enthusiasm for games here," said Mark Warburton, vice president (marketing), Vivendi Universal Games.

Games publishers agree Singapore has its attractions.

These include strict laws on piracy, legitimate distribution routes and a high broadband penetration, which is necessary for online gaming.

So what will Singapore need to make it as a games creation hub?

"Content, people, technology, support, infrastructure, etc -- that fits the core of what we do best in studio development," said Christopher Ng, general manager, Electronic Arts.

"If they can develop a mechanism whereby companies like Atari and, I guess, all large MNCs can penetrate quickly into a big market, into the broader Asia picture, then I think that's where the solution lies," Atari general manager Andrew Donovan said.

While Singapore is an attractive marketing and distribution hub for games in general, whether PC or console, being a games creation centre is another matter altogether.

Industry players say Singapore has to develop its games technology, infrastructure, creative talent pool and lower labour prices in order to be viable in games creation. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

OCT 13, 2004
Indian firm to base Asia-Pac HQ here
By Suryani Omar

A LEADING Indian human resources company hopes to expand its outsourcing business by tapping into fast-growing markets such as China, using Singapore as its newly-established regional headquarters.

The company, Ma Foi Management Consultants, with 44 offices around the world, said Singapore would serve as a valuable springboard to China given the Republic's links with China and its strong legal framework for enforcing contracts.

'Companies in China can look to outsourcing their needs to Indian workers through our Singapore office,' said Ma Foi's managing director, Mr K. Pandia Rajan, at a press conference held at the Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2004.

Chennai-based Ma Foi started out in India as a conventional recruitment company but has since branched out to outsourcing, which is when companies shift some of their operations to another company, often offshore.

The company supplies workers from India in industries ranging from gas and oil to information technology. It plans to expand its operations to recruit workers from elsewhere.

Ma Foi aims to set up offices in nine more countries by the end of next year, including Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.

Its Singapore arm, Ma Foi Management Consultants Asia Pacific, that will serve as the regional headquarters, will be increased in size.

Ma Foi will be pumping in an estimated $200,000 to further expand its Singapore office by the end of next year, and will double its manpower here from five to 10 within three months.

Mr Rajan believes that there is a demand for engineers and technicians in China's oil and gas sectors as well as a need for English teachers on the mainland, although he did not spell out where they would be recruited from.

Singapore, he added, has the experience in dealing with China as well as a strong legal framework for the contracts to be sealed here.

He also said that the proportion of outsourcing jobs that goes to India will be reduced 'significantly' in the coming years.

According to Ma Foi Management Consultants Asia Pacific's chief executive, Mr Santhosh Joseph, currently almost 90 per cent of the its 8,800 contract workers are Indians.

But he predicts that by 2010, the proportion will be reduced to 50 per cent.

'There is a need to move away from being India-centric because of language and cultural problems. For example, Thai companies want the jobs to be outsourced to Thai staff or at least to people who speak the language,' said Mr Rajan.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

A LEADING Indian human resources company hopes to expand its outsourcing business by tapping into fast-growing markets such as China, using Singapore as its newly-established regional headquarters.

Singapore has always been an emporium of the East, and I'm glad that even now, we are seeing a fulfillment of this basic function :yes:

i agree with raffie:):)

INTERVIEW: Singapore's HQ Ambitions Extend Beyond Asia

By Kevin Lim


SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Singapore wants to be a base for corporate headquarters with responsibilities that extend beyond Asia, a goal that will see it competing not just with Hong Kong but also countries in Western Europe, a government official says.

And the tax incentives that Singapore gives to companies setting up their headquarters here are just part of a broader package that includes the opportunity to tap into the island's growing network of free-trade and taxation agreements, says Economic Development Board Director Kenneth Tan.

In an interview last week, Tan, who heads the EDB group responsible for developing the island's services cluster, says Singapore is "trying to create an ecosystem, a critical mass of HQs which can interact with one another at a business empire level."

This involves increasing the variety of headquarter operations on the island by attracting Asian multinationals, professional services companies and nongovernment organizations to add to the Western and Japanese MNCs that Singapore has traditionally courted.

Other initiatives to make Singapore a more attractive base of operations include efforts to entice entrepreneurs and other skilled people from around the world, and liberal labor laws that make it easy for companies to hire foreigners.

Such an ecosystem has "synergistic effects that cannot be replicated easily" and will cement Singapore's position as a hub for doing business, Tan says.

Singapore wants companies establishing their bases here "to penetrate not only Asia but also to command their international business empires," he says.

"The competition is not only with places like Hong Kong and Shanghai but also countries like the Netherlands and Switzerland," Tan says.

According to Tan, companies are re-examining their international headquarters locations because of the trend, particularly in Europe, toward the harmonization of tax laws to prevent the use of tax differences for financial gain.

"When they look around for a place that can provide operational and financial efficiency and long-term political and economic stability, Singapore looks like an obvious choice," he says.

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/041013/15/3nqdx.html

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Creative raises battle cry

We will win MP3 player war by this quarter: Sim Wong Hoo

Thursday • October 14, 2004

Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg

THE war between Singapore's Creative Technology and US-based Apple on the personal digital entertainment (PDE) front is about to end, according to Creative's chief executive officer Sim Wong Hoo.

"This quarter, we will surpass Apple worldwide," Mr Sim predicted yesterday.

Sales of Creative's MP3 players in Japan and Singapore have already surpassed that of Apple, he added.

Speaking at a press event to reveal details of Creative's "iPod killer", the Creative Zen Micro, Mr Sim confirmed that the mainboard-listed company was on target to achieving its sales target of one million personal digital entertainment units per month, worldwide.

In fact, sales last month hit a record high of 15,000 units in Singapore.

By the year end, the PDE giant would have expanded its current range of 11 MP3 players — including the Creative Zen Micro — to 17.

"It's a human wave tactic we're using. We have all the products, meeting all the needs of the consumer," said Mr Sim of his "eat all" war strategy.

Creative sales were recently boosted by the launch of the Creative Muvo2 FM.

Unlike its Apple counterparts, Mr Sim said that the Zen Micro gives users access to over two million songs online, as it fully supports both WMA and MP3 files, and all major online music stores — from Napster, Wal-Mart and Real Music.

Mr Sim is eyeing the Christmas demand for his products and plans to ship in "several hundred thousand" units of the Zen Micro, which he touted as his secret weapon.

The Zen Micro was nine months in the making. From the design of the touch pad to a new light blue glow, no effort has been spared by Mr Sim's 600-strong Singapore team dedicated to MP3 players.

"Everything about the Creative Zen Micro was done in-house. This is both its beauty and its strength," said Mr Sim.

To cope with the surge in business, Mr Sim is looking to hire another 300 employees — at this very moment — to join his current team of 1,200 staff.

"We have out-invested everybody in the world to fight this war," said Mr Sim.

The Zen Micro will be available early November at a retail price of $499.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 14 Oct 2004

GLOBAL ENTREPOLIS @ SINGAPORE
S'pore continues to have edge over neighbours

By CHUANG PECK MING

SINGAPORE will continue to have an edge over its South-east Asian neighbours as economic competition heats up in the region, according to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

While China and India will take over the things Singapore does, as they grow, Mr Lee said yesterday he is not worried about competition from surrounding countries in South-east Asia.

'Our neighbours cannot quite catch up so quickly,' he said at the Global Entrepolis conference hosted by the Economic Development Board.

Mr Lee told the gathering of global and local businessmen that while countries like Malaysia can match Singapore in infrastructure and systems, their talent pools will still lag.

'You can't change the quality of your education and the people you produce - and we have a 10, 20-year lead there,' he said.

Mr Lee noted that Malaysia is trying to go back to English in schools, having lost it for two decades.

'It's not impossible, it's do-able,' he said. 'But their vested interest now... (is) in the Malay language. That gives us an advantage.'

Singapore is also ahead in having an open system, according to him. 'We don't go for affirmative actions. We believe this is a free market, not just for goods but also for talent,' he said.

Mr Lee added: 'If we can continue doing what we have been doing in the last 10 years - we've been getting graduate students, secondary school students, university undergraduates and graduates from China or India. If one quarter of them stay behind, we will have a talent pool out of all proportion to any of our neighbours.'

And this indeed is how Singapore has excelled. 'We were the education centre of the region,' Mr Lee said. 'So all those who sought education came here. They came from Thailand, Indonesia, they learn English here. And many stayed behind.'

Mr Lee noted that he was the only one of the 10 ministers in Singapore's first Cabinet who was born and bred here.

'Very few countries can do that,' he said. 'We can because the population understands.

'And we make sure they continue to understand that this inflow of talent - yes, it creates competition for jobs, for your children, but in the end it creates more jobs than you otherwise would have.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 14 October 2004 2127 hrs

S'pore should move away from manufacturing pillar: economists
By Michael Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: It is a mistake for Singapore to continue with a manufacturing policy as strongly as it has been adopting, says investment bank CLSA's chief economist Jim Walker.

He was commenting on Singapore's policy of keeping the manufacturing sector as a pillar of its economy.

Dr Walker said Singapore should instead be looking much more at promoting the service industries.

This view was shared by MasterCard International economic adviser Yuwa Hedrick-Wong.

Singapore sees one of its strengths as lying in high value-added manufacturing.

But the two economists felt that Singapore should follow Hong Kong and move more into services.

Dr Walker said: "I think it has been a policy of the past which has stood Singapore in very good stead. But the Government has a tendency to stick with past winners and past policies, rather than looking at what is happening in the global economy and in the future. I think it is a mistake for the Government to continue with the manufacturing policy as strongly as it has been. I think it should be looking much more at promoting other service industries."

"The reality is that Hong Kong has moved much faster away from manufacturing.....that is the right direction.....if you look from a global perspective, all advanced economies today really derive their economic growth from high-end services. That is the hallmark of an advanced, mature sophisticated economy and I think that is where the potential is for Singapore," said Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong.

And the good news is, Singapore is carving a niche for itself in several key services sectors like tourism, finance, health and education.

But at a Global Entrepolis dialogue on Wednesday, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew expressed his optimism about keeping Singapore's competitive edge.

Mr Lee said: "Where I am, as long as I keep my education standard higher than my neighbours, I can do things which they cannot do. So, I am going to keep that manufacturing component because I can upgrade. Yes, they will upgrade, but they will take time, they have to change the education system, they've got to get their technical institutes going and so on. It will take 10 to 20 years. Come 10 to 20 years, my successors can spend their time thinking out the next problem."

Meanwhile, the Trade and Industry Ministry says that whilst it acknowledges that there are strong reasons to promote services, it need not be done at the expense of a vibrant manufacturing sector.

This is because a major source of Singapore's economic competitiveness stems from the strong linkages that have developed between manufacturing and services. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

OCT 16, 2004
Rivalry? South Korean zones create openings too
Economic zones can transform country into hub of North-east Asia, and let it cooperate with its 'twin' S'pore, says National Assembly Speaker

By Asad Latif

SOUTH Korea's move to create free economic zones in Incheon, Busan and Gwangyang might provide competition for Singapore, but it will also throw up opportunities for the Republic.

Visiting South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Won-Ki gave this upbeat assessment yesterday when asked about the Korean government's plans for these zones, where companies will enjoy labour and tax privileges.

The aim is to draw foreign investment into these three cities and transform South Korea into a financial and logistics hub of North-east Asia.

Incheon is located on the country's west coast, Busan on the south-east coast and Gwangyang on the south-west coast.

Media reports have said that the three zones might compete for investment with Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Mr Kim acknowledged that there was a 'competitive relationship' between the Korean zones and the other cities.

However, he indicated that he envisaged Singapore in South-east Asia and South Korea in North-east Asia acting as 'twin hubs'.

'We can strengthen the hubs through cooperation,' he said, mentioning PSA Corp as an example. PSA holds a 60 per cent stake in Incheon Container Terminal.

Mr Kim was speaking during a four-day visit here that began on Wednesday.

He met President S R Nathan on Thursday and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Speaking through an interpreter, he commented on the progress of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and Singapore. He said differences in many areas had been hammered out through five rounds of negotiations and the two countries were making efforts to narrow gaps.

The idea of an FTA between South Korea and Singapore was first raised in November 2000. Earlier this year, both countries reaffirmed their intention to conclude a comprehensive FTA by year-end.

Mr Kim said he hoped the two sides would stick to the timetable.

The South Korean delegation leaves today for Cambodia.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

OCT 16, 2004
insight
Destination Middle East
Trade in one hand and diplomacy in the other, Singapore is reaching out to the Middle East. Insight looks at the prospects of its latest engagement with a region more known for its political problems than economic potential

By Asad Latif

DR YAACOB Ibrahim has a new set of name cards these days. They are in English and Arabic, in addition to his usual set in English and Chinese.

The cards came in useful last month when the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources led a delegation of Singapore businessmen on a mission to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The Arabs he met on the five-day mission 'loosened up' when they saw his card, which he had made specially for trips to the Middle East, such as his annual visits to Saudi Arabia to discuss the quota for Singapore's haj pilgrims.

'They are happy when they see that you are willing to make an effort to reach out to them,' says Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

Singapore is reaching out to the region today, seeking the kind of partnerships it has established with North America, China, Europe, Latin America and India over the past four decades of export-led growth.

In February, then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong proposed that Asia and the Middle East launch a dialogue to forge closer political, security, economic and socio-cultural relations between their peoples. Its inaugural meeting will be held next year.

'MISSING PIECE'

SHOULD Mr Goh's call for stronger ties succeed, it will complement two other initiatives he has launched and complete what he described as the 'missing piece' in Singapore's overall plan to win friends worldwide.

In 1995, he proposed a dialogue between Asia and Europe, which has grown today and is known as the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem). In 1998, he suggested that Asia also build links with Latin America. The idea led to the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.

As for the Middle East, its Muslim countries are linked to their religious partners in Africa and Asia through the Organisation of Islamic Conference. A Middle East-Asia dialogue would broaden those links by including non-Muslim countries.

Mr Goh underlined the Middle East's importance when, before handing over the reins to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in August, he disclosed that he would like to spend some time developing ties with the region.

What are the prospects and benefits of closer links?

Quite good, suggests Institute of South-east Asian Studies senior research fellow Daljit Singh.

Although Singapore is not a Muslim country, it has developed a 'feel' for religious sensitivities through interaction with its Muslim neighbours and, of course, its own Muslim population. These qualities should help it to deal credibly with the Middle East, he argues.

By engaging the Middle East, Singapore also balances out its traditionally strong ties with the West. At once, it also sends a signal to its Muslim neighbours that it wants to work with moderate Muslims even as it takes a strong stance against terrorism.

Singapore's participation in the United States-led coalition for the disarmament of Iraq should not hinder it from dealing with Muslim governments in the Middle East, adds Mr Singh, because many Arab states, and the Gulf countries in particular, were involved in helping the US.

'Few governments in the Middle East want to see a radical Islamic Iraq or an Iraq in chaos,' he adds, noting that this is Singapore's view as well.

What matters as Singapore moves closer to the Middle East, he says, is the economic dimension.

IMAGES AND REALITIES

BUT that dimension is a thin one at the moment.

Two decades ago, the Middle East had higher real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) than Asia; today, Asia's is twice as high. The Middle East attracted US$2 billion (S$3.4 billion) in foreign direct investment last year, compared with the US$57 billion that Asia grabbed.

The Middle East's low economic profile is reflected in the fact that a mere 5 per cent of Singapore's total trade last year was with the region - and four-fifths of that involved petroleum-related trade.

The public mind associates the region more with suicide-bombers and conservative if not radical Muslims than with trade and industry.

However, images and statistics can be deceptive if they obscure the potential of a region of 400 million people with a combined GDP of more than US$1 trillion. By way of comparison, Asean, with a population of approximately 500 million, has a GDP of US$737 billion.

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait - have wealthy economies. Iran is another resource-rich economy which has embarked on liberalisation. Iraq holds promise if and when the security situation stabilises, argues Mr Terence Seow, senior manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa at International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, formerly the Trade Development Board.

Indicating the mood of the times, Singapore has signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Jordan, and has agreed to negotiate pacts with Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Iran and Kuwait.

As Singapore tries to diversify its global trade and investment links so that it is not overly dependent on a single region or country, economic opportunities are opening up in the Arab and Persian world.

This is because governments in the region are moving away from economic models dominated by the public sector and financed by petrodollars, towards a market-based approach to growth. This has been Singapore's economic strategy as well, and there are rewards to be reaped by Singapore companies looking westwards.

Dr Yaacob notes that the region is embarking on large infrastructure projects which companies can compete for. For example, the UAE is expected to award a whopping US$46 billion worth of environmental projects over the next decade.

BIG OPPORTUNITIES

THESE projects present major opportunities for water treatment and related companies, along with those involved in municipal waste disposal, in Singapore, where waste disposal has been privatised.

Indeed, a Singapore company has got a piece of the action already. Hyflux, the biggest listed company in the water-treatment business here, announced last week that it was forming a joint venture with Dubai-based Istithmar, an investment holding company linked to the Dubai government.

The joint-venture company will design, build, commission and operate water and wastewater treatment facilities with an estimated value of US$400 million in Dubai over three years.

'The Middle East market is too big and significant to ignore,' says Dr Dee Dee Ng, Hyflux's deputy chief executive and executive vice-president for operations.

Over in Qatar, which has been privatising its power and water markets since the mid-1990s, the waste management market is next in line for privatisation.

Other sectors that offer opportunities include infrastructure services, oil and gas, education, health care and logistics and environmental technology, according to IE Singapore.

Even as Dr Yaacob urges Singapore companies to give the Middle East a good look, that region itself is looking eastwards. Arab capital began to feel unwelcome in the US and Europe because of the backlash over the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.

True, Arab capital flight from the US in the aftermath of 9/11 has tempered, and Gulf businessmen are investing much more at home because of opportunities created by deregulation and privatisation. However, they are also watching developments in East and South Asia.

The potential in Arab investment is huge. The Islamic financial industry alone is estimated at US$300 billion, and has attracted the interest of the Government here, which wants to promote Islamic banking products.

Singapore bankers say that its moves to develop Islamic finance should not be affected by the fact that it is not a Muslim nation because Islamic finance is taking off in many non-Muslim countries.

THE WAY TO DO BUSINESS

MEANWHILE, the Government is encouraging companies to look to the Middle East. But for businessmen to venture there, what do they need to know?

The first lesson is the need for reliable and trusted local partners. It is mandatory in many Middle Eastern countries to have native sponsors or agents for foreign businesses, with exceptions made for certain industries and in free-trade zones.

Mr Cody Lee, an executive for market development with the Singapore Business Federation who was in the delegation to the Middle East last month, says that the local agents' connections make them indispensable when vying for large projects.

'When choosing a local partner, be very clear what is needed from it. Do you just want someone to lend a name and put in capital, or do you actually need a supporting infrastructure to help you get the business going?' adds Mr Ashok Melwani, CEO of A.B. Melwani, whose joint venture in Dubai runs six Dome cafes in the bustling city.

He needed the latter and worked hard to find them. Newcomers would find it useful to seek the advice of Singaporeans based in the region, he said.

As anywhere else, market knowledge is also vital. Mr Peter Hee, the Singaporean project manager of a Japanese consultancy in Jordan's tourism development sector, cites the experience of several Korean companies which went there with rock-bottom prices just to secure a project without understanding local pricing, work attitudes and tax regulations. They got hurt.

On the softer side, but no less important, is the need to deal with Arabs sensitively.

'Do throw away the ugly Singapore high and mighty attitude,' remarks the 49-year-old, speaking from Amman. He has been in Jordan for the past four years out of 18 years spent working overseas.

Mr Cody Lee, of the Singapore Business Federation, says that instead of expecting to conclude deals with the brisk efficiency possible back home, businessmen should be prepared to invest time to cultivate relationships of trust.

'Arabs do not like to be hurried,' he says, pointing to long, business-free dinners over which people get to know one another.

Challenges notwithstanding, there is one advantage which Singaporean companies venturing into the region enjoy: the strong brand name of Singapore Inc. Businessmen should build on that reputation, Dr Yaacob says.

Those name cards printed in Arabic help too.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Friday October 15, 6:24 PM
Singapore's Temasek Deepens Links In China, Indonesia

By Hasan Jafri
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd.'s latest forays into Indonesia and China underscore the giant state-owned company's emergence as a key regional investor, but also showcase Singapore's deepening ties with two key allies with whom relations have at times been testy.

Temasek is taking a 4.55% stake in China Minsheng Banking Corp. (600016.SH), the country's first privately owned bank, a source told Dow Jones Newswires. China Minsheng's directors have okayed the deal, the source said Friday.

A Temasek spokeswoman declined to comment.

If successful, it will be Temasek's first investment in China since July, when Beijing publicly chided Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for visiting Taiwan weeks before he became Singapore's third premier.

Having Temasek as a shareholder would help raise the Beijing-based lender's profile as it vies with larger state-owned rivals to be the first mainland bank to list its entire operations overseas. Minsheng's initial public offering in Hong Kong could raise US$1 billion, analysts say. Temasek's stake will make it the bank's seventh-largest shareholder ahead of the IPO.

Furthermore, it allays fears that China may penalize Singapore for the visit that strained Sino-Singapore ties and forced Singapore to repeatedly reaffirm it opposes an independent Taiwan, irking Taipei.

While relations with Taiwan may take time to heal, Temasek's bid for a Chinese commercial bank signals Singapore-Beijing ties "are back on track," says Lim Jit Soon, Singapore head of research at Citigroup Inc. (C).

Meanwhile, Temasek is also bidding for an Indonesian energy company - its first move in the neighboring archipelago since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's recent landslide presidential victory. Temasek confirmed on Thursday it is a "preferred bidder" for a company that owns Medco Energi Internasional (MEDC.JK), Indonesia's largest upstream oil and gas exploration company. Temasek, through a unit, is bidding to buy 44.9% of New Links Energy Resources, which in turn owns 85.5% of Medco.

President-designate Yudhoyono has publicly said he wants to deepen economic ties with Singapore, even as some politicians who may be in Yudhoyono's upcoming cabinet remain wary of deeper ties with the predominantly ethnic-Chinese island-state.

Yudhoyono is more "outward-looking," and continued investment by Singapore or state-linked companies may courage others to invest in the world's largest Muslim country, says Leo Suryadinata, an expert on Singapore-Indonesia ties at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Singapore will have a "special place" in Yudhoyono foreign policy, says Suryadinata.

Temasek is one of the world's largest state-owned investment companies with S$180 billion in assets, including stakes in most of Singapore's biggest companies.

With S$3.3 billion invested in 35 companies over the last two years, Temasek is also emerging as one of Asia's more important investors as it snaps up assets from Australia to India.

While it insists investment decisions are purely commercial to maximize returns, Temasek has nevertheless emerged as an important diplomatic tool for the wealthy but tiny city-state as it expands its economic influence overseas.

Over the next decade, two-thirds of Temasek's assets will be outside Singapore, from the current 52%, as it attempts to boost declining returns. Temasek this week said financial returns fell to just 3% over 10 years from as much as 18% over a 30-year period.

China and Indonesia will figure prominently in Temasek's rise as a regional investment powerhouse. Just 6% of Temasek's S$90 billion portfolio is currently invested in north Asia and another 9% in Southeast Asia. Temasek doesn't provide breakdowns for China and Indonesia.

Singapore-Jakarta ties were rocky during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when Singapore felt political instability in Indonesia would hurt the entire region.

Indonesia has at times accused Singapore of not putting its money where its mouth is, but that changed when the state-owned Government of Singapore Investment Corp. emerged as a partner in all three parties bidding to buy Indonesian automaker Astra International in 2000.

The peaceful political transition has reinforced a view among Indonesia's Southeast Asian neighbors that political stability will attract more investment - a stance that Temasek adopted three years ago.

Since then, Temasek has bought 52% of Bank Danomon and 26% of Bank Internasional Indonesia from the Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency, helping Jakarta repay debt.

Temasek-owned Singapore Technologies Telemedia also bought into Indonesian Satellite Corp. (IIT), or Indosat, while Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (S12.SG) is a shareholder in Indonesia's largest cellular telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Selular, or Telkomsel.

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/041015/15/3nshl.html

Business Times - 16 Oct 2004

LG Electronics boosting S'pore presence

Regional push part of strategy to head industry by 2007

By NANDE KHIN

KOREAN-BASED LG Electronics yesterday announced plans to expand its Singapore operations in a bid to become No 1 in the consumer electronics industry in three years' time.

For a start, the LG Singapore Representative Office will become a fully-owned subsidiary and renamed LG Singapore Pte Ltd. Sales and marketing and customer service staff strength will be significantly increased by the end of 2007, said Don Byon, director of the LG Singapore Representative Office.

'As part of our growth strategy for Southeast Asia, LG Singapore will play a pivotal role. We will reinforce our senior staff strength in the Singapore office with management executives from our Korean office, as well as employ local senior talent in the areas of sales and marketing,' said Mr Byon.

In addition to increasing staff strength, the company will also look into augmenting training programmes for the customer service team. 'Customers can look forward to improved after-sales service support from our staff,' said Mr Byon.

He added that the company's customer service centre for all its products, currently located in Jurong, will be moved to a more centralised location for customers' convenience. LG Singapore will also be investing more aggressively in sales and marketing activities to boost the company's brand image as well as products.

The plans will be put into effect in the first quarter of next year. LG Electronics - which aims to be among the global top three electronics and telecommunications companies by 2010 - has projected its 2007 and 2010 revenues to hit $400 million and $1 billion respectively.

Last week, it was reported that the company had decided to withdraw distributorship of its products in Singapore from two of Casa Holdings' wholly-owned subsidiaries - Casa Communications and Casa (S) Pte Ltd - from next January for mobile phones and April for consumer electronics and IT products.

After the distributorship change, members of the LG division in Casa will become part of LG Singapore. Mr Byon said that the transition will have no impact on the existing trade partners.

'The decision by LG Electronics to part ways (with Casa) was a difficult one. We have enjoyed a good and strong relationship with Casa and they have served us well.

'We treasure this relationship, but the time has come to move on. In line with our global strategies and regional policies, LG will now embark on its next phase of aggressive growth,' said Mr Byon.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

OCT 16, 2004
S'pore-Russia business ties gaining momentum
Russian SME trade group and Singapore Business Federation in tie-up which will lead the way for greater cooperation

By Grace Ng

AN OLD folk saying runs: 'Russians take a long time to saddle their horses, but they ride very fast.'

A Russian business delegation that galloped into town yesterday provided fresh evidence that business links between Singapore and a once-unlikely business partner, a former bastion of communism, are riding high.

Mr Sergey Borisov, president of Opora, Russia's No. 1 body of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with 25,000 business-owners, cited the folk saying, suggesting that saddles are firmly in place and that bilateral business ties are breaking into a quick trot.

Although Russia is far from Singapore's more traditional markets in the United States, Asia and Europe, business links have been growing apace.

Eighty-nine Russian firms now operate here, such as Moscow Narodny Bank; fertiliser producer Agrosin; Lukoil Asia-Pacific, which manufactures oil products; fishing company TS Marine; and shipping firm Prisco.

In Russia, there are an estimated 30 to 50 Singapore companies, mainly in telecommunications; electronics retail; and oil and gas exploration, with Raffles bolstering the hospitality sector with a new Moscow hotel next May.

The Russian delegation included representatives from the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mr Borisov said: 'This is the first time that this many Opora delegates from a wide range of industries, from stem-cell research to chocolates to textile manufacturing, have set foot in Singapore to meet local businessmen. It is a modest start, but we expect more trade missions from now on.'

Last night, he signed a memorandum of agreement with the Singapore Business Federation, which would pave the way for greater cooperation between the business communities.

In particular, Mr Borisov said the Russian government and business community hoped to take advantage of Singaporean expertise in setting up pilot entrepreneurial incubators and business parks in various areas such as Moscow and St Petersburg.

This may be financed partly by the Russian government's scheme to assist local SMEs with a 1.5-billion-rouble (S$86.4-million) investment fund next year.

The momentum of bilateral trade between Russia and Singapore has picked up in the past five years, with trade turnover doubling since 1999, said Russian Ambassador to Singapore Sergey Kiselev in an interview last week.

Bilateral trade grew by 4.4 per cent to $917 million last year when Sars hit the region, and 16 per cent in 2002.

'Lately there has been a rising interest among Russian firms to develop ties in the field of advanced technologies such as new materials, optics and electronics,' said Mr Kiselev. 'There are also plans to have a regional centre of metal trading in Singapore.'

He pointed to the week-long visit of Mr George Yeo - then Minister of Trade and Industry - to Russia in April as one of the catalysts for the Russians' redoubled efforts to increase their business visibility in Singapore.

IE Singapore is also pushing an initiative in the automotive sector, still in its infancy, in which a major Singapore automotive firm in Russia would handhold a few non-competing Singapore firms to look at business opportunities in Russia.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 15 October 2004 1912 hrs

Software giant SAS to double headcount in S'pore in next 2 years
By Chan Hwa Loon, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Software giant SAS is planning to double its headcount in Singapore in the next two years to over 120.

Most of the new hirings will be industry and IT solutions professionals.

They will be mainly from financial, public, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors.

To accommodate the staff expansion, SAS has moved into its new 12,200 square foot office in the SIA Building at Robinson Road.

The new office will include a regional training centre for SAS customers and partners.

SAS Singapore was set up in 1983.

It counts among its key customers firms like OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank, Standard Chartered, SingTel and Singapore Airlines. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

OCT 17, 2004
Who says outsourcing is a dirty word?
About 30 big projects are coming here this year, with 1,000 expert jobs

By Li Xueying

TO MANY, outsourcing is a dirty word that means 'out of job'.

But 1,000 Singaporeans last year and another projected 1,000 this year, owe their livelihoods to this multibillion dollar trend that is transforming the way companies are run.

The Economic Development Board's (EDB) managing director, Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, told The Sunday Times that an estimated 30 major projects are being outsourced to Singapore this year.

These are expected to create about 1,000 high-skilled jobs for professionals, he added, and more for lower-level employees. The figures are similar to last year's.

On top of the new ventures, a number of companies that provide outsourcing services have set up regional hubs here.

EDB was unable to give statistics, but said 19 of the top 20 Indian IT outsourcing companies have opened offices here.

'The outsourcing trend is creating a new industry in itself - which can be promoted, just like, say, the semi-conductor industry,' said Mr Ko. As more companies offshore non-core functions, the firms that take over those tasks 'will need a base from which to integrate their operations'.

One is Scandent Group, which last year made Singapore its global operations base. The Indian company, which provides IT and business process outsourcing, employs 150 people here.

Said its founder, Mr Ramesh Vangal: 'There are very clear opportunities for India to leverage on Singapore's strengths.'

These include: intellectual property protection, stable politics, close ties with other countries, a skilled workforce and the 4,000 multinational corporations headquartered here.

Located in Singapore are the high-end operations, following what Mr Ko terms the '20-80 rule' - '20 per cent of the work in Singapore, while 80 per cent, which may be more labour-intensive, is elsewhere in Asia.'

It's like being an 'orchestra conductor', said Mr Lee Kwok Cheong, chief executive officer of homegrown IT company NCS.

'The big countries like China and India can provide the violins and the drums. Singapore can be the highly-valued conductor - providing the management.'

In the past five years, NCS has snared various big outsourcing contracts from other countries.

These include: a HK$151 million (S$32 million) contract to implement and maintain, for 10 years, a one-stop information portal linking all Hong Kong's hospitals.

NCS now employs some 3,000 people. Overseas contracts form a quarter of its business and Mr Lee is aiming to increase this to 50 per cent in three to five years. Its edge? Experience, and Singapore's brand name as a cutting-edge wired nation.

Another example is that of low-cost carriers in the region outsourcing their maintenance, repair and overhaul activities. Malaysia-based Air- Asia has farmed this out to Singapore Technologies Aerospace.

Singapore's relatively low cost has also swung work this way.

In the past three years, media post-production house Infinite Frameworks has worked on four projects for Japanese gaming firms, including animating opening titles and translating designs of cartoon characters into 3-D models.

Said general manager Freddie Yeo: 'We hope it will open the door to long-term contracts with companies in Japan and the United States, where costs are higher.'

Another opportunity EDB has identified is for entrepreneurs to set up companies in a fluid field with no industry leaders. Urging them to think creatively, Mr Ko said: 'There are so many types of activities that can be outsourced.'

In 1999, Accord Customer Care Solutions (ACCS) saw the potential in providing cellphone repairs and is today a listed company worth $680 million. Altogether, 35 cellphone brands, including Nokia and Motorola, have outsourced their after-sales care to the company, which has a presence in 15 countries. 'This was a business that did not exist five years ago,' said Mr Ko.

ACCS chief executive Victor Tan said: 'Everything can be outsourced, so long as it makes business sense.'

His advice: Identify opportunities, be bold, and ensure that the process can be re-engineered so it becomes cheaper, yet efficient.

Challenges remain. Sceptics point to the high costs here and the limited pool of skilled labour.

Being able to cater to diverse cultures is another.

Mr Jonathan Ang, 38, a 3-D animation supervisor with Infinite Frameworks, recalled: 'When we were trying to recreate this particular character, we took five weeks because the client just felt it didn't look 'Japanese' enough!'

To tackle such problems, Mr Yeo said that the firm is now looking to hire a Japanese guru to guide the team. 'It's not going to be cheap, but we see this as a long-term investment to moving into the global market.'

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

China's first private bank? :eek:

Jessop teams up with S'pore firm for port building

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2004 01:41:29 AM ]
KOLKATA: Jessop and Company today teamed up with Singapore-based Antara Koh Pte Ltd for foraying into the area of port and jetty building. This is the second time Jessop is entering into a tieup with a Singapore-based firm.

The erstwhile PSU, now run by the Kolkata-based Ruia Group had joined hands with the $227 million Boustead Singapore Ltd (BSL) for making in-roads into some other new areas like water treatment, environment management and power distribution and generation on September 17.

Soon after signing the agreement with the Antara Koh managing director Gimmy Koh at the Antara Koh head-quarters in Jurong, Singapore, Mr P K Ruia, chairman, Jessop and Company, told ET over phone, “One of the main objectives of making inroads into this new field was to utilise the idle capacity of the company and the surplus workforce at its disposal.”

“Through our partnership with Antara Koh Pte Ltd, which is one of the largest firms in the field, we hope to offer the best technology available in the world to our customers. We will now jointly bid for future projects in India and abroad,” he said.

The Kolkata-based heavy engineering giant had earlier joined hands with Tekhkom of Ukraine for getting into shipbuilding and repairing.

As per the terms of the agreement with the Ukrainian firm, Tekhkom will supply the technical knowhow for ship build-ing and repair while the Indian company will execute the work.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/885948.cms

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 17 October 2004 1817 hrs

More employees learning Mandarin at the workplace
By Ca-Mie De Souza

SINGAPORE : Companies are offering Mandarin courses at the workplace as more employees find studying the language useful, and even necessary.

Many of those taking up the courses are non-Chinese, with a small minority comprising those who studied the language in school but did not pay much attention to it while in school.

At Tan Tock Seng, for example, non-Chinese staff are picking up Basic Mandarin.

Language courses - from Hokkien to Thai - have been running for three years now.

But Mandarin is still the most popular.

Susan Ang, Assistant Human Resource Manager, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said, "Ultimately what we want is our staff (to be) able to communicate with our patients."

Ward Clerk Farizan Mohd completed her basic course recently.

Elaborating on the benefits of the course, she said, "...we can speak to them (patients), we can tell them to wait in Mandarin, we can tell them that the doctor's name, we call them as yi sheng, ni yao tan. Before we mix it with Hokkien, now with the Mandarin we can use full Mandarin you see."

Furthermore, apart from the basic course, some senior management staff are going through an Advanced Mandarin course.

Serene Tan came from an English-speaking home and found it difficult studying the language in school.

The Human Resource Director at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said, "I don't think I really like Mandarin because....I remember my Mandarin school teacher used to call me and make sure I read passages. Initially I worked with MNC companies so I don't use it very much. But later when I joined manufacturing, I find that it's useful to talk to operators, interview them; sometimes you use Mandarin, you'll find that they are more willing to share with you."

After the course, she can present her hospital's policies in Mandarin to visiting China officials.

Management staff at Regent Hotel are also picking up Mandarin, so they can communicate with 5 percent of staff who are Mandarin speakers.

Charissa Tam, Training Manager, said, "Hopefully we will be able to reach most of the levels that have direct contact with any foreign staff who speak Mandarin."

Columbian General Manager Ricardo Aceverdo is taking the lead.

He said, "I think one way, a humble way, to be able to recognise our Chinese small community within the hotel was to at least address them, be able to say hello and recognise their work in Mandarin."

He added, "More than me learning Mandarin, is really that people feel that we are making (an) effort to be able to communicate with them in a minimal way, but I know that for them it is a tremendous recognition to them."

Increasingly at the workplace, companies are finding they need to equip their staff with a better mastery of Mandarin, even the non-Chinese.

And language schools say they are seeing more companies coming forward to ask for customised in-house Mandarin programmes. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

OCT 17, 2004
Infocomm firms bouncing back

SINGAPORE'S infocommunications industry is on the mend, eking out a 2 per cent growth in sales last year in spite of the negative impact of Sars and the Iraq war.

And prospects for this year and the next are set to be brighter as the domestic economy grows and global demand for the industry's output increases.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) said in a report last Friday that a survey it conducted indicated that growth in sales by the infocomm sector may accelerate to 5.6 per cent this year and 7.4 per cent in the next.

The expansion is likely to be driven more by exports rather than domestic demand - underscoring the need to focus on overseas markets, the IDA said. For this year, all segments of the industry, from hardware sales to telecommunications services, are expected to improve, it said.

The total revenue chalked up by the infocomm industry last year edged up to $32.83 billion from $32.17 billion in 2002, with hardware sales contributing to much of last year's revenue, at 46.1 per cent.

The survey of infocomm firms was conducted between March and June this year.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 18 October 2004 1504 hrs

Singapore's key non-oil exports growth eases but still above forecasts

SINGAPORE: Singapore's key non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in September grew 16.9 percent from a year ago, down from recent levels but still well above analysts' forecasts, official figures showed Monday.

"Both electronic and non-electronic NODX continued to report positive, though more moderate, growth in the month," International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the government's trade body, said in a statement.

Analysts had forecast export growth of 6.0 to 16.5 percent year-on-year in September, down from 29 percent in August, partly due to the high comparative base in September 2003.

NODX reached 12.23 billion Singapore dollars (7.2 billion US) last month.

Electronics exports rose 13.6 percent year-on-year to 6.38 billion dollars, boosted by larger shipments of semiconductors, especially to China and the United States, as well as computer parts and telecommunication equipment.

Exports of semiconductors last month rose 17.3 percent year-on-year to 1.88 billion dollars.

Disk drive exports, however, remained weak, slumping 20.1 percent to 1.28 billion dollars, after declining 6.7 percent in August.

Non-electronics exports grew 20.8 percent to 5.85 billion dollars, powered largely by petrochemical shipments to regional markets led by China, Malaysia and Taiwan, IE Singapore said.

Total chemical exports grew 27.6 percent to 2.67 billion dollars in September. - AFP

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

OCT 18, 2004
S'pore to gain from changes to Japan's biomedical rules
Logistics firms may be able to get 20% of business shipping drugs for testing here, after Tokyo eases rules on offshore trials

By Nicholas Fang

RECENT changes to rules governing Japan's biomedical industry could lead to Singapore snaring a 20 per cent share of a US$300 million (S$507.9 million) a year industry - transporting drugs for testing offshore.

Logistics giant TNT said it has already experienced a 10-fold increase in biomedical consignments to Singapore from Japan, making it the single largest source of biomedical consignments to the Republic in the Asia-Pacific.

TNT, a specialist in life sciences logistics, said Singapore firms involved in clinical trials and the life sciences industry had seen a surge in business from Japan after regulatory changes there in March.

The regulations relaxed data requirements for new drug registration and, as a result, clinical data and trials information from regional centres such as South Korea and Taiwan can be accepted in Japan, said TNT Singapore managing director Mark Shorney last week.

'Singapore is an established centre for testing in the region with many labs already set up here, so a lot of countries send their samples here to be tested.'

He said TNT moves more than 700,000 diagnostics specimens globally each year, but declined to disclose details of the number of consignments handled into Singapore by TNT for competitive reasons.

'The Japanese pharmaceutical logistics outsourcing trend is estimated to be worth US$300 million a year currently, and we believe a 20 per cent share will go to Singapore in a couple of years,' Mr Shorney said. 'More than any market in Asia, the Japanese life sciences market is expected to grow 9 per cent year on year.'

TNT Life Sciences Asia general manager Ni Sheng Jie said another reason for the surge in business from Japan was cost pressure, which had encouraged Japanese firms to be more open to outsourcing their research to global laboratories.

Responding to the potential of the Japanese market, TNT said it recently set up a dedicated life sciences centre in Tokyo, which would complement its Life Sciences Excellence Centre for Asia-Pacific in Singapore.

Mr Shorney also said that India was considering regulatory changes that would update and improve patent protection in that country, and hence make it more attractive for big pharmaceutical companies to set up shop there.

'Currently, the regulations are not very good at protecting new research and development. The country has a lot of potential for clinical testing given its large population and if it improves, then Singapore is likely to benefit from the increased requirements for testing generated by the market there.'

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

OCT 18, 2004
Compete with Shanghai? Just ride on its growth
By Pranay Gupte

MEETING Dr Chen Hong from Shanghai is a bit like visiting his native city itself. You've got to be prepared to be dazzled by the sheer speed of sight and sound, and by ideas that pop up at a dizzying rate.

That's another way of saying that he talks non-stop, even as he's working on e-mail through his Blackberry digital device, which also feeds him international calls through an earpiece.

'I don't like to let a single moment go to waste,' he says, managing also to munch on a breakfast pastry and sip coffee at the same time.

You've also got to be prepared for his total conviction in the inevitability of China becoming the world's dominant economy.

Dr Chen - who deals in mergers and acquisitions, among other things - says this not with any chauvinistic hubris, but by citing an array of facts and figures, and most of all by emphasising that through its rapid transformation into a market-driven economy, China is well on its way to becoming the world's biggest consumer society, well ahead of anyone's reasonable expectations.

China, he asserts, is fast becoming a global brand of quality. 'Yes, I have no doubt that if a country cannot participate effectively in globalisation today, it's simply not going to make progress,' Dr Chen said.

'It's meaningless for Singapore to consider Shanghai as competition, for example. You can look at someone as competition - but what can you do about it? You cannot stop the trend towards progress. China is growing very fast. No more of that snickering when people used to see labels that said 'Made in China'. Today, everyone associates China with dynamic international growth.'

He is successfully tapping into that growth. His newest company, The Hina Group, a private-equity firm, just completed its first year, tending to more than two dozen deals, and earned US$2 million (S$3.4 million). The annual revenues of all his other firms, mainly in the telecoms industry, exceed US$50 million.

His views of topics such as globalisation are sought at prestigious venues such as the World Economic Forum. And he is not quite 41 years old.

He was here last week for the Global Entrepolis @ Singapore event.

His advice to Singapore? 'Become more of an investment gateway for China,' he said. 'Remember, there are already some 1,100 Chinese firms with offices in Singapore. The Chinese feel far more comfortable in Singapore than even in the US because of the commonality of culture.

'Singapore has already invested US$24 billion in China's manufacturing sector. Its success has to come from close collaboration with rapidly growing nearby giants such as China and India. If Singapore takes on China and India as direct competitors, then it may become isolated.

'Singapore has a challenge,' he added. 'It needs to rethink its plans and strategies, especially because places like Shanghai are becoming more and more the favoured destinations for global multinational businesses.'

Dr Chen, who grew up during the heyday of communism in China, has a PhD in computer science from the State University of New York. He received his doctorate just as the technology revolution was taking off in the US.

He quickly made his way to Silicon Valley, where his people skills and ability to raise funds helped him found Aimnet, a leading regional Internet service provider that was acquired by Verio in 1997, which in turn was sold to NTT in 2000 for US$5.6 billion.

He then founded GRIC Communications, a global leader in deploying world's largest virtual dial-up and broadband WiFi network in 150 countries, and later led its successful initial public offer on Nasdaq. He continues to serve as GRIC's chairman.

Dr Chen feels that with the exponential economic growth that China has undergone in the last decade, many Chinese firms are experiencing difficulty finding top-level talent.

That's where Singapore could serve as a source by supplying Mandarin-speaking executives, he said.

'The Chinese are not very comfortable with non-Chinese speaking top-level executives,' Dr Chen said. 'So there's a timely opportunity here for Singaporeans to be part of the top hierarchy in Chinese businesses.'

It's not all a rosy situation, of course. Dr Chen is concerned about what China does with its US$400-billion trade surplus. He's also concerned by the speed of domestic economic growth in China that has been fuelled by the annual foreign direct investment of more than US$53 billion.

That, coupled with often-reckless loans by Chinese banks to real-estate developers in urban centres, has overheated the economy.

Economists now worry whether the Chinese economy will come in for a hard landing - which is to say, whether its annual growth will fall to below 3 per cent - or a soft landing, which would be around 7 to 8 per cent.

In this regard, Dr Chen is an optimist. He feels that the banks are already cutting back on their urban credits. But where the money really needs to go, he said, is to China's 10 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

'China is an SME-dominated country,' he said. 'That's where future growth lies, not just in Shanghai and Beijing.'

Of all the extraordinary economic developments he's witnessed in the last two decades since he graduated from college - decades that coincided with a dramatic spurt in technological progress - what surprised him the most?

'How small San Francisco International Airport is, and how outdated,' he said. 'I recall as a young man going there and being so impressed by its size and efficiency. Nowadays, I land in Shanghai and am simply overwhelmed by the hugeness of the airport, not to mention the city.

'That tells you something about progress. If you have the ambition, you can achieve your objectives very quickly indeed.'

That remark, as much as anything else Dr Chen said during the interview, offered an insight into his own success.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

SINGAPORE will continue to have an edge over its South-east Asian neighbours as economic competition heats up in the region, according to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

with all the news about companies moving their HQ here and the FDI figures, I have to agree :yes:

with all the news about companies moving their HQ here and the FDI figures, I have to agree :yes:

More "hubbing" news........:D

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 18 October 2004 1829 hrs

Philips launches Singapore Inno Hub
By Chua Chin Chye, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Electronics giant Philips has launched Inno Hub, a test-bed facility to test and fine-tune products developed at its Philips Innovation Campus.

The Inno Hub is part of the US$90, or S$153 million, Philips is investing here, to develop products under the Connected Planet programme.

Philips has also announced its participation in the Infocomm Development Authority's "Connecting the Community" pilot project.

With the Inno Hub, Philips engineers will test and fine-tune prototype products and systems -- all within a home environment.

And it is not just machines; users and their responses will also be monitored.

The information gleaned will help Philips decide on the final form and feature of the product.

"The Inno Hub is a simulated environment of a home, in which we can test how systems work together. But more important, we can also observe how the human reactions to those systems are. This part is for systems, and not just a single product," said Mourad Mankarios, chairman and CEO, Philips Electronics Singapore.

The Philips Innovation Campus, comprising 1,200 research and development staff, is its biggest R&D outfit outside the Netherlands.

Of the 100,000 patents filed by Philips, just over 800 were filed by its R&D efforts in Asia.

While small in number, the growth rate is much higher, given that R&D in Asia began only four years ago.

Under the IDA's six-month-long "Connecting the Community" project, Philips will team up with content and service providers to selected households to provide interactive services, such as e-learning, e-security, digital entertainment applications and e-health.

The Dutch electronics giant says it wants to grow its revenue worldwide by 7 to 10 percent annually.

To this end, it is pushing strongly into healthcare, lifestyle and enabling technologies, like semiconductor and lighting products.

Already, Philips is one of the world's top three providers of medical diagnostic equipment.

"We have grown this product segment very strongly. Today, healthcare is providing 25 percent of our topline. We expect this business will grow even faster. I think this will be one of the key business driving our business," said Andreas Wente, president and CEO, Philips Electronics Asia Pacific.

Philips wants to increase the Asia Pacific's sales contribution from last year's 25 percent to 33 percent by 2008.

In fact, Philips believes Asia could well overtake Europe and the US in the near future, once China and India take off. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

biotech, pharma and infotech identified for investment
Singapore seeks JVs with India

SUDHIR CHOWDHARY

NEW DELHI: Singapore businesses are eyeing biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and infotech sectors in India for investment. These have been identified as sunrise sectors, offering lucrative investment opportunities. A Singapore business delegation is on a week-long visit in the country, seeking joint ventures and partnership in the areas of technology transfer and project financing.


The 22-member business delegation is visiting New Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, to interact with Indian companies for alliances and collaborations, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman M Rajaram told FE. These companies include Network Inter Business Services, Parkway Group Healthcare, Power-I Creations, Agrocorp International, Big-Foot Logistics, among others.

So far, Singapore’s investments in India have been mostly in areas of ICT, infrastructure and logistics. Some of the government-linked corporations of Singapore’s projects include Ascendas’ Information Technology Park in Bangalore, Singtel’s joint venture with Bharti Telecom and Singapore Technologies Telemedia’s joint venture with ModiCorp.

“Singapore is already India’s largest trading and investment partner in Asean region. The increasingly close relations between India and Singapore in recent years have been underpinned by a dramatic growth in bilateral trade and investment linkages. India is now looking for infrastructure investments, critical technologies and exports markets. Singapore has surplus capital and could be a useful partner in infrastructure development in India as well as investment in Indian companies.”


Joining Hands

• A 22-member Singapore business delegation in India
• Delegation to visit New Delhi, Chennai and B’lore
• Seeks investment opportunities in Indian biotech and pharma companies
• Entertainment, ICT, and healthcare sectors identified too for investment
• Exchange of information amongst scientists, institutions and corporates to be encouraged

According to Mr Rajaram, India is on the threshold of a biotechnology revolution and the biotech sector is expected to expand to $4.5 billion by end 2010.

Promotion of mutual cooperation through business relationships and exchange of information amongst scientists, institutions and industrial houses in India and Singapore has great potential.

“The opportunities for business collaboration in agricultural biotechnology, aquaculture, bioinformatics, exist in many areas like collaborative research, and regulatory issues, legal expertise in patenting of products in the biotech space,” he said.

The potential for promotion of India-Singapore trade is tremendous in pharma, entertainment, and telecom sector as well, he said.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=71768

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 19 October 2004 1248 hrs

Singapore set to post 8-9% GDP growth for 2004: MAS
Singapore looks set to post an economic growth of 8 to 9 percent this year, one of the strongest upturn since the sharp rebound of 2000, according to the latest macroeconomic report from the Monetary of Singapore (MAS).

However the semiannual economic review released on Tuesday said economic growth will moderate in the "coming quarters" and consumer price inflation will rise next year.

Strong performances were recorded across the manufacturing and services sectors this year as upturn in the global economy lifted export performances and activity in hub-related industries.

The central bank said country is currently transiting to a slower rate of growth following four quarters of double digit growth.

The Republic's economy expanded by 9.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters.

In 2005, gross Domestic Product or GDP growth is likely to slow to a more sustainable rate of around 3 to 5 percent.

This assessment is predicted against the backdrop of rising uncertainties, including the risk of escalating oil prices and a more severe slowdown in global IT demand.

Following this clouded outlook in the IT sector, the country's policy makers aim to continue efforts to diversify into the pharmaceutical and private wealth management industries which are experiencing rapid growth over the past few years.

MAS says the recent turbulence in oil prices is "probably insufficient to derail the ongoing robust global economic recovery", noting that prices are up about 40 percent compared with a doubling in prices during the early 1990s.

"This time round, the sharp run-up in (oil) prices has been largely supported by rapid demand growth in the world economy," it added.

CPI inflation or the consumer prices index is expected to come in at between 1.5 to 2 percent this year as a whole.

Despite a slower growth going forward, domestic price pressures is expected to persist at around 1 to 2 percent in 2005, with upside risk from higher commodity prices, especially oil.

The central bank's stance on the Singapore dollar remains unchanged, continuing to maintain a modest and gradual appreciation of the currency. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 19 October 2004 1825 hrs

SembCorp wins S$220m Dubai housing construction contract
By Chan Hwa Loon, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : SembCorp Industries says its engineering unit has won a S$220 million housing construction contract in Dubai.

Under the deal, SembCorp Engineers and Constructors will build 2,700 homes near Jumeirah Island.

The contract was awarded by Nakheel, one of the United Arab Emirates' largest property developers.

Ground-breaking for the project is expected to take place later this month.

The construction is slated to end within 21 months.

SembCorp had previously built 160 villas on Jumeirah Islands for Nakheel.

Nakheel is behind many major property developments in the UAE, including the reclamation of Dubai's famed Palm Island. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 19 Oct 2004

ACCS wins contracts to service 3G phones in Australia

SINGAPORE - Accord Customer Care Solutions Limited (ACCS), a leading provider of after-market services (AMS) for mobile communications and high-tech consumer products in the Asia-Pacific region, has been appointed by Hutchison and LG to service third generation (3G) phones in Australia.

Hutchison, a leading telecommunication network operators in Australia, currently operates Australia's first 3G network which utilises the Wideband CDMA standard.

The service agreement covers all levels of repairs of these phones at their multi-brand service centres across Australia.

This appointment will continue in force until terminated by either party giving the requisite notice.

At the same time, another subsidiary, Accord Customer Care Solutions (Aust) Pty Ltd, has been appointed by LG Electronics Australia Pty Ltd (LG) to provide AMS for its 3G mobile phones in Australia.

This appointment, which covers all levels of repairs, will be for a period of 36 months from August 2004.

It will be automatically extended for an additional consecutive one-year period.

The above appointments add to the stable of 3G phones serviced by ACCS.

ACCS has been servicing 3G phones for Nokia in Australia and Japan, and for Motorola in Australia.

3G networks offer high data transmission speeds, allowing phones to be used to transmit video and for other interactive services, such as high-speed internet access, send and receive e-mails, see video images of people they are talking to, take photographs with their handsets and play electronic games.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oct 20, 2004
Oil prices and IT slowdown cloud S'pore outlook
Cooling Chinese economy also among risk factors, says MAS report
By Audrey Tan ,assistant Money Editor

THE outlook for Singapore's economy next year is clouded by the uncertainties of rising oil prices and an expected slowdown in the information technology (IT) industry, economists at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said yesterday.

The surge in oil prices will probably cut 0.5 percentage point from Singapore's growth next year, although the economy is still likely to grow by the Government's official forecast of between 3 per cent and 5 per cent, they added.

In its half-yearly Macroeconomic Review, MAS' Economic Policy Department described the global IT downturn, a worsening of the oil situation and a slowdown in China as 'emerging risk factors' for the economy.

MAS' own estimates show that even a 10 per cent rise in oil prices will shave between 0.1 and 0.2 percentage point off Singapore's economic growth.

Oil prices hovered at about US$27 a barrel from 1999 to last year, but have since risen spectacularly to above US$50 a barrel.

'Growth in 2005 would have been 0.5 percentage point higher if oil prices were to average US$27,' the central bank said.

The Government has said previously that even if oil prices were to stay at US$50 a barrel for the rest of this year, Singapore is still on track to grow by between 8 per cent and 9 per cent this year.

As for the other risks, MAS said it does not envisage a significant slowdown in China's economy at this stage.

But Singapore's economy could still take a hit from an easing in global IT demand.

The IT industry has closely influenced Singapore's economic performance over the last three decades, MAS economists said.

'The impact of an IT downturn would be somewhat more broad-based than the transitory Sars-induced downturn in 2003, when the shock was only specific to a few sectors and was characterised by a fast rebound,' they added.

But even so, the next IT downturn is still likely to be less severe than the last one in 2001. Then, a supply glut in the IT sector coincided with the end of the dot.com boom and the downturn in the global economy.

This time round, there is no severe oversupply and global chip sales are not expected to slow by the same magnitude, MAS pointed out.

Singapore's growth moderation next year also comes on the heels of 'one of the strongest' years of growth since the sharp rebound of 2000 and the expansion phase of the early to mid-1990s, MAS said.

'The impressive performance of the Singapore economy in recent quarters implies that the output lost as a result of the bursting of the IT bubble and the Sars epidemic over the past three years has been fully recovered and even surpassed their previous peaks in most sectors,' it added.

Next year, the economy will slow to a more sustainable pace of growth.

But the central bank added: 'This will take place against the backdrop of rising uncertainties, including the risk that higher oil prices will have a greater impact on business and consumer spending than historical estimates suggest, and that the slowdown in global IT demand will turn out to be more severe and protracted than currently projected.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.


Business Times - 20 Oct 2004

MAS REPORT
Global slowdown to impact S'pore electronics industry

MAS review points to excess chip inventories and decline in IT spending, sees flat or modest Q4 growth

By NANDE KHIN

(SINGAPORE) The global IT industry is showing signs of weariness and for Singapore's open economy, any worldwide downturn in this industry would have an adverse impact on the domestic IT sector, says the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Worldwide electronic inventories, especially in the semiconductor segment, are rising. Market research in July suggested that excess chip inventory levels worldwide ballooned from US$12 million in the first quarter of this year to an estimated US$827 million in the second quarter, said MAS in its macroeconomic review released yesterday.

On the demand side, 'support from the consumer segment appears to have fizzled out' with US consumer spending hitting a soft patch in the second quarter.

For example, the semiconductor equipment book-to-bill ratio, a closely watched leading indicator for semiconductor production, fell for the fourth consecutive month in August. IT spending is likely to fall in the fourth quarter and contract further next year, with notebook PCs and desktop computers highlighted as the main areas of weaknesses, said MAS.

'Taking into account these recent developments, it appears that the double-digit growth rates in orders and production enjoyed by electronics manufactureres could soon be coming to an end.'

Global chip sales - a proxy indicator for global IT activity - may already have peaked in June. It fell 2.6 per cent sequentially in July and grew a modest 1.3 per cent in August.

Against this global backdrop, the future of Singapore's IT sector looks as shaky. After all, 78.5 per cent of domestic electronics production is exported.

Singapore's electronics output had surged by 46 per cent in the second quarter, but it seems that the peak has already been reached. MAS' Electronics Leading index - which combines the information from a range of IT variables - suggests modest or flat growth for the domestic electronics sector for the rest of the year.

Nizam Idris, deputy head of research with IDEAglobal, said: 'It could be two to three quarters before growth in IT sales here becomes negative.'

Electronics manufacturing and supporting industries account for 17 per cent of Singapore's GDP, and MAS said 'swings in Singapore's GDP over the past three decades have been closely influenced by developments in the global IT industry'.

The vulnerability of the domestic economy to an IT shock thus underscores the need for diversification into new, growing industries like the pharmaceutical industry. And MAS said efforts by the Singapore Economic Development Board to develop this sector represents a significant step towards achieving this.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has helped cushion the Singapore economy from the adverse impact of the cyclical downturn in the global electronics industry.

The wealth management industry was also highlighted by the MAS as a new, growing industry that could provide additional support to the Singapore economy over the medium term.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 20 Oct 2004

CHINA INSIGHT
Why Asean need not fear China's rise

Its boom is already spreading benefits to the region. Tourism is one beneficiary, and other sectors will follow in time

By JEAN CHUA

THE unspoken policy of China towards South-east Asia has been described as 'dollar diplomacy', and the need for it now seems more urgent than ever as Asean countries worry about a hollowing out of its manufacturing sector.

The concerns of the 10-country bloc are very real. Foreign direct investment is pouring into China - some say at the expense of its southern neighbours - and the country is already the world's factory. Last week, Morgan Stanley tried to allay the region's fears by insisting that manufacturing output in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines - the Asean 5 - has continued to expand.

From 1994 to 2003, the Asean 5's share of manufacturing in their gross domestic product rose from 25 to 30 per cent, the investment bank said.

Asean's manufacturing share in global merchandise exports was steady at 4.4 per cent during the period, though China's doubled to 5.3 per cent.

So does that mean Asean nations can breathe easy? Hardly. For years, Singapore has been diversifying and reducing its dependence on plain-vanilla manufacturing. Malaysia and Thailand have also moved to service exports and have been building up local enterprises.

China is well aware that it needs to maintain very cordial ties with this region as it views Taiwan, Japan and even South Korea as forming a pro-US, anti-China force right at its doorstep. And it has wisely chosen to stay out of South-east Asia's unstable politics.

Instead, it is working with the region on economic matters, knowing that win-win arrangements and giving small concessions are what wins people over.

China agreed in early September to lend the Philippines US$400 million of the US$503 million needed to fund the construction of a rail link between Manila and Clark, a former US military air base.

'China's financing terms are very generous,' Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said of the loan deal. On Ms Arroyo's request, China cut its annual interest rate on the loan from 7 per cent to 3 per cent, and the repayment period was changed from 10 years to 20 with a seven-year grace period. It was the first time China has given a 20-year concessionary loan to a country.

Manila then concluded a defence cooperation pact with China, while remaining a strategic ally of the US.

The most significant move of all would be the completion of the Asean-China free trade agreement, which will result in the world's biggest free trade zone of nearly two billion people and a combined gross domestic product of US$2 trillion by 2010. In the first week of November, the first China-Asean Expo will be held in Nanning, Guangxi, where closer ties between the two would be given a boost.

The rise of China need not be feared by Asean. Already, the 'wealth effect' of the Chinese economy has benefited the region's tourism industry. Other sectors will benefit as time goes by. Last year, Asean-China trade reached nearly US$79 billion and should rise to US$90 billion this year. That makes the US$100 billion mark set by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao within reach next year.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 20 October 2004 1620 hrs

Deloitte & Touche sees strong growth prospects for Singapore REIT market
By Frederick Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Professional services firm Deloitte & Touche says real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are likely to see strong growth prospects in Singapore in the years ahead.

That is because they have proven to local investors that they are a good investment choice.

On Tuesday, pioneer CapitaMall Trust announced a 36 percent rise in property income for its latest quarter, while a few days ago industrial property trust A-REIT turned in a 62 percent rise, reminding investors that they are able to deliver consistently good results.

Deloitte expects more investors to pile into REITs; this should in turn encourage more REITs to be set up.

Deloitte, named "The Best International Securitisation Accounting Firm" for the second year in a row, now expects the REIT market here to grow in variety and to expand across borders.

Channel NewsAsia asked Deloitte's Financial Services partner Cheng Ai Phing why more and more landowners and property owners are selling out to REITs.

Ms Cheng said, "By selling to the REITs, the landowners or the property owners are able to realise most of these properties at close to valuation and this is much better than selling the property.

"The second benefit is that the real estate owner can also be involved by providing management services and for which the company can receive management fees. And thirdly, they are also able to continue to be involved by holding units. And the last bit is that most of the time, the units are listed. They can cash out if they need to."

On the growth prospects for REITs in Singapore, Ms Cheng said, "Looking at some of the landowners, like in the case of F&N, they have in their stable a number of shopping malls which potentially they can off-load into a REIT.

"There is also Keppel Land, which has got a fair number of office buildings. And given their intention to be asset-light, securitising the office buildings is another option for them to move out of the low-yielding asset class to re-deploy resources to a higher base.

"The other group is also the MapleTree Group, which is basically an investment arm of Temasek, which has also announced they are quite keen."

She also said the Singapore REIT market is looking attractive compared to other countries in the region.

"Given the current interest rate environment and given the liquidity in Singapore right now, the potential for REITs looks attractive. And also because of the fact that Singapore is slightly ahead of the region, apart from Japan, I think there also exists an opportunity for Singapore to also launch out into the region," Ms Cheng said.

"Singapore may be small -- in terms of the properties that it has, maybe in the region of about $8 billion in terms of securitizable assets. You'll probably see a lot more variety, which means that investors in Singapore will see a lot more options." - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 21 Oct 2004

SINGAPORE FOCUS: SERVICES
S'pore gives you wings

Its strategic location allows international organisations to grow beyond national borders, says JOYCE KOH

IF Singapore were one of the sites for the Amazing Race, contestants would have little trouble getting in and out of the country since they can easily hop onto a plane. As for international organisations, they are more than aware of Singapore's nodal position in the region: their planting of offices here says it all.

The mantra location, location, location has gained even greater importance as people in Asia latch on to the importance of higher education and better accommodation for the needy. This week, we look at how two such organisations - International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) and Habitat for Humanity - have made use of their offices here to further the purpose of spreading their services and ideals around the world.

International Baccalaureate Organisation

For an educational organisation, the people who run it sure don't believe in sitting still. No staid classroom setting for them, that's for sure. They run around the region organising workshops, doing in-school trainings, visiting schools, evaluating them and basically making sure that IBO's fastest-growing region runs like clockwork.

According to Judith Guy, IBO's regional director for Asia-Pacific, the region has responded with incredible interest to its programme. This year, the organisation experienced a 30 per cent growth in the number of schools adopting the IB programme, compared with a worldwide figure of 15 to 18 per cent. And it expects growth in the region to be above 20 per cent for the foreseeable future, which Ms Guy reckons is probably a conservative estimate!

The task of handling this phenomenal burst of interest is less intimidating with a Singapore office because of the good location, infrastructure and technology, says Ms Guy. In fact, Singapore is only one of four locations in the world for IBO, the others are in New York, Buenos Aires and headquarters Geneva. IBO currently has 12 full-time staff and expects to employ three more by the beginning of next year.

Certainly, IBO has grown by leaps and bounds since it was set up as a non-profit educational organisation in 1968.

Its original purpose was to provide children of globally mobile expatriates with pre-university qualifications, but since then, IBO has evolved to offer 1700 programmes around the world in 1400 schools for children aged 3-18 years old. And, instead, of simply serving a mobile community, its programmes are now taken on by national schools - all the way from the primary to pre-university level.

On the unique challenges faced by the IBO today, Ms Guy says: 'Teachers have to rethink how they work with students and zoom in on preparing them for the challenges of a globalised economy.'

'We focus on students as learners, as young people who are compassionate and have a sense of global citizenship. The rise of the middle-class and of private schools is certainly a big growth driver.'

Being a non-profit outfit, she says schools and students cover the costs of the workshops and programmes IBO organises. The organisation budgets for a breakeven position with a modest surplus of two to six months operational costs.

Of course, it actively pursues a model of best education processes, says Ms Guy. To that end, the IBO has trained up to 3,000 people in the region during the year to teach them how to carry out its programmes.

And there are now plans in the pipeline to set up a provisional centre in Singapore to localise some of its training, so that teachers and administrators can be brought in here. If these plans are finalised by next September, Ms Guy says the centre can be running in the next 12-18 months. So even though the learning never stops, hopefully, the running around can be less hectic.

Habitat for Humanity

'Singapore is such a fortunate environment. You don't have homelessness staring in your face. A very small portion of the world has that kind of luxury,' says Usha Menon, Habitat for Humanity's resource director.

But for a country that enjoys such luxury, it does play its part in providing administrative and physical support for the expeditions Habitat organises.

The international organisation is a non-profit Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world. Founded in 1976, Habitat has built more than 175,000 houses around the world for more than 900,000 people to date.

Having registered an office in Singapore two years ago, Habitat Singapore today acts as the coordinating organisation of 100 countries, but the international body has its Asia-Pacific head office operating out of Bangkok.

But Ms Menon says that although Habitat is based out of Bangkok in Asia-Pacific, Singapore offers a 'very good option for qualified professions in finance, human resource, marketing, fund-raising communication.'

'It is a better location to source for talent. And we are looking to develop Singapore as a hub or bureau to host the data for our international sponsors.'

There are now three staff members, but Ms Menon wants to add two more in line with plans to expand Singapore's regional role.

For those who still think Singapore as a hard-headed, steel-hearted city, Ms Menon would have you know that the country plays a large role in volunteerism even though it does not have a local programme to build houses here.

Last year, there were about 20 teams of 10-15 people that went overseas to build houses in places like Thailand, Mongolia and Fiji. More and more, there are also corporate groups that have gone on these trips to build up their company team spirit.

In fact, when Habitat first moved into its Cluny Road premises here, its office was partly outfitted by the Methodist church and its equipment donated by a law firm.

'You can see people moving on from taking care of themselves to wanting to make a regional impact, and being willing and able to make time for others,' says Ms Menon. Today, Habitat Singapore also wants to move on in terms of expanding its programmes. There is, for instance, an annual 24-hour sleep-out event called Under No Roof where youths spend a day experiencing what it is like to be homeless.

Ms Menon reckons: 'There are many motivations for why people do what they do. But at the end of the day, we are looking for anybody who can provide a little bit of their time and resources.'

In this scheme of affairs, Singapore has its part to play in facilitating the movement to make the world a better place to live in.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Singapore-based Eoan Introduces Hard Drive Upgrades in India

By Sharmee Roy
New Delhi, October 21, 2004

Singapore-based Eoan Systems, manufacturers of memory and storage products, has announced its HDD upgrades in the country.

Eoan specializes in solutions for high-end servers, workstations and notebooks in the country. This new product, which will be available in capacities of upto 146 GB, is primarily targeted toward the multimedia PC users, system integrators, SMBs and Soho segment.


The drive provides the best-in-class performance, giving users quicker access to data and faster system performance, the company said. The price of the product is not available as yet.

The vendor has also announced the appointment of Bangalore-based Signet Computers as its national distributor in the country and will provide support services as well.

Speaking on its tieup with Eoan Systems, SPJ Rajan, director, Signet Computers, said, "Eoan Systems has been consistently innovative when it comes to technology and product introductions, to maintain its position in the market with reliable products at competitive prices."

Dennis AW, director, Eoan Systems, said, "The kind of positive responses and the acceptance we have been getting from our customers across the globe reiterates their confidence in our ability to deliver products that blend value, innovative storage technology and reliability. We continue to meet our customers' needs with reliable and cost-effective storage solutions."

He further informed that the company has made substantial amount of investment in product design and manufacturing.

http://www.channeltimes.com/channeltimes/jsp/index.jsp?section=News&subsection=Storage&subsection_code=6&file=template0.jsp&storyid=904561

Assocham signs pact with Singapore chamber :

New Delhi, Oct 21 : Leading industry lobby the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and the Singapore Business Federation have signed an agreement to cooperate and explore business opportunities.

The memorandum of understanding was signed here Thursday in the presence of Singapore Tourism Minister Lim Hng Khiang.

The pact is expected to provide a platform for businessmen of both countries to meet and explore business opportunities in trade, investment, transfer of technology, services and other industrial sectors, a statement said.

Assocham president Mahendra K. Sanghi said the agreement had provisions for exchange of information on general economic status, taxation, trade policies and legislative changes of the two countries to facilitate trade promotion.

http://www.teamindia.net/index.php?action=fullnews&id=31250

Oct 22, 2004

Singapore looking for next big R&D bet

After success of electronics, biomed, the search is on for a new gold mine

By Chang Ai-lien
Science Correspondent

SINGAPORE'S gamble on electronics 30 years ago paid off. The five-year-old biomedical sciences initiative also seems to be bearing fruit. Now, a high-powered ministerial committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, is charged with deciding where to place the next big bet and charting Singapore's research and development future.

The question it will be looking at is this: how a small country like Singapore can strike a balance between developing research in existing strongholds and encouraging potential new gold mines.

Working with Dr Tan will be Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen. The committee will submit its recommendations by the middle of next year.

'We need good research capabilities and initiatives in order to sustain and build on industries which we already have, such as electronics. I think we have done very well there,' said Dr Tan. 'But we must also cast an eye out for new technologies, for new industries which have promise for Singapore.'

In the absence of a large population and vast resources, Dr Tan said Singapore is forced to continually reinvent itself, focusing its efforts on niche areas to gain an advantage over the competition.

Dr Tan was speaking after a visit yesterday to the Philips Innovation Campus, which employs more than 1,200 design and development engineers, and is the company's largest R&D facility outside its headquarters in the Netherlands. He was at the facility to gather views on how the R&D framework can be improved in Singapore.

The committee members have also visited public research institutions and plan to study how small, economically-advanced countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Holland sustain strong science and technology sectors.

The Government will be expecting Dr Tan to repeat his success as chair of Singapore's Life Sciences Ministerial Committee which, since its formation four years ago, has played an instrumental role in charting Singapore's dramatic growth in the biomedical sciences sector.

'I think what we have been able to build in the last four years is commendable,' said Dr Tan, who is expected to retire from Cabinet in the second half of next year.

Last year, the biomedical sciences industry's manufacturing output grew to $11.3 billion, from almost nothing five years ago. This year, it has reached $12 billion, double the figure recorded in 2000.

'We put a big bet on electronics 30 years ago, it has paid off. We put a big bet on the life sciences five years ago, I think it has paid off now. So what's the next big bet?' he asked.

Experts here who spoke to The Straits Times say that while it is important to focus on niche areas, one of the ways forward lies in merging pockets of excellence in areas such as engineering, mathematics and the life sciences.

They also cited the promise of nanoscience and nanotechnology - where scientists, working at the atomic or molecular level, produce anything from stronger steel to microscopic robots.

Oct 23, 2004

Stanchart predicts 4.2% GDP growth next year

By Arthur Poon

STANDARD Chartered Bank (Stanchart) predicts that the Singapore economy will grow by 4.2 per cent next year, weaker than this year, as a slowdown in the electronics sector and high oil prices hampers expansion.

Stanchart's economist for global markets, Mr Joseph Tan, said: 'The electronics slowdown, high oil prices and this year's high base will halve growth for next year.'

The bank had previously forecast that Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 8.3 per cent this year.

'The growth rates will slow moving forward as the electronics industry is entering a consolidation phase, with the semiconductor equipment book-to-bill ratio falling under one.'

The ratio is between the number of orders on the books and the number of orders that have been filled. A figure above one indicates growth.

The book-to-bill ratio for North American companies that sell equipment used to build semiconductors - a key forward-looking indicator of technology demand - fell 10 per cent to 0.96 last month from the previous month as chipmakers slowed spending.

'High oil prices mean higher import prices and will also retard growth,' Mr Tan said.

According to Stanchart, Singapore's oil imports amounted to 2.46 per cent of its GDP.

Stanchart's 4.2 per cent growth forecast is in line with the Monetary Authority of Singapore's official estimates for next year of between 3 and 5 per cent growth.

Mr Tan also predicts that a key interest rate - the Singapore interbank offered rate - will rise next year, and possibly peak at 2 per cent in the third quarter of next year. 'Interest rates will continue to rise as the US Federal Reserve tightens and domestic rates will be pressurised.'

He believes that while interbank rates may start to trend up, banks struggling to keep their share of the borrowing market will be under pressure to keep lending rates fairly constant.

This will help cushion the expected decline in the domestic consumption sector.

'The actual lag between interbank rates and lending rates will depend on the banks' conscious decisions.

'With the consumer market intensely competitive, some banks may see this as an opportunity to use their large depositor bases to keep rates the same so as to jostle each other for market share.'

He expects only a slight increase of a quarter of a percentage point in lending rates before it is held constant.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 24 October 2004 1953 hrs

Year-end growth should be within 8%-9% forecast despite rising oil prices: Trade Minister
By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said year-end growth should hit the forecast of 8 to 9 percent despite rising oil prices.

He had more good news, saying unemployment could fall below 4 percent.

Mr Lim was speaking at a community visit to Bishan-Toa Payoh North on Sunday.

But he warned Singaporeans that they may have to adjust to higher transport and energy prices if crude oil prices rise to US$60 a barrel from US$55 now.

Mr Lim later had an informal dialogue with residents on issues affecting their pockets.

"If oil prices remain high then the world growth will slow and our export will be lower, so we expect that kind of impact towards next year and the end of next year...if it is still high, it will feed into electricity prices," he said.

Still, Mr Lim says high electrical bills are more likely due to high consumption than high prices.

He said Singaporeans should be aware of how to use energy more efficiently to cut down their bill size.

While becoming a pro-baby, pro-family society has been a focus of the government in the past year, one resident felt aggrieved that benefits favour young couples and asked who would cover female workers when they take time off to have babies.

Mr Lim said: "People are used to covering for male colleagues who go for NS, why? We recognise NS is important, so when the male employees go for NS or reservist, the rest of the colleagues will cover for them. Similarly when the mothers go on NS to produce the next generation, then I think the rest of colleagues should cover for them."

He also said employers have to find a balance between retaining older experienced workers and hiring younger, cheaper and more tech savvy workers.

A topic of great interest to residents was the issue of opening a casino in Singapore.

Mr Lim said the government was not dismissing the idea, but wants to study any proposal carefully.

He even told residents what he thinks a casino should be.

Mr Lim said: "There is a different group of casinos, what we call the integrated entertainment complex. An example is the Atlantis City in the Bahamas. If you look at the complex, it is really a water theme park. They have hotels, and a casino and the casino revenue is about 40 to 50 percent of the complex.

"For the developer, they can make money from the hotel but not from the water theme park, so they have a casino to cross subsidise the water theme park, so the complex is profitable and viable."

Mr Lim said there were no firm plans yet. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Globe, Singtel ponder regional expansion

By LENIE LECTURA
TODAY Reporter

Globe Telecom and Singapore Telecom are taking their partnership in other countries in the region following the success of the mobile-phone firm’s money-transfer service in the country.

“We consider various forms of joint venture partnership, equity or nonequity, strategic or nonstrategic. There are various forms of partnership that Globe Telecom and SingTel can do. We are taking the partnership beyond the Philippines,” said Andrew Buay, Globe chief operating advisor.

One of the services that will be offered outside of the Philippines is Globe’s G-Cash, a mobile-commerce service that enables subscribers to use their cellular phones as a mobile wallet, can process purchases or payments in accredited establishments and can send and receive domestic and international remittances in the Philippines.

Buay said Globe will bring this service to SingTel’s regional partners in Thailand, India and Indonesia.

“G-Cash will be of great interest to our other markets. Globe is emerging as a center of excellence in areas of value added service applications like microload and Autoload max,” he said.

Globe’s Autolad max, an over-the-air reloading service, is already being deployed in the Asian region. The company said it expects its G-Cash to surpass the volumes of its share-a-load and autoload transactions, currently at 1 million and 1.6 million per day.

Just recently, Globe partnered with SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Inc. to allow the Filipino customers of the Hong Kong-based mobile-phone company to buy airtime and send it to friends and relatives in the Philippines.

Globe earlier said that it is looking at expanding its wireless services and not relying solely on subscriber additions and traditional phone services to help boost revenues.

Buay said the planned regional venture will be discussed “at an opportune time.”

A company source said the regional venture may also include research and development work.

SingTel has a long standing relationship with Globe, which is SingTel’s first major investment in overseas mobile phone business. Last year, SingTel increased its stake in Globe to 40 percent.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=BUSINESS&oid=62107

Oct 25, 2004
Nanotechnology may be next big thing for Singapore
Scientists here say future lies in building things at atomic level, like minuscule robots
By Chang Ai-lien

GREAT things come in tiny packages, and the science of building things an atom at a time may well provide the next research boom for Singapore, said scientists here.

They were commenting on an announcement by a high-powered government committee looking to place future bets on Singapore's research front.

The potential seems limitless.

Already, researchers are looking at building intelligent nano-robots that can be injected into the bloodstream to fight diseases, said Associate Professor Andrew Wee, who heads the National University of Singapore (NUS) nanoscience and nanotechnology initiative.

Another breakthrough being explored is the creation of carbon nanotubes to replace silicon for superfast, power-efficient computer chips, he added.

Also, the research frontier of nanotechnology and nanoscience is being used to develop tiny particles that produce a more effective sunscreen, said Prof Wee.

Such discoveries are possibilities the new Ministerial Committee on Research and Development will bear in mind as it reviews the current state of R&D here.

It aims to make recommendations on how Singapore can best organise and sustain its efforts in R&D to remain competitive.

The committee is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan.

Its formation comes none too soon.

Said Prof Wee: 'Nanoscience and nanotechnology is a very broad field and it's starting to catch on all over the world, with countries like the United States and Japan pumping billions into such research.'

While it is still 'pre-competitive' because much of the research is yet to become commercialised, Singapore needs to move fast to gain an advantage, he added.

Such research involves developing and producing extremely small tools and machines by controlling the arrangement of individual atoms. A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre: line up 100,000 nano-particles and you'll get something as thick as a strand of hair.

What researchers are trying to do is manipulate the individual atoms and molecules of various substances to produce new structures with unique properties.

Promising work is being done in universities and institutes here.

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), for example, has 88 unique technologies from such research, arising from 148 filed patent applications - targeting areas such as biotechnology, electronics, materials, medicine and imaging.

Said Prof Wee: 'More important, funding must be pumped into basic research so we can open up new areas for future industries.'

Agreeing, Dr Edison Liu, head of the Genome Institute of Singapore, said: 'It's clear there's going to be greater allowance for high-level, blue-sky research. There's an understanding you need this component to spot the flames of use-inspired research.'

Dr Liu highlighted bioimaging and biomarkers as two clear areas to pursue in the biomedical sciences.

Bioimaging involves studying the body in a non-invasive manner. Biomarkers are substances the body produces which can act as early warning signs of disease, and give doctors an idea of how well a patient will respond to treatment.

Nanotechnology calls for the lines between science, mathematics and engineering to blur.

This melting pot of disciplines is the way forward in research, said Professor Barry Halliwell, head of the NUS graduate school for integrative sciences and engineering.

For example, he said, while a diagnostic chip may be considered a biomedical sciences tool, it is also a mix of precision engineering and microelectronics.

'We have pockets of excellence in separate areas,' he said.

'More and more, it is becoming necessary for all the different disciplines to work together in many fields. And Singapore is small enough, that it's easy to make that happen.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

October 25, 2004

Pilot Corp sees S'pore, with $12m in pen sales, as testing ground

By Zubaidah Nazeer

WHEN it comes to using Pilot ballpens or fountain pens, Singapore ranks among the world's most prolific users.

Pilot's master craftsman Kyusai Yoshida, 63, flew here from Japan to demonstrate the art maki-e - which literally means "sprinkle picture' using metal or coloured powder - which he uses to produce Namiki pens
Although four million people live here, together they bought more than $12 million worth of Pilot pens last year, according to Mr Tan Chin Huat, Pilot's managing director for Singapore.

Said Mr Tan: "In terms of consumption, Singapore is on the map as having the world's highest per capita consumption of these pens, each person buying about $3 worth of Pilot pens last year."

Overall, Pilot Corp's turnover was about $500 million last year when it sold about 800 million writing instruments worldwide.

Mr Tan revealed the figure when he launched the Namiki Limited Edition Shark pens - a high-end collectors series with only 80 pieces produced worldwide - on Friday. Each pen is sold at $18,000.

Each Namiki pen takes three to six months to make as the technique requires several layers of lacquer decorated with gold, silver and coloured pigments and thin pieces of abalone shells.

The president of Pilot Corporation, Mr Kiyoshi Takahashi, was at the launch.

The pen has already attracted 80 buyers who ordered them before the launch. Of these, 29 came from America, 15 from Europe and the remaining 36 from Asia, including 11 from Singapore.

Said Mr Tan: "These numbers are quite sizeable, especially when Singapore has a small population.

"In fact, we set Singapore as a testing ground in determining how well the Pilot pens do in Asia, outside Japan. Its small market is useful in testing how fast the market welcomes a product."

The Singapore market has already bounced back to pre-Sars levels, he said, and the company expects profits here to continue growing at 3 to 5 per cent, as it has for the last few years.

The pen company, which considers Singapore as its coordinating centre for Asia, concluded an international conference to discuss marketing strategies here last week.

Copyright © Singapore Press Holdings, 2004. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 25 October 2004 2036 hrs

Herrenknecht sets up Asia-Pacific HQ in Singapore
By Chan Hwa Loon, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Tunnelling machine maker Herrenknecht is setting up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.

Five of the German firm's machines are used in digging the 40 kilometres of Singapore's "Deep Tunnel Sewerage System", said to be one of the world's largest, deepest and most modern inner city waste water systems.

The company regards Singapore as a particularly important market in Asia, with 20 of its tunnelling machines being ordered by the city-state. - CNA

Oct 26, 2004
S'pore, India close to finalising trade pact
Agreement first step for India's greater economic ties with Asean, says DPM Tan
By Ravi Velloor
India Bureau Chief
In New Delhi

SINGAPORE and India are close to completing talks on their Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said.

'I am confident that the agreement will be finalised in the next month or so,' he told reporters in a doorstop interview after a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh.

Singapore and India have been discussing the CECA since May last year.

The talks have gone past the original deadline, set for last April, partly because of the change of government in India and the wide sweep of the proposals under discussion, which include issues as varied as intellectual property and air services.

'Free trade agreements always have their difficulties, but I don't see any show-stoppers with regard to the process,' Dr Tan said.

Singapore, he said, regarded the CECA as merely the first step for India's greater economic engagement with Asean.

Dr Tan yesterday also met India's Human Resources Minister Arjun Singh, whose brief includes education. A proposal to set up a Singapore branch of one of the famed Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which is part of the CECA talks, may begin with a joint programme offered by one of the IITs and a Singapore university, he indicated.

Relations with India were 'very strong' and particularly in the past few years had expanded into many fields, he said.

The RSAF and the Indian Air Force are currently holding their first-ever joint exercises near the central Indian town of Gwalior. The navies have held anti-submarine warfare and other exercises for the past 10 years.

Army exercises in India are also on the cards, DPM Tan said. Negotiations were at an advanced stage and some mutual exercises could be expected next year, he said, declining to provide details.

Dr Tan, who is on a week-long visit to India, is also scheduled to meet Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Minister of State for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal.

Earlier yesterday, he met National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit. The talks covered terrorism, exchange of intelligence and maritime security.

With India having the world's second biggest Muslim population after Indonesia, Singapore is particularly keen to learn more about New Delhi's views on tackling Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism issues that arise from it.

'Terrorism is an issue that concerns all of us and every country must play its part,' he said.

Today, he will deliver a lecture on National Security After 9/11 - Singapore's Perspective at the Observer Research Foundation, a local think-tank. Tomorrow, he will have dinner with the Singapore community in New Delhi.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 26 Oct 2004

S'pore holds its own as a choice spot for US outsourcing

By CHUANG PECK MING

(SINGAPORE) India and China may be the global magnets for outsourcing, but Singapore still retains a niche as the second fastest growing hub for outsourcing as far as American businesses are concerned.

http://img29.exs.cx/img29/2209/261004p1pout23a.gif

According to a new US Department of Commerce report, Singapore is expanding faster than any country, except India, as a favoured destination for US corporations looking to farm out production of services to save costs.

The production may be sub-contracted to overseas affiliates of US multinational corporations or to third parties.

Such production has on average been growing at 21.7 per cent a year in Singapore for the past decade, twice the average for all countries, says the report on trends in US international services. The figure for India is 22.8 per cent.

At 14 per cent, China is the third fastest growing hub for the 'offshoring' of production of US services in the Asia-Pacific. But it lags Latin America, which posted average growth of 15.7 per cent a year in the same period.

These conclusions are drawn from US import of services. The report says US import of services like business, professional and technical services reflects US outsourcing of services abroad.

'Looking at growth in Asia and the Pacific by country reveals that slower growth from historically large sources of imports (of business, professional and technical services) such as Japan, obscured much faster growth from some countries in the region, such as India, Singapore and China,' the report says.

But according to the report, the actual amount of services that the US is offshoring to these countries remains relatively small. They totalled US$11.1 billion for the Asia-Pacific last year, compared to US$42.2 billion for Europe and US$22.4 billion for Latin America.

Singapore did only US$800 million of outsourcing business for the US in 2003. India did US$1.1 billion and China US$500 million.

The report says a big chunk of the US outsourcing business flows from US MNCs, which farm out the production to subsidiaries overseas or to third parties. The large presence of US MNCs in Singapore accounts significantly for its fast growth as an outsourcing hub for the US.

But while the US is outsourcing more of its services abroad and buying them back in the form of imports, it remains a net exporter of services.

'In contrast to its persistent deficit on cross-border trade in goods, the US has run regular surpluses on cross-border trade in services,' the report says.

That surpluses came to US$66 billion in 2003 when the US exported US$294 billion worth of services worldwide, an increase of 5 per cent from the year before.

US export of services to Singapore increased 18 per cent to US$6.9 billion last year, while imports went up 12 per cent to US$2.3 billion. The balance was US$4.6 billion in America's favour, up from US$3.7 billion in 2002.

As in past years, the higher US exports in 2003 in global terms largely reflected increases in receipts of royalties and licence fees covering franchises, industrial processes, trademarks and computer software.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oct 26, 2004
S'pore's industrial output up 11.8%

SINGAPORE - Singapore's industrial output increased 11.8 per cent on-year in September, driven by the higher production of electronics.

The industrial production index, a measure of manufacturing output, climbed after a 5 per cent on-year rise in August, the Economic Development Board said on Tuesday.

Electronics output in September rose 20.4 per cent on year compared with a 29.2 per cent jump the previous month, the EDB said.

Excluding the volatile biomedical sector, Singapore's industrial production index rose 15.4 per cent from a year ago.

The production of semiconductors continued to expand strongly, rising 22.5 per cent over the same month last year on demand for chips used in communications and computer products, but slower than August's 33.6 per cent on-year jump.

Output from the chemicals industry grew 11.5 per cent on year in August, as both the petroleum and petrochemicals segments were helped by a low year-previous base. -- AP

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Singapore firm joins IT goldrush

SUMALI MOITRA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2004 02:42:51 AM ]
KOLKATA: Bengal's IT prospects has hooked another biggie. Ascendas, one of Asia's premier creators of 'plug-and-play' infrastructure for IT companies, has evinced interest in establishing presence in the state.

Singapore-based Ascendas has begun talks with the state government about establishing an IT park in Kolkata. It will be on the lines of its existing two million sq ft facility at Bangalore, at an estimated investment of over Rs 300 crore.

Ascendas president and CEO Chong Siak Ching, and company COO Goh Kok Huat have already held meetings with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and IT minister Manab Mukherjee to signal their seriousness about operations here.

"The interest in Kolkata among IT giants is pretty high, which explains our decision to examine the prospects of setting up base here. We will take a final call on this issue soon. We are keen to spread our wings beyond the southern Indian cities," an Ascendas source told TOI on Monday.

Ascendas officials have already conducted a round of inspection at Rajarhat where the 10-acre facility is likely to come up. It may start work on a more detailed study in November.

Prior to that, the company is keen to finalise the equity arrangement for the investment in this project. Ascendas is eager to float a joint venture company in association with the state government and some Indian private parties for the proposed Kolkata project. The firm's Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad projects have all followed the joint venture route. Sources said Ascendas' coming in would help ease the space constraint that has threatened to come in the way of faster growth of the IT sector.

"It would remove one of the biggest hurdles faced by the business since between DLF and Ascendas over three million sq ft of capacity would be created," one of them said. DLF is creating a 1.3 million sq ft facility at Rajarhat and will have the first phase of it operational by April 2005.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-899193,curpg-1.cms

DPM Tan on India trade mission
.
Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan met India's Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh in New Delhi yesterday during his 10-day visit. Dr Tan, who heads a Ministerial Committee reviewing Singapore's R&D strategy, is on an investment mission aimed at boosting the flow of business and trained professionals, mainly in the IT field.
.
He is expected to visit Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai, and to inaugurate the Pacific Medical Centre, a project of Singapore's Pacific Healthcare Holdings. As the Co-ordinating Minister for Security and Defence, Mr Tan will also call on India's ministers for Defence, External Affairs and Interior. — Channel NewsAsia
.


http://www.todayonline.com/articles/28304.asp

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 26 October 2004 1708 hrs

China, ASEAN to sign free trade agreement in November

BEIJING : China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will sign a free trade agreement in November to cut tariffs on commodities from 2005 and eliminate them by 2010, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Talks were expected to be completed by June but hit a snag with Southeast Asian countries unable to agree which products should be included in a basket of goods to be liberalised.

Some of the 10 ASEAN countries were believed to want a longer timeframe to bring down tariffs on sensitive farm products.

Liberalising trade in goods comprises the first chapter in the negotiation process leading to an overall agreement.

The other phases cover trade in services, facilitating investment flows and establishing a dispute settlement mechanism.

The planned ASEAN-China accord aims to create the world's biggest free trade zone of nearly two billion people with a combined gross domestic product of two trillion dollars by 2010, a statement on the ministry's website said.

China's trade with ASEAN hit a record high 78.25 billion dollars in 2003, up 42.8 percent from 2002, according to official statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

China's imports from ASEAN jumped 51.7 percent to 47.33 billion dollars last year while exports grew at a slower pace of 31.1 percent to 30.93 billion dollars, leaving a trade deficit of 16.4 billion dollars.

China and Australia are also expected to sign a free trade agreement after a feasibility study to be completed in March next year.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand. - AFP

Copyright © 2004 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.

Hitachi unit to hire 400 more for S'pore plant

27 Oct 04

It plans to ramp up production of highest-performing hard-disk drives

By RAJU CHELLAM

(SINGAPORE) Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) is likely to hire about 400 people in Singapore, where it makes high-end hard-disk drives for the likes of Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Creative Technology.


HGST, a subsidiary of Japan's Hitachi that is headquartered in San Jose in California, is ramping up capacity at its 500,000 sq ft plant at Kaki Bukit. Most of the new hires are likely to be qualified technical staff.

'We boosted our headcount by 400 last year to the current 2,400 in Singapore,' HGST Singapore's managing director Leong Sow Chun told BT.

'We're currently ramping up capacity to make our highest-performing hard-disk drives, which will be made in Singapore for global consumption.'

HGST was created in 2002 after Hitachi bought an initial 70 per cent of IBM's global hard-disk operations in a US$2 billion deal. The agreement gives Hitachi an option to buy the rest of the equity by 2005.

The combined sales of IBM and Hitachi's hard-disk operations in 2002 was about US$3.4 billion. HGST reported revenue of US$4.2 billion for its last fiscal year-ended Dec 31.

The company is consolidating all high-end manufacturing in Singapore from Laguna in the Philippines.

'We began boosting production in Singapore from June,' Mr Leong said. 'By year-end, about half of the Singapore product lines will be transferred from the Philippine plant, and another half will be new lines.'

The newest hard drives spin at 15,000 revolutions per minute and deliver 33 per cent more performance than current drives which spin at 10,000 rpm.

'We will make the highest-end Ultrastar 15K147 in Singapore with up to 147 GB (gigabytes) of storage,' Mr Leong said. 'This drive is aimed at companies with huge data requirements with very fast access speeds, such as for online transaction processing, imaging and e-commerce.'

About 85 per cent of HGST's hard disks - it has 11 models with storage capacities ranging from 36 GB to 300 GB - are sold to original equipment manufacturers like IBM and Dell.

The company also makes one-inch micro-drives with 1 GB to 4 GB capacity in Thailand. Some of these drives are used in Creative's MP3 products.

HGST, which is not listed, said it became profitable for the first time in September 2003 after incurring a loss of US$122 million in Q1 2003. 'By Q4 2003, we had US$105 million operating profit,' said Jim Pascoe, HGST's San Jose-based communications manager. 'For the first half of 2004, our profit was US$45 million.'

Early this month, HGST said it will cut its US workforce by 10 per cent - or about 400 jobs - by year-end to boost profitability.

Business Times - 27 Oct 2004

Sagging US$ puts S'pore business on alert

But most economists say S'pore should remain largely unaffected

By DANIEL BUENAS

(SINGAPORE) The weakening US dollar could spell trouble for companies that deal largely with the American market - but it may also help ease the effects of the latest oil price shock and keep imported inflation at bay, economists said yesterday.

'Oil is priced in US dollars, so as oil prices rise and the US dollar falls at the same time, the actual rise in oil price is not as much in Singapore-dollar terms,' said Nizam Idris of IDEAglobal. 'In other words, for a Singapore importer of oil, the US dollar weakness actually helps reduce the impact of higher oil prices.'

This, in turn, will help curb imported inflation, which has been on the rise due to the high price of oil, Mr Nizam said. 'Our monetary policy is aimed at keeping inflation at a reasonably low rate, and if the Singapore dollar strengthens, then you are actually reducing the imported inflation.'

The region's markets have grown increasingly concerned that the sagging US dollar could retreat further against its major counterparts and Asian currencies. But most economists that BT spoke to said Singapore should remain relatively unaffected.

'Singapore's export competitiveness through exchange rate manipulation is no longer a major issue because of our product differentiation with our trading partners,' Mr Nizam said. 'But companies with a lot of business in the US could find that their profits, when repatriated back to Singapore, may be affected.'

Lawrence Leow, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said this foreign exchange loss would be the more immediate concern of companies here.

'A weakening of the US dollar could affect exports to the US as our goods would be relatively dearer, but the more immediate impact would be an exchange loss for businesses that receive income in US dollars that are not matched by costs in the same currency,' he said.

'In general, with the US being our major trading partner, any weakening of the US dollar could have a significant impact on businesses.'

GK Goh economist Song Seng Wun pointed out, however, that the nature of how businesses here will be affected remains to be seen.

'On the surface, overseas earnings may seem to fall because of the rise in US dollars,' he said. 'But what you find often happening is that, as the dollar price falls, (companies) may raise prices to compensate, which is one way of getting around the weaker dollar.'

Also, Singapore Manufacturers' Federation (SMa) director of research Tan Kee Wee said Singapore manufacturers have become less susceptible to currency fluctuations.

'Before the 1997 Asian currency crisis, most manufacturers did not believe in hedging their currency exposures due to the stability of the Singapore dollar then. But the Asian currency crisis undermined this sense of stability,' he said.

In response, most manufacturers now use hedging instruments to lock in their profit margins. 'Repeated surveys conducted by SMa on our manufacturing members in the past year have shown that most have hedged their currency exposures,' Mr Tan said. 'So the recent strengthening of the Singapore dollar would have little short term impact on their manufacturing operations.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 27 Oct 2004

What a weaker US$ means for the Sing

By LARRY WEE

(SINGAPORE) The Singapore dollar's fortunes are linked inextricably to those of the US dollar - by virtue of the fact that the American currency is believed to have the biggest single weighting in the trade-weighted value of the local unit.

As its main monetary policy tool since the early 1980s, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has fine-tuned the trade-weighted value of the Singapore dollar - or S$NEER - based on the changing values of an undisclosed basket of currencies.

The weight attached to each currency in this basket is based on its importance to the local economy in trade terms. Put simply, this has worked well because it limits the worst effects of imported inflation or deflation on Singapore's open economy, and helps ensure that our exports are competitively priced.

In numerical terms, what it means is that when the US dollar weakens against major counterparts - such as the euro and yen - it will not weaken by the same extent against the Sing dollar. For example, compare yesterday's currency values with those at the beginning of 2003. On a broad indexed basis, the US dollar has fallen 17.4 per cent against a basket of counterparts during the past 22 months, but has weakened only 4.7 per cent versus the Sing dollar.

The net effect, therefore, is that while the Sing dollar has strengthened almost 5 per cent versus the US currency since January 2003, it has fallen some 6 and 14 per cent respectively versus the yen and euro in the same time frame. In theory at least, this makes local exports to the US cheaper in US dollar terms, relative to those from Japan and the Eurozone.

The key to understanding this is that the US dollar bloc has been estimated to account for at least half of the weighting of the MAS S$NEER, while the euro and yen may account for something like 10 to 15 per cent each.

In other words, the downward pressure exerted by the weaker (and bigger) US dollar bloc in the S$NEER calculation is greater than the 'lift' provided by the stronger (but smaller) euro and yen components combined - and therefore the Sing dollar has weakened against the latter two.

This US dollar bloc comprises not only the US dollar itself but also the currencies of two other important trading partners for Singapore - Malaysia and China, as their currencies are pegged at fixed rates to the US unit.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 27 October 2004 2000 hrs

Oracle sets up IT development centre in Singapore
By Frederick Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Oracle, the world's largest enterprise software company, is expanding its presence in Singapore.

It has opened a S$11 million IT development centre to develop leading edge solutions for industry.

The facility, called Advanced Technology & Solutions Centre, is already operational.

It now has a staff of 18 engineers working on key new areas, like Web services and grid computing.

Oracle says it chose to open its first South Asian R&D centre here because Singapore serves as an ideal launching pad for building and test-bedding IT solutions.

The development work to be done in Singapore will be even more advanced than Oracle's other R&D centres in China and India.

Said Pascal Sero, vice president (R&D) at Oracle Asia-Pacific, "The development centre we have in India is focused on product development, focused on product development generically for the entire product line. The centre we have in China is focusing mainly on the Chinese market and the specific requirements associated with it.

"For Singapore we are focusing more on solutions development and innovation -- advanced development rather than just pure product development as it would be in India." - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

The development work to be done in Singapore will be even more advanced than Oracle's other R&D centres in China and India.

so it isnt just rhetoric that Singapore is moving up the value-added chain.

UMC to spend US$91m more on fab here

28 Oct 04

It also plans to buy all outstanding shares in UMCi by year-end

By RAJU CHELLAM

(SINGAPORE) The world's second-largest contract chip maker, Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), is set to spend another US$91 million on capital equipment at its Singapore wafer fab by year-end - on top of the US$759 million it has already spent here in 2004.

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-10-28/281004_rjumc28_p2.gif

UMC operates a state-of-the-art wafer fab called UMCi on a 12-hectare site at Pasir Ris Wafer Park - Singapore's single largest manufacturing investment commitment at US$3.6 billion when it was announced in 2000.

The plant - UMC's second to manufacture 300mm wafers - is now in volume production and is expected to ramp up to 10,000 wafers a month by year-end.

UMC also plans to buy all the outstanding shares in UMCi by year-end. 'In Q4 2004 we expect to book a one-time impairment loss of NT$3.5 billion (S$173 million) to recognise the difference between the book value and the market value of UMCi,' the company said at its Q3 results briefing in Taiwan yesterday.

UMCi's Singapore-based chief executive Chris Chee told BT that 4.77 per cent of UMCi's shares are now held by management and employees. 'These will be taken over by UMC by year-end, thereby making UMCi a wholly-owned part of UMC,' he said.

In the third quarter of this year, UMC spent US$269 million on capital equipment at UMCi.

The fab can produce up to 40,000 wafers a month and was initially a joint venture between UMC, Germany's Infineon Technologies and EDBI (Economic Development Board Investments). Infineon sold its stake to UMC in August last year for an undisclosed sum.

'EDBI participates in certain projects to help kick-start their development in Singapore,' an EDB spokesman said. 'As this objective has since been met in UMCi, EDBI has decided to exit the joint venture.'

For its Q3 ended Sept 30, UMCi parent UMC reported record revenue of NT$34.58 billion, up 18.5 per cent from Q2, and operating income of NT$8.74 billion, up 15.1 per cent sequentially.

'We're extremely pleased with our record-setting performance in the third quarter,' said UMC chief executive Jackson Hu. 'The future of the foundry industry is bright, despite the recent slowdown in the semicon market.'

However, the company gave a weak outlook for the current fourth quarter. Dr Hu said wafer shipments would drop between 15 and 17 per cent in Q4 from Q3 as customers clear unsold inventory instead of placing new orders. 'UMC's customers, such as STMicroelectronics and Xilinx, have warned of unsold inventory as higher interest rates and oil prices cut consumer demand for high-tech gadgets,' Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, orders for Japanese chip-making equipment in September fell 3 per cent from a year earlier - the first year-on-year decline in 16 months. September orders totalled 110.684 billion yen (S$1.57 billion), down 6.6 per cent from August, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) said.

Temasek spreads its wings
Glenda Korporaal
October 28, 2004

WHEN Qantas chief Geoff Dixon was in Singapore recently for the launch of JetStar Asia he cheerfully revealed that the Singapore Government's investment company, Temasek Holdings, held 3 per cent of the Australian carrier.

Until then, the company, whose stake in Qantas rose when British Airways sold its holding, had been steadfastly refusing to confirm that it was an investor in the Australian carrier on top of its 57 per cent stake in Singapore Airlines.

With total assets of about $150 billion, the company, formed 30 years ago to hold government-owned assets and assist Singapore's development, is now being seen as one of the most aggressive investors in Asia.

Led by the Stanford-educated Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Temasek has been expanding its offshore investments, investing more than $2.7 billion in the region in the past few years.

Temasek, whose assets put it in the league of international giants such as General Electric, this month revealed it has about $13 billion worth of investments in Australia - its largest offshore investment outside the island state.

The Australian investments are held through stakes in a range of companies including Qantas, Optus owner SingTel, Singapore Power, CapitaLand , The Ascott Group and a range of property companies.

The size of the Temasek stake was revealed in the agency's first ever publicly released annual review this month, which broke down some of the agency's $75 billion in investment portfolio.

While it has been expanding its investments in other Asian countries, including banks in Indonesia, India and South Korea, the report shows its key holdings in the major Singapore Inc companies has given it a substantial investment in Australia, where they have been expanding.

In the annual review, Temasek chairman S. Dhanabalan, who is also chairman of bank group DBS Holdings and a former chairman of Singapore Airlines, describes the company as being "poised as an Asian investment company".

While Ho, who took over as chief executive in May 2002, has rejected many requests for interviews with journalists - including The Australian's request to talk to her for this article - her speeches have made it clear that she is spearheading a major diversification strategy that also includes First World countries such as Australia.

In a speech in August, she declared that "Temasek is shifting its investment stance from a Singapore-centric portfolio to a balanced global portfolio of one third Singapore, one third Asia outside of Japan and one third in the developed countries, including Japan".

"We will work to transform our portfolio from a proxy for the Singapore gross domestic product into a balanced gross national product portfolio leveraging on the growth and promise of Singapore, ASEAN, Asia and the world."

This compares with the position now, with 52 per cent of its investment portfolio held in Singapore.

Ho said Temasek - the historical name for Singapore, meaning "sea town" - would be focusing on "investments which mirror the growth and opportunities of various emerging economies".

"These include services for the emerging middle class, transport and logistics, to tap on the rapidly growing Asia trade links, as well as infrastructure to ride on Asia's long-term development needs."

The investments in both Qantas and Qantas's JetStar Asia discount regional carrier are part of this strategy.

The JetStar Asia investment followed the announcement in December last year that Temasek was taking an 11 per cent stake in Tiger Airways, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines and the Ryan family, founders of the successful low budget European carrier Ryanair.

By backing the rival Qantas and Singapore Airlines, the view in Singapore is that Temasek is guaranteeing a seat at the table if one should fail.

"These investments broadened our exposure to the new market segment," Temasek says in the review. "We continue to explore similar opportunities further afield in Asia."

Qantas's Dixon told the Singapore press conference last month that he was sure Temasek was "investing in JetStar Asia because they are confident we can make a go of it. They are very astute investors - that has been shown."

Temasek's offshore aviation interests expanded this year when it bought an interest in the newly privatised Airport Authority of Thailand.

At the same time it has reduced its exposure to one Singapore company in the aviation business with a recent agreement to sell its 78 per cent stake in Changi International Airport Services to a member of the Emirates group.

Other Singapore-based divestments have included the sale of design consulting business CPG Corporation to Australian infrastructure and engineering group Downer EDI in April 2003.

Singapore analysts are also expecting Temasek to further reduce its holding in phone giant SingTel after selling some $1.9 billion worth of shares and convertible bonds in the company in January this year.

Earlier this month, the company announced the restructuring of its holdings in Singapore Technologies, which will see its stakes in other Singapore companies - such as CapitaLand - held directly by Temasek.

In a statement announcing the changes, Ho said that the changes were "part of our overall effort to manage Temasek's capital structure more efficiently".

While Temasek is government owned (its shareholder is the Singapore Ministry of Finance) it is at pains to portray itself as being the master of its own destiny, focused on seeking investments which will return sound value to its shareholder.

"We make our investments strictly on commercial merits," Ho said in a speech this year. "Our investments are neither directed by government, nor do we invest in tandem with our bigger brother (the Government Investment Corporation), who has a very different mandate (which is) to preserve and grow the reserves of Singapore."

Ho's offshore investment strategy first began to attract attention as Temasek bought stakes in several Asian banks, including Bank Danamon and Bank Internasional Indonesia, ICICI Bank in India and Hana Bank in South Korea.

Other recent investments have included a 5 per cent stake in Telekom Malaysia, a $125 million investment to buy 16 per cent of US clinical trial drug company Quintiles and a 14 per cent stake in Matrix Laboratories of India.

Ho's growing influence in the region was recognised by Fortune magazine which this month named her as the fifth most powerful woman in business outside of the US -- moving up from the 10th spot in 2004.

Fortune notes that "Ho's influence extends beyond the tiny country led by her husband".

It adds that "this year Ho has taken Temasek into Indonesian banking and Malaysian telecoms while weathering criticism that Temasek's clout inhibits Singaporean entrepreneurism".

The release of Temasek's first public annual review paved the way for the international credit rating agencies, which have given the agency the top AAA rating.

The market is now expecting the company to go ahead with a $2.5 billion bond issue, which could provide more funds for investment around the region.

The company has also expanded into the funds management business this year, which will provide further vehicles for offshore investment. It has teamed up with Standard Chartered Private Equity to set up an India fund and has established a new Fullerton management arm which is working on its first Singapore fund.

While Temasek has taken its first big step towards openness, it is still cautious about giving too much away on its detailed strategies and some of its smaller investments like Qantas.

As its chairman explained in the annual report: "We remain open to increasing or reducing our stakes, through buying, selling, swapping, restructuring or rationalisation, to maximise sustainable value." Or, in other words, watch this space.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11204806%255E28737,00.html

Oct 28, 2004
Move to beef up retail sector

A COMMITTEE has been set up to look into ways to boost the retail sector here.

Comprising retailers, shopping centre managements and government agencies, the Retail Steering Committee will work at turning Singapore into a world-class centre of retail excellence, said Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Vivian Balakrishnan.

The panel is a 'promising first step towards an effective collaboration between the private sector and the Government', he said at the launch of the Retail Industry Trade Event conference and exhibition yesterday at Suntec City.

Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said retailers here face two challenges.

They compete directly with the best retailers in the world through franchisees here and online malls.

Shoppers are also more discerning and expect high-quality service.

To cope, retailers need to focus on three key areas: finding their niche, keeping up with technology and training skilled staff.

Mr Terry O'Connor, honorary secretary of the Singapore Retailers Association, said a key issue the steering committee needs to address is the 'alarming trend' of landlords caring only about rental yields and not what tenants want done to draw shoppers.

The result will be a constant change of tenants, which drives up rentals and confuses customers, said Mr Terry, who is also the managing director of furniture retailer Courts.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Indian team out to woo S'pore investors

Thursday • October 28, 2004

Jaime Koh
jaime@newstoday.com.sg

INDIAN business leaders were here yesterday to woo Singaporean investors.

"Singapore can't find a larger market than India," said Mr Rajan Bharti Mittal, joint managing director of Bharti Enterprises, India's leading telecoms group.

"You can't miss India now. It has great human intellectual capital, it's a thriving democracy, (it has a) robust judiciary and English-speaking people. The financial and regulatory mechanisms are there," he said.

He was here with three other members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on the invitation of the Singapore International Foundation.

The Indian government has said it wants to attract US$150 billion ($249 billion) for infrastructure development by putting in place a transparent regulatory framework.

With the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in the works and about US$4 billion in bilateral trade, Singapore is clearly on India's radar. It is India's third largest investor with $70.4 million invested in the first quarter of this year, after the United States and Mauritius.

Singapore investors in India include Temasek Holdings, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank.

"There is no reason that people who are investing in China should not be investing in India," he said, adding that the risks are marginal while the rewards are high.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 28 Oct 2004

UMC to spend US$91m more on fab here

It also plans to buy all outstanding shares in UMCi by year-end

By RAJU CHELLAM

(SINGAPORE) The world's second-largest contract chip maker, Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), is set to spend another US$91 million on capital equipment at its Singapore wafer fab by year-end - on top of the US$759 million it has already spent here in 2004.

UMC operates a state-of-the-art wafer fab called UMCi on a 12-hectare site at Pasir Ris Wafer Park - Singapore's single largest manufacturing investment commitment at US$3.6 billion when it was announced in 2000.

The plant - UMC's second to manufacture 300mm wafers - is now in volume production and is expected to ramp up to 10,000 wafers a month by year-end.

UMC also plans to buy all the outstanding shares in UMCi by year-end. 'In Q4 2004 we expect to book a one-time impairment loss of NT$3.5 billion (S$173 million) to recognise the difference between the book value and the market value of UMCi,' the company said at its Q3 results briefing in Taiwan yesterday.

UMCi's Singapore-based chief executive Chris Chee told BT that 4.77 per cent of UMCi's shares are now held by management and employees. 'These will be taken over by UMC by year-end, thereby making UMCi a wholly-owned part of UMC,' he said.

In the third quarter of this year, UMC spent US$269 million on capital equipment at UMCi.

The fab can produce up to 40,000 wafers a month and was initially a joint venture between UMC, Germany's Infineon Technologies and EDBI (Economic Development Board Investments). Infineon sold its stake to UMC in August last year for an undisclosed sum.

'EDBI participates in certain projects to help kick-start their development in Singapore,' an EDB spokesman said. 'As this objective has since been met in UMCi, EDBI has decided to exit the joint venture.'

For its Q3 ended Sept 30, UMCi parent UMC reported record revenue of NT$34.58 billion, up 18.5 per cent from Q2, and operating income of NT$8.74 billion, up 15.1 per cent sequentially.

'We're extremely pleased with our record-setting performance in the third quarter,' said UMC chief executive Jackson Hu. 'The future of the foundry industry is bright, despite the recent slowdown in the semicon market.'

However, the company gave a weak outlook for the current fourth quarter. Dr Hu said wafer shipments would drop between 15 and 17 per cent in Q4 from Q3 as customers clear unsold inventory instead of placing new orders. 'UMC's customers, such as STMicroelectronics and Xilinx, have warned of unsold inventory as higher interest rates and oil prices cut consumer demand for high-tech gadgets,' Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, orders for Japanese chip-making equipment in September fell 3 per cent from a year earlier - the first year-on-year decline in 16 months. September orders totalled 110.684 billion yen (S$1.57 billion), down 6.6 per cent from August, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) said.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 28 Oct 2004

SingTel connects with Time dotCom, at last

But latest deal not as attractive as proposed union 4 years ago: analysts

By EDDIE TOH
IN KUALA LUMPUR

SINGAPORE Telecommunications (SingTel) has finally gained a toehold in the Malaysian telecom market through a much-delayed partnership with Malaysia's Time dotCom yesterday.

But analysts said the latest deal, which may not need regulatory approvals, won't be as attractive as the original proposed union that was scuttled by former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad at the height of the bilateral spats between the two countries four years ago.

SingTel, which is the biggest telephone company in Asean, said yesterday it has entered into a supply-distributorship agreement with Time dotCom, which controls the longest fibre-optics network in Malaysia.

'The signing marks the beginning of a partnership between SingTel and Time, which enables both companies to offer one-stop-shop private leased circuit solutions to link their customers' offices in Malaysia and Singapore,' SingTel said in a statement yesterday.

The deal lifted the share prices of the two companies. SingTel rose 2 cents to S$2.37 yesterday, while Time inched up one sen to 80.5 sen.

Private leased circuits are dedicated data communications links that connect offices in different locations, cities or countries. Without the supply-distributorship arrangement, companies had to negotiate separately with telecommunications service providers in Malaysia and Singapore if they needed leased circuits to connect their offices in these two countries.

Thomas Yeo, SingTel's vice-president of marketing, Corporate Business Group, explained: 'This strategic partnership between SingTel and Time dotCom will offer seamless and reliable data communications services to businesses on both sides of the Straits.' He added: 'We believe that this agreement will further enhance the close bilateral trade relations between Singapore and Malaysia.'

Analysts agree. Apart from allowing them to tap each other's customers, they say the deal will mark another partnership between the two companies' parents following signs of warmer bilateral ties this year.

SingTel is 65 per cent owned by Temasek Holdings, while Time is now 30 per cent held by Malaysian government investment arm Khazanah Nasional. Temasek's Singapore Technologies Telemedia and Khazanah's associate Telekom Malaysia have jointly submitted a bid for a one-third stake in India's Idea Cellular.

Although SingTel can finally enter the Malaysian market, its only missing foothold in the region, analysts said the latest deal is not as attractive as the one in 2000 due to markedly different market conditions. 'Time has become a different creature,' said an analyst.

In 2000, SingTel was set to invest more than RM2 billion for equity stakes in Time and two of its units.

But the proposed union collapsed following strong objections from the political establishment in Malaysia.

Critics of the deal had warned Dr Mahathir that SingTel could tap into Time's fibre-optics network that was used by Malaysia's police and security forces. Khazanah then stepped in as a major shareholder of Time following Dr Mahathir's veto of the partnership. Dr Mahathir retired last October.

Apart from the fibre-optics network, the scuttled union would have given SingTel exposure to the lucrative mobile telecom market in Malaysia. But Time sold its mobile arm to rival Maxis Communications last year for RM1.5 billion.

Loss-making Time is now facing more intense competition from a growing number of broadband and leased line service providers in Malaysia. Despite its superior fibre-optics network, analysts said Time has lagged Telekom Malaysia and Maxis in rolling out leased line services.

But SingTel could still enter the mobile market in Malaysia. Analysts expect SingTel to emerge as a shareholder of Celcom when it is re-floated by Telekom. Temasek emerged as a substantial shareholder of Telekom in March this year.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 28 Oct 2004

S'pore-India trade to hit US$10b

By AMIT ROY CHOUDHURY

TOP officials of the biggest Indian national apex body of business and industry, who met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday, expressed confidence that Singapore-India trade will touch US$10 billion within three years.

Yogendra Kumar Modi, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), told BT the meeting with PM Lee was very useful and informative.

'We were struck by the knowledge of the prime minister, not just about India in general but even about specific issues in India . . . he obviously has deep interest in improving and raising the profile of the relationship between the two countries,' Mr Modi said.

The Ficci officials were in Singapore to attend a seminar, Gateway to Business Opportunities in India, organised by the Singapore International Foundation.

Amit Mitra, the secretary general of Ficci, said the federation is hopeful that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) between the two countries will be signed by the year's end or early next year.

According to Dr Mitra, the major issue about 'rules of origin' of goods exported by each country to the other is in the process of being worked out.

This issue has been of some concern to certain sections of Indian industry which do not want cheap third-country products entering India via Singapore.

Dr Mitra, however, told BT that Ficci has become aware that Singapore Customs procedures 'are very specific and transparent and is one of the world's best'.

The Ficci official believes two-way trade will hit US$10 billion within three years. According to an official of the Indian High Commission in Singapore, two-way trade this year, up to September, was S$8.43 billion, a 54.5 per cent increase over the figure for the corresponding period last year.

According to Dr Mitra, there are certain areas where the two countries have core competencies which are complementary. One example is the know ledge-driven sectors of animation and gaming. The other major areas are chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

'We see major synergies in these areas,' he added.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 28 October 2004 1916 hrs

Manufacturing to remain a key economic pillar of Singapore

SINGAPORE : Singapore intends to keep manufacturing's contribution to the economy above 20 percent despite diversification and the growth of new industries, Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said Thursday.

Manufacturing currently contributes 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and provides 430,000 jobs, translating to more than one in five working adults in the city-state.

"Even as we diversify our economy by growing the services and R and D (research and development) sectors, manufacturing remains a key pillar of growth," he told the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore.

He said the government intends "to maintain manufacturing's contribution to GDP at above 20 percent."

Lim recalled remarks by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in August that Singapore aims to double total manufacturing output from 150 billion Singapore dollars (90.4 billion US) last year to 300 billion dollars within 15 years.

Among the industries being nurtured here is the biomedicals sector, which includes high-end research into patented medical and health products.

Singapore is now regarded as too expensive for low-end manufacturing industries, which have been migrating to China and other cheaper countries.

Lim said Japan will remain an important long-term partner for Singapore despite the rise of other Asian economies.

"Notwithstanding the growing economic presence of China and India, Japan will continue to be a world economic powerhouse and an extremely significant economic partner for Singapore," he said.

Japan is the second largest investor nation in Singapore after the United States with cumulative investments accounting for 28 percent of total foreign investment in the city-state, Lim said.

Of the 7,000 multinational corporations here, more than 2,000 are Japanese companies, many of them in the manufacturing sector. - AFP

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 29 Oct 2004

Govt plans electronic bills payment hub

Hub will integrate bill payments systems for public and private sector

By CHEN HUIFEN

THE Singapore government yesterday announced that it is developing a national electronic bills payment hub as part of a bigger goal to involve the private sector and individuals in its e-government strategy.

'Customers and businesses need more than just government services,' said Acting Minister for Finance Raymond Lim at the E-government Forum at NTUC Centre. 'They also need goods and services from the private sector, and sometimes also the people sector. They want total service delivery, where their needs are satisfied without having to deal separately with the government and the private and people sectors.'

The national electronic bills payment hub will integrate bill payment systems of the government with other sectors on a single platform so that users only need to go to one web portal for all their bill paying chores. The initiative will be jointly driven by the Ministry of Finance and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

The hub will be be rolled out in a few phases over a two-year period and is expected to ready by Q3 next year. The cost of this exercise is not yet known as IDA said it has yet to decide on the business model to implement it. It has already shortlisted five proposals and expects to reveal a finalised plan soon.

The national electronic bills payment hub will be one of the projects carried out under a public-private-people (3P) integration framework. Other plans in the pipeline include a one-stop home-moving portal, which will allow users to apply for utilities and inform the relevant government and private agencies of their address change.

At the same time, Mr Lim unveiled a new government portal at www.gov.sg. The new portal brings together the Singov, eCitizen and business Web sites. From next month, there will also be a central Web site for unclaimed monies being held by public agencies. Some of these monies have come from unclaimed tender deposits, court deposits, and excess levies paid. It can be accessed at www.unclaimedmonies. gov.sg. The measures are part of the $1.3 billion e-Government Action Plan II announced last year to put more services online to cut red tape.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oct 29, 2004
S'pore 'perfect' for high-tech shops
By Glenys Sim

AT METRO Group's Extra Future Store in Germany, the shopping cart can remind the user what he usually buys and what he needs to pick up if he taps his loyalty card, containing his personal and shopping information, on the cart's screen.

The international retailer's outlet is a testing ground for a range of new technology provided by a number of IT companies, including leaders in the field Intel, IBM and SAP.

One global technology consultancy, Novasoft, says Singapore is a 'perfect place' to introduce such technology because a lot of the basics are already in place.

For instance, public libraries here have been tagging books with radio frequency identification (RFID) since 1998. It is also used in ez-link cards and the Electronic Road Pricing system.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore is open to the idea. In May this year, it said it would pump $10 million into developing RFID technology among companies here.

But taking it further, said Novasoft customer relationship manager Jack Lazo, will mean getting people to trust the system, in the light of privacy issues. For instance, the chip storing the shopping information in the loyalty card can also be used to track a person's movements.

Despite this drawback, the creators of the Extra Future Store believe that in 10-15 years, all retail stores will go this high-tech route.

In his presentation on the Retail Store Of The Future yesterday, at the Retail Industry Trade Event conference and exhibition, Mr Lazo said the changes to the retail business using new technologies are endless. An intelligent scale, for example, can weigh items automatically; terminals planted around a store can give information on a product. Such a machine in the wine section could advise a customer on what would go best with his chicken curry.

If the experiment in Germany is anything to go by, retailers are looking to supermarkets to lead the way. In Singapore, they already do. Dairy Farm Singapore, FairPrice and Takashimaya were yesterday presented with awards by Retail Asia for being the top three retailers here.

It is the first time the business magazine ranked the top 500 retail companies in 14 Asia-Pacific countries. The list is based on their annual turnover and includes convenience, department, and health and beauty stores.

Dairy Farm, which operates the Cold Storage supermarkets, 7-Eleven convenience stores, Guardian pharmacies and the Shop N Save chain here, was also voted one of five Best Of The Best retailers in the region.

Its country manager, Mr Gary Dunwell, attributed the group's success to its 'stable and loyal workforce'.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Oct 30, 2004
S'pore-Norway tie-ups to boost business
By Rebecca Lee

RENEWING old ties and making new connections was how Norway's King Harald V summed up his two-day trip here, one that officials on both sides believe will be a fillip for business and other ties.

The state visit by the King, accompanied by Queen Sonja, has already given business and academic links a boost.

A conference they attended yesterday allowed businessmen from both countries to forge new ties. It was followed by a series of seminars on shipping, tourism, food safety and family-friendly workplaces.

Over 120 Norwegian companies operate in Singapore - more than two-thirds of which are in the maritime sector.

It is a presence Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang hopes will grow.

Selling Singapore as a gateway to Asia yesterday, he spoke of opportunities for partnership in the oil and gas sector, in health-care tourism - a market Singapore is eyeing - and in infocomm technology.

Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit, King Harald echoed Mr Lim's sentiment.

'I'm sure people from Norway and people from Singapore, business people, have new connections or even renewed some old ones, so that was the main objective of coming here.'

The King met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earlier and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the National University of Singapore and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

This expands on the two institutions' existing links in maritime and engineering studies and will include research cooperation in the areas of energy, nanotechnology, logistics and technology management.

Nanyang Technological University yesterday signed a cooperation agreement with Norway's BI Norwegian School of Management.

The third of its kind between the two institutions, the latest tie-up will see them conduct joint graduate and postgraduate courses in maritime studies.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 30 Oct 2004

Satyam to capitalise on S'pore presence

By AMIT ROY CHOUDHURY

(SINGAPORE) Satyam Computer Services, one of India's top providers of information technology, plans to capitalise on its presence in Singapore to further enhance its marketing of IT outsourcing services.

The announcement by the company yesterday was made during a visit by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan to the company's scenic 120-acre campus in Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Dr Tan was received at the Satyam Technology Centre by Rama Raju, managing director of the New York Stock Exchange-listed company.

Mr Raju noted that while Singapore has built a strong brand leadership in the Asia-Pacific as a business hub, India has built a reputation as a competitive centre for skilled manpower.

'We believe that if the Singapore brand name could be supported by the competitive advantage of India, the outsourcing story would become more compelling,' Mr Raju said.

'This would lead to further strengthening of the bilateral ties between Singapore and India and become an important pillar for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement being negotiated between the two countries,' he said.

Congratulating Satyam on its remarkable growth, Dr Tan said: 'I am most impressed by Satyam's strategy, well conceived plans and presence in Singapore. I have no doubt that the next few years will see exciting growth in the Satyam-Singapore relationship'.

Satyam sources, when contacted by BT, said that they were in talks with Singapore government agencies to jointly market IT outsourcing services.

'Singapore has been an integral part of Satyam's global strategy to service clients that may not have the economies of scale or network to penetrate the Indian domestic market as well as specialist IT service providers,' Mr Raju said.

Satyam is one of the first software companies from India to set up a Business Continuity Centre in Singapore and its entire Asia-Pacific operations, including those in India, are managed out of the Singapore office.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nov 1, 2004
Upbeat economy bringing in new jobs
Economists expect jobless rate to dip for first time in 9 months to 4.3%
By Lydia Lim and Sue-Ann Chia

A BUOYANT economy, upbeat business prospects a recovering job market are all signs that economists and other analysts say point to the unemployment rate falling to 4.3 per cent in the third quarter.

If their reading holds true, it will be the first dip in nine months as the current jobless rate, at 4.5 per cent, has held steady since last December.

The assessment of 10 economists and human resource consultants polled by The Straits Times is that the economy's good showing in the first half of this year is finally translating into new jobs.

Their comments come ahead of the Manpower Ministry's report on the third-quarter employment figures, which is expected today.

In a forecast in keeping with the ministry's own expectations, the private-sector economists also expect Singapore to round off the year with an even better jobless rate of 4 per cent or lower.

Among the more optimistic is OCBC bank economist Suan Teck Kin.

'After consecutive quarters of growth, the confidence is returning and it is likely that the jobless rate will go below 4 per cent this year end,' he said.

This will be led by the traditional increase in year-end hirings by the services sector, as manufacturing firms are still cautious about recruitment.

But GK Goh economist Song Seng Wun believes the jobless rate will not 'drop too fast', given that the pace of job creation has slowed and structural unemployment still persists.

Firms now need fewer workers, due to automation, and the new investments pouring in are also resulting in fewer jobs as they require higher-skilled workers, he noted.

In fact, he had expected the jobless rate to fall to 4.3 per cent by the second quarter. But that did not materialise, indicating to him just how sticky the rate slide is.

But some economists also noted that this was due to more job seekers entering the labour market - some fresh graduates and others drawn back into the market by the better prospects.

Still, Mr Nizam Idris, IDEAglobal deputy head of research, predicted that the jobless rate would continue on a downward trend until the first quarter of next year before stabilising.

But there is a possibility of another rise if oil prices continue to soar and dampen economic growth, he warned.

And, even if all goes well, how far the unemployment rate can fall in future remains uncertain.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a recent report that Singapore's natural rate of unemployment had risen to between 3 and 3.5 per cent. The natural rate sets a floor below which the jobless rate has difficulty falling.

It used to be 2 per cent during the better part of the 1990s. The increase in this rate has been due to company restructuring and the increasing mismatch of job seekers' skills to vacancies that are available.

Despite such structural problems, human resource consultants note that more people are now finding it easier to get a job.

Ms Cynthia Chew, managing director of recruitment firm Adecco, attributed this to the fact that 'job seekers are now more open-minded and practical about their career options'.

Another reason was the increase in openings now. She has had 60 per cent more jobs to fill in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, with hirings increasing across most industries.

Such optimism is also borne out in a recent report by Hudson Global Resources, which notes that the job market this year is the best ever in three years.

The hot jobs are currently in sales, said Mr David Leong, managing director of PeopleWorldwide Consulting.

This is to be expected as companies typically start off by hiring sales staff who can help them to bring in new business on the back of an economic recovery, he said.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Nov 1, 2004
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITES UP NORTH
S'pore firms head for S. Korea
Its cities are seen as launch pads by companies eyeing North Asia
By Lee Tee Jong
south Korea Correspondent
in Seoul

SINGAPORE companies have been flocking to South Korea to set up shop. They see the country as a possible entry point for expansion into North Asia.

In August, lifestyle products maker Osim opened its first outlet in Seoul Hyundai Department store.

At the same time, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) acquired two branches of South Korean clothing, furniture and household goods retailer 2001 Outlet. There are plans to acquire eight other branches of the firm over the next three years.

The Ascott Group, a subsidiary of CapitaLand, inked its first contract to operate serviced apartments in Seoul last month.

Ascott chairman Lim Chin Beng, who saw a niche in the market, said in a statement: 'There are good prospects for the serviced residence business in Seoul given the shortage of upper-tier internationally managed serviced apartments in the city.'

Ascott chief executive Cameron Ong said: 'We plan to expand in Seoul and the major cities in Japan. In China, we will operate in more secondary cities and increase our portfolio.'

SembCorp Logistics, who started a joint venture with a Korean firm last year, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Container Terminal Authority to look into investing in Gwangyang Port on the south coast.

Its Seoul-based deputy general manager, Mr Goh Puay Guan, told The Straits Times: 'In order to be a leading regional logistics services provider, we need extensive distribution coverage in Korea to complete our Asian network.'

With its existing China operations, the firm is positioning itself as a logistics service provider for companies exporting out of China into South Korea and vice versa.

The deregulation and opening up of the South Korean market is another plus.

Mr Goh said: 'As foreign companies invest here, we can provide for their logistical needs.'

Some investments have already paid off for Singapore firms. In one of the largest-ever foreign real-estate investments in the country, GIC Real Estate bought the Seoul Finance Centre for US$400 million (S$666 million) in 2000.

The 30-storey building, which was then empty, now has an occupancy rate of 90 per cent.

South Korea and Singapore, which expect to sign a free trade agreement by the end of the year, have a strong trading relationship.

South Korea was Singapore's eighth-largest trading partner last year with total trade amounting to US$11.3 billion.

Singapore is South Korea's seventh-largest foreign investor with foreign direct investment of more than US$249 million in the first quarter of this year.

Last year, Singapore poured US$236 million into the country. While the picture is rosy, IE Singapore's chief executive officer, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, sounded a word of caution to potential investors.

'Singapore companies should bear in mind the language and cultural barriers as well as the country's militant labour movement,' he said.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 01 November 2004 1212 hrs

Singapore's unemployment rate eases to 3.4% as economy expands

SINGAPORE : Singapore's unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in five years on the back of strong economic growth in the first half of the year, the government said Monday.

Preliminary estimates showed the unemployment rate, when seasonally adjusted, declined to 3.4 percent at the end of the three months to September from 4.5 percent in the June quarter, the Manpower Ministry said.

Employment rose 16,600, the strongest quarterly gain in three-and-a-half years, it said.

"Recovery in the job market strengthened in the third quarter 2004, supported by the robust economic growth in the first half of this year," the Manpower Ministry said.

"The strong employment creation has led to a significant decline in unemployment.

"This improvement brought the unemployment rate to around the level in 1999 when the economy recovered from the Asian crisis," it said.

Singapore's economy is tipped to grow by up to nine percent this year, making it one of the fastest-growing in Asia.

It grew just 1.1 percent in 2003 due to the fallout from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome regional epidemic. - AFP

Copyright © 2004 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.

Indian Entertainment Magazine to Launch in Singapore
Posted on Sunday, October 31 @ 11:39:14 CST

Print & Publishing This monthly periodical will be distributed for FREE in reputable and popular Indian restaurants all over Singapore.

(PRWEB) October 31, 2004 -- Celebrity Jam, the cool and stylish new Indian Entertainment periodical is going to be launched around Deepavali in Singapore.

This publication which covers Bollywood and Tamil Cine buzz will be distributed for FREE in restaurants. The editor of the periodical, Anusuya V remarks that this is the first time that an Indian entertainment publication will be given out for free in Singapore.

"We are the first ones to introduce such a concept for the Indians here and we are confident that it will be a success," says the editor who is the founder of Celebrity Jam portal.

"I started the website way back in 2000 and since then till now we get a lot of visitors not only from here but also from other countries such as USA, UK, India, Australia and even New Zealand. Through the years I realized that there's a need here in Singapore for a stylish and cool Indian entertainment media. Thus with the support of our readers we decided to launch Celebrity Jam in print," stated Anusuya with enthusiasm.

Another distinctive feature is that the publication will cater to all local and expat Indians and as well as to non-Indians who love Bollywood.

"There are many Malays, Chinese and Caucasians here in Singapore who like Bollywood and Tamil Cinema. They're hesitant to browse through other mags as they are sometimes in Tamil but with ours in English we will be able to satisfy these groups of Indian entertainment buffs," added the editor.

http://press.xtvworld.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2860

Singapore sees scope for more investments

Our Bureau

Bangalore , Oct. 31

THE encouraging trend of increasing investments in Singapore is continuing and there is scope for two-way investment in Indo-Singapore ties, said Dr Tony Tan, Deputy PM of Singapore.

There have been over 1,400 Indian companies investing in Singapore as a way of accessing the Asia-Pacific and international markets as have all the top 20 Nasscom companies, Dr Tan said.

He was speaking at the launch of the latest edition in Bangalore's International Tech Park.

Part of the phased development of the ITPL, the `Inventor' (the fifth in the series) has achieved 70 per cent occupancy, according to Ms Chong Siak Ching, President and CEO, Ascendus Pte Ltd, which is one of the consortium partners for ITPL.

Tata Industries and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board are the others. "ITPL has been a catalyst for the progress of the IT sector in the State," said the State Chief Minister, Mr Dharam Singh.

The International Technology Park has seen investments of $165 million, has a built-up area of over two million square feet and houses over 100 companies.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/11/01/stories/2004110100851700.htm

Business Times - 01 Nov 2004

WE SAY
A tale of two cities

Bangalore and Shanghai are like 'yin' and 'yang', with their pros and cons. Singapore should find ways to leverage that

By RAJU CHELLAM

'IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity . . . ' This famous quote is from A Tale Of Two Cities, which was Charles Dickens' twelfth novel and was based on events that took place during the French Revolution of 1789. The first full print of the novel appeared in November 1859.

Exactly 145 years later, the high-tech world is looking at the unfolding tale of two cities, Bangalore and Shanghai. Like Dickens' introduction to his novel, it is the best of times for Bangalore and Shanghai. The two cities are like yin and yang. They are as different from each other as they are similar. And they are in a great rush to catch up with the First World.

Bangalore is emerging as the software capital of the world and Shanghai is already the hardware factory of the world. The first is in the throes of development, while the other seems to have gotten there already.

Here's a personal insight:

When you land at Bangalore's antiquated airport, you can feel the charms of an era gone by when Bangalore was a more relaxed city and was considered suitable for pensioners to retire in. The drive from the airport to the heart of the city is nerve-wracking, with potholes on the roads, cows straying in, sidewalks dug up, people milling around alongside, and three-wheelers jutting into any available space between two vehicles.

When you land at Shanghai's new Pudong airport, you're greeted by an expanse of steel and concrete beams that hold the almost kilometre-long structure's roof. China opened the airport in 1999 to take the pressure off Shanghai's older and smaller Hong Qiao airport. After clearing customs, you take a lift to the third level to ride on Shanghai's showpiece: the Maglev train.

The 10 billion yuan (S$2 billion) Maglev is the first-ever magnetic levitation project system in commercial use in the world and whisks you from Pudong airport to the Shanghai Lujiazui financial district in under eight minutes at a top speed of 431kmph. The 30km ride costs 50 yuan and a train leaves either station every 15 minutes. A cab ride, on the other hand, costs 110 yuan and takes 50 minutes during non-peak periods.

Shanghai gives a superb first impression, while Bangalore offers a different appeal. Almost everybody in Bangalore speaks English - unlike in Shanghai - and one out of three is employed in the infotech sector. Almost half-a-million people work in the IT outsourcing sector alone in Bangalore, which has 1,400 infotech companies registered there, 506 of them MNCs. The government of Karnataka state (of which Bangalore is the capital) wants Bangalore to gross US$10 billion in software exports by 2007 - up from about US$6 billion this year.

As for Shanghai, in 2000 it earmarked 100 billion yuan - 25 per cent of the total proposed industrial fixed investment between 2000 and 2005 - to prop up its IT sector. Shanghai wants the IT sector to contribute 15 per cent to the city's GDP by 2005, up from about 7 per cent now.

Both cities are in a hurry to modernise. The competition comes not just from other cities around the world but also from within their countries. According to BusinessWeek, India produces 316,000 science and engineering graduates a year and China 337,000.

By comparison, Singapore churns out 5,600 a year, Israel 14,000, Taiwan 49,000, and South Korea 97,000.

Is there any way a country like Singapore can compete with India and China? Of course. Here's how:

R&D: Singapore spends 2.2 per cent of its GDP on R&D. That compares with Israel's 4.7 per cent, South Korea's 2.9 per cent, America's 2.7 per cent, Taiwan's 2.3 per cent, China's 1.2 per cent, and India's one per cent. Our edge in R&D vis-a-vis India and China gives us a window of opportunity - and we'd better make good use of it before it closes.

Professionalism: Singapore provides a strong sense of professionalism and security - both literal and virtual - that businesses across the region look for, says Paul Thorley, CEO of Capgemini Asia-Pacific.

Strong laws: Both China and India respect and admire Singapore's strong legal system, its stringent enforcement of IP (intellectual property) rights, and its no-nonsense approach to the rule of law. Singapore could be a conduit for high-tech companies in India and China to secure IP protection and file for patents.

Leverage: Singapore could leverage our industrial design and marketing skills with India's software skills and China's manufacturing process. Here's an example: Philips designs products in Singapore, packs it with software developed in Bangalore and gets it manufactured in Shanghai. Its latest 23-inch mirror TV that sells for $4,000 is designed in Singapore and made in bulk in Suzhou, for instance.

Window: To the West or to Asean. Singapore has already signed FTAs with the US, Japan, the European Free Trade Association, Australia and New Zealand. This could be a major pull for high-tech companies in the two most populous countries. Singapore could open doors to markets that may otherwise be closed.

The writer was recently in the two cities on a media tour of Philips' research facilities

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 01 Nov 2004

S'pore IT firms get helping hand to enter China market
By CAROLYN QUEK

IN the past, Singapore companies, including healthcare solution providers, have found it difficult breaking into the Chinese market on their own. However, with the launch of the first Singapore Solutions Centre (SSC) in Shanghai - aimed at helping local infocomm companies strike it out in China - things have been made much better.

The centre - jointly set up by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) in Shanghai - serves to not only showcase the Singapore IT industry in China but to also enable SSC members to band together and leverage on one another's strengths to ensure greater success in China.

The centre took flight immediately when SSC member Singapore Computer Systems (SCS) inked a $2.2 million contract with the renowned Beijing Tongren Hospital to build an integrated hospital management system for one of its wings.

Specifically, the contract calls for the healthcare arm of SCS to provide a suite of solutions ranging from integrated healthcare delivery systems to innovative web-enabled e-services for the wing. Five months on, the project is progressing well.

'We have completed phase one of the project and the system has gone live,' said Pek Yew Chai, SCS chief executive.

Egis Healthcare - a leading clinical laboratory information systems and blood banking solution company - is another healthcare solutions provider and SSC member whose operations in China have been making progress.

Although no contracts have been signed yet, they are currently in talks with several hospitals in China to roll out their laboratory information management system technology.

It helps that hospitals in China are more interested nowadays to explore infocomm technology to help in handling epidemic control, given the slew of epidemics that has ravaged the country in recent years. However, the SSC has no doubt helped Egis with its foray into China as well.

'SSC provided us with the infrastructure to start our operations almost immediately in China when we first started out there in April this year,' says John Tan, Egis chief executive.

He adds: 'We will continue to work with partners in China to collectively penetrate the market. At the same time, we will continue to strengthen our team, especially for our operations in China.'

Mr Pek notes that the SSC only started this year. 'We need to create more awareness so that we can get more members to team up,' he says. But he is confident that members of the SSC can grow together and successfully take on this major market.

'The opportunities in China can only be realised if we can sufficiently understand that in order to win deals, we have to win through differentiation, and not commodity,' says Mr Pek. 'We hope that by teaming together with our fellow Singapore IT companies, we become more competitive, we grow together to win in this big market rather than compete on our individual skills.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 01 Nov 2004

SingTel mobile users reach 56 million

SINGAPORE - Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), Southeast Asia's largest phone company, announced on Monday that its regional mobile subscribers has reached 56 million on Sep 30, 2004.

This is an increase of 38 per cent from about 41 million a year ago. In the six markets - Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand - subscription rose 40 per cent to 23 million during the same period.

SingTel's four Asian mobile associates - Advanced Info Service, Bharti, Globe and Telkomsel - all posted strong subscriber growth, ranging from 17 to 88 per cent from a year ago. Their combined subscriber base grew 43 per cent to 49 million.

SingTel Optus added 198,000 customers during the quarter, bringing its base to 5.9 million.

In Singapore, SingTel maintained its subscriber base at more than 1.5 million in a highly saturated mobile market of about 90 per cent penetration rate. During the quarter, SingTel introduced new price plans and signed up about 19,000 new postpaid customers.

SingTel will announce its results for the second quarter and half year ended Sep 30, 2004 on Nov 4.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 01 November 2004 2205 hrs

Singapore faces challenges in bid to become Islamic banking hub
By Derek Cher, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore has made it known that it wants to be a centre for Islamic financial services, but analysts say the country will first have to build up a credible regulatory system and a Syariah board that will determine which products are acceptable under Islamic laws.

They see wealth management as a key growth area, rather than retail banking.

Islamic banking is still in its infancy in Singapore, but with the growing industry now estimated at US$300 billion, the country is stepping up efforts to grab a slice of that pie.

Analysts say Singapore, being a non-Muslim country, will face numerous challenges in its quest to become an Islamic financial hub.

Said Sani Hamid, senior analyst at Forecast, "Very important here is credibility. Singapore has to prove that it can function an Islamic banking, wealth management centre according to Syariah principles with credibility, with its expertise, and professionally."

So what is needed is a regulatory system and a Syariah board whose members are experienced in both finance and Islamic law.

Even though some banks already have Syariah councils, analysts say that Middle Eastern investors may not follow the same Islamic banking principles as those in this region.

So any new financial product or service will take those factors into account.

Middle Eastern investors have been knocking on the doors of local fund managers asking for investments that conform with Islamic banking principles.

To cope with demand, banks are flying in managers from the Middle East to conduct the relevant courses. Analysts say local professionals are still on a very steep learning curve."

Still, they expect Islamic banking to take its own path in the future where interest payment, which is prohibited under Islamic law, doesn't come into the picture.

Some analysts believe that the growth in Islamic banking will come from wealth management and not retail services.

Forecast's Sani Hamid said, "We have only about 500,000 Muslims in Singapore, so therefore when you talk about setting up several banks with Islamic banking facilities, it just doesn't make sense because the critical mass is not there.

"When you talk about wealth management, you're talking about the whole world, investors from the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia and even the US. Therefore the critical mass is there for the taking."

For now, local banks are offering just a handful of Islamic unit trusts and two deposit accounts.

Singapore will be sending a team to the Middle East by early next year to explore opportunities in Islamic banking. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 02 November 2004 1841 hrs

Seven companies receive EDB's inaugural regional HQ status
By Michael Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : The Economic Development Board has recognised the efforts of seven companies that have located their regional headquarters here.

All seven have been awarded the inaugural Regional Headquarters status.

Among them are three Singapore firms: atea Environment, Distribution Management Solution, and Oakwell Engineering.

The other four are international companies: Convergys Employee Care, CSG Systems, Kadence Asia and Kawiseraya.

The RHQ award was introduced to encourage multinational companies to use Singapore as the base to enter regional markets.

Besides MNCs, the new RHQ status is also designed to help smaller niche companies establish themselves here.

The RHQ award will complement the existing International Headquarters Award, which is for companies with more substantial and extensive operations managed out of Singapore.

The EDB is aiming to nurture an HQ hub, where a network of company HQs will generate more business, jobs and growth opportunities for the Singapore economy.

One of the local recipients, atea Environment, specialises in the design, consultancy and construction of environmental treatment systems.

It expanded into China two years ago, and is now looking to grow in the US and Taiwan.

Another RHQ recipient is the Nasdaq-listed CSG Systems, based in Colorado, USA.

The company provides billing and customer care solutions for the cable TV, mobile, fixed wireline and convergent services market.

From its regional HQ in Singapore CSG supports its offices in China, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and India. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Nov 2, 2004
THE CHIPS ARE DOWN
Weak sales may cost Chartered No. 3 ranking

CHARTERED Semiconductor Manufacturing's slumping sales are causing it to lose its spot as the world's third-largest provider of made-to-order chips to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), analysts said.

Singapore-based Chartered forecast that sales this quarter will decline 25 per cent from the US$257 million (S$429.4 million) it turned over in the third quarter.

Shanghai-based SMIC had sales of US$275 million in the third quarter and is on track to increase revenue this quarter by an estimated 15 per cent, said Mr Pranab Kumar Sarmah, an analyst with the Daiwa Institute of Research.

While many analysts had expected that SMIC would overtake Chartered because of its faster growth rate, the two may be trading places in the market share rankings faster than estimated. 'We expected it would happen in 2005 but it looks like it's happening sooner because of the sudden weakness for Chartered in the fourth quarter,' Mr Sarmah said.

Shares of Chartered, which were unchanged at $1.01 yesterday, have fallen 42 per cent so far this year. SMIC shares rose six HK cents to HK$1.69. The shares are down 38 per cent since the company's initial public offer in March. \-- BLOOMBERG NEWS

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Harrah's to use access to capital in Singapore pitch

By Linus Chua and Bernard Lo
BLOOMBERG NEWS

Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the No. 2 U.S. casino operator by market value, will use its ability to raise funds and draw tourists as part of its pitch to the Singapore government for a casino plan.

The Las Vegas-based company, which started talks with the government in June, will also meet with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other government officials as part of a group of a dozen U.S. companies in the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council meeting this week.

"We believe that with our strong access to capital and ability to build large tourist-oriented casinos, we can build something that Singapore would be very proud of," Richard Mirman, senior vice president at Harrah's Entertainment, said in an interview. He said he's able to build a temporary casino in Singapore in nine months, and a larger operation in two to three years, if he gets a license.

Singapore is considering a casino amid competition for tourists in Asia. The city-state's tourist arrivals fell to a two-decade low last year during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, and is expected to rebound to match 2002's 7.6 million visitors, which was a record.

Mirman plans to ask the Singapore government for its stand on issues ranging from the timing for the casino legislation to taxes on gaming revenue, he said.

Harrah's may compete with operators from Las Vegas Sands Inc. to Macanese tycoon Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, which have expressed interest in a Singapore casino. They may be asked by the government to submit proposals within the next two to three months, said Jonathan Galaviz, a partner at Galaviz Ong & Co. in Las Vegas, which tracks the global gaming market.

MGM Mirage and Caesars Entertainment Inc. also have expressed interest in Singapore, while delegations from Singapore have visited regulators and operators in Las Vegas to learn more about the casino business.

The city-state's approach to legalizing casinos is also different from other countries or U.S. states, which usually amend their laws before getting proposals from operators, Galaviz said, as the government's not using casinos just to boost revenue. Singapore's foreign reserves exceed $100 billion.

"With Singapore's financial position, the gaming industry knows Singapore is not in dire straits to have to legalize casinos," he said in an interview in Singapore. "What Singapore is saying is let's legalize only if we get the right proposal to enhance our position in the tourism industry."

He said Harrah's pitch on access to capital may help because the government could turn Singapore into a hub for Asian gaming companies where they can raise funds through stocks and bonds. Singapore's stock exchange has been trying to attract overseas companies from markets such as China and India to sell shares.

Singapore said it wants a so-called integrated casino development that may include a hotel and convention halls to boost its share of business travelers.

Last year, Singapore was ranked as the world's third top convention city by the International Congress & Convention Association, a trade organization for global conventions. The city hosted more than 500 conventions, which created S$615 million ($370 million) in business deals, the country's tourism board said.

Singapore's Trade Ministry said in an e-mailed statement it's still studying the possibility of a casino and hasn't set a date for the proposals yet.

"We are consulting widely to get views and feedback," it said. "A decision will only be made after carefully evaluating the various economic, social and security issues."

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2004/nov/01/517754860.html

Business Times - 03 Nov 2004

$12m more for RFID initiative
Mr Lam: The projects will generate ICT spending of $50m over 3 years.
By ROLAND LIM

THE Infocomm Authority of Singapore (IDA) revealed yesterday that industry players have committed $12 million to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) projects.

This is on top of the $10 million that IDA announced in May it will be investing over the next three years in the RFID industry.

IDA chairman Lam Chuan Leong said at an IDA seminar that it is 'optimistic that the RFID initiative will generate information and communication technology (ICT) spending of $50 million' over the next three years.

RFID is a technology used in the logistics and transport industry, which uses radio frequency to capture data stored in chips or 'tags' that are embedded in products and enable more efficient tracking of inventory.

IDA also announced the expansion of the radio frequency bands and raised the power limits for the frequencies that could be used for RFID applications.
However, the new expanded spectrum does not include the 915 MHz frequency that is commonly used for RFID applications in the US, as it is used by our mobile phone networks in Singapore. Mr Lam said that IDA will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these spectrums and 'make further adjustments, if necessary'.

IDA revealed that it will be issuing a Call-For-Collaboration (CFC) for the RFID industry on Nov 18.

Previous CFCs in other technologies have seen industry partners working on joint projects and enjoying partial funding from IDA.

At the seminar, Chiong Chiet Ping, chairman of the recently-formed Singapore RFID Alliance, explained that the region currently lacks a coordinated effort from the industry and governments in this field. She hopes, therefore, that the alliance can help create a 'united Asian voice in the RFID arena'.

Other RFID projects announced at the seminar include the first RFID test and compliance centre in South-east Asia that will be jointly set up by NOL, APL Logistics and Sun Microsystems in the next few months in Singapore.
Stanley Chew, managing director of Oracle Singapore, felt that 'the announcement by IDA crucially addresses the critical issue of inter-operability', and provides a fundamental and important assurance for companies in Singapore using RFID that their solutions will work seamlessly all over the world'.

Oracle, together with IT distributor ECS Holdings and RFID specialist GT&T Engineering, are jointly involved in a supply chain RFID pilot project.
Sales director K K Lam of GT&T Engineering felt that while these initiatives would inevitably introduce more competition in the industry, they 'are good for the industry and puts Singapore in a very competitive situation, compared with other countries in the region'.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 03 Nov 2004

S'pore GDP seen slowing after 8.4% surge this year
Poll indicates halving of growth to 4.5% in '05 with tech slowdown

(SINGAPORE) Singapore's economy is set to grow at its fastest rate since 2000 this year, bolstered by strong electronics and drugs manufacturing, but the city-state faces an uncertain outlook in 2005, a Reuters poll shows.
The poll of 12 analysts produced a median growth forecast of 8.4 per cent for 2004, up from 7.6 per cent three months ago and second only to China in the region.

The forecast is also in line with the government's revised forecast of 8-9 per cent growth.

But the pace of growth is expected to almost halve to 4.5 per cent in 2005, as the electronics manufacturing at the core of Singapore's economy is expected to slow and high oil prices are seen dampening global demand for tech goods.

After four quarters of rapid growth as Singapore rebounded from the Sars outbreak, the economy shrank by an annualised 2.3 per cent in the third quarter, according to advance estimates.

'The impact of the slowdown in global electronics demand on the domestic economy should be more apparent into 2005,' said Ho Woei Chen, economist at United Overseas Bank.

She said corporate profitability in the tech sector would also increasingly come under strain from falling sales and higher costs as a result of the increase in global inflation.

The government expects the pace of growth to moderate to between 3 and 5 per cent in 2005, with downside risks to the outlook being the global technology slowdown, high oil prices and the cooling of China's fast-growing economy.

'As far as business confidence is concerned, people have generally turned more cautious due to a rise in oil prices,' said Sim Moh Siong, an economist at Citigroup, echoing the key concern of manufacturers in a recent survey.
Singapore is particularly vulnerable to swings in the global tech cycle as electronics production accounts for more than half of non-oil exports and a quarter of manufacturing.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) - export goods produced in Singapore, excluding goods transshipped through Singapore - were forecast to rise by a median 16.2 per cent in 2004, up from last year's 15.1 per cent rise, and are expected to grow 9.5 per cent in 2005.

Singapore's central bank said last month that it would stick to a policy of 'modest and gradual appreciation' of the local dollar amid rising inflation.
The central bank expects price pressures to accelerate towards the end of the year before easing slightly in 2005.

It forecast the consumer price index (CPI) will be 1.5 to 2 per cent higher than in 2003 this year, and sees inflation at 1-2 per cent next year.
The Reuters poll showed the CPI was expected to rise by a median of 1.7 per cent in 2004 and 1.6 per cent in 2005. Prices rose 0.5 per cent in 2003. - Reuters

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 03 Nov 2004

Motor Image plans Subaru regional centre
$25 million building in Toa Payoh will have lifestyle focus, reports SAMUEL EE

MOTOR Image Enterprises is spending $25 million to build a regional flagship Subaru centre in Toa Payoh complete with rooftop test track.

Called the STi Centre, it will be modelled after a similar Australian concept in Melbourne and is scheduled to be ready by September 2005. The six-storey building in Lorong 8, Toa Payoh will be a fully fledged 3S centre - showroom, service and spare parts. But Motor Image chief executive Glenn Tan explained that the STi Centre will have more of a lifestyle focus.

'We want to create a whole new dynamic concept to buying and owning a car,' said Mr Tan, whose company has been representing the Subaru marque since 1986. 'We're not just selling a car but the complete Subaru experience.'
He said the STi Centre will be closely based on the one in Melbourne's Docklands but adapted for local conditions because of the Toa Payoh premises' smaller land size and surroundings.

Currently, a warehouse building sits on the earmarked 59,000 sq ft site, next door to a Nissan showroom. Mr Tan said it was bought late last year and major renovation work - including a ground floor extension - will begin next month. Motor Image is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed Tan Chong International Ltd, which distributes the Nissan marque here and in Malaysia.

He said that other than personalised delivery of new Subaru cars, there will also be lifestyle accessories and products offered. STi refers to one of Subaru's best known models, the Impreza WRX STi, a performance car derived from the one which competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Mr Tan said the centre will also have a driving simulator and theatrette for WRX and WRC fans, as well as an all-wheel-drive (AWD) dynamometer and what Motor Image calls an AWD Drive-Through Roof Garden.

'There are very few AWD dynamometers in Singapore and because all our cars are AWD, we want to demonstrate how effective all-wheel-drive is,' he said.

He added that the roof garden's 13,500 sq ft test track is not a high speed circuit but one which will show off AWD's qualities. Potential customers can also drive their own cars on the track to compare the difference between their vehicles and the Subaru models.

Mr Tan said the new centre is also part of Motor Image's rebranding efforts for Subaru. Until now, the marque has been promoting its sporting performance and AWD capabilities.

'Going forward, AWD will still be there to take care of the brand, but we will also embrace the lifestyle implications of this experience,' said Mr Tan.

Last year, Motor Image sold 1,200 Subaru cars in Singapore. This year, the sales forecast is for about 1,500, or an average of 120-130 units per month. When asked if this relatively small volume justifies the large $25 million investment - which includes the purchase cost of the building and its renovations - Mr Tan replied: 'As our brand is growing and since we handle it regionally, we want the STi Centre to be the benchmark for all countries - our foundation. For example, Malaysian drivers can drive down to visit the centre. It will be the hub of our regional activities.'

Motor Image is the authorised importer for Subaru in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Southern China, which refers largely to Guangdong province. For this whole region, including Singapore, Motor Image expects to sell a total of 2,300 Subaru cars this year. The company is eyeing 2,800-3,000 cars for 2005, and the mid-term target is to eventually move 5,000 units.

Mr Tan added that when the Toa Payoh building is ready, the existing showroom and service centre at Leng Kee Road will be upgraded.
'The group strategy is to show that Motor Image is not an unknown entity. Motor Image is the long-term partner of Subaru. We are one brand but multi-country, not one country and multi-brand.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 03 Nov 2004

Singapore,India natural partners in shared services and BPO

SINGAPORE- Singapore and India share a huge opportunity for synergy in the areas of shared services and business processing outsourcing, or BPO.
Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said there is considerable potential for the 2 countries to maximise their complementary strengths, to offer global customers solutions that lower costs while mitigating risks.
Mr Shanmugaratnam was speaking at the launch of TATA indicom cable, which is Singapore's latest submarine cable to India.

He said the Tata Indicom Cable will help spur this development in the BPO space, as well as all the other economic opportunities that rely on efficient and fast connectivity.

Singapore is a smaller player, but a natural partner for India in shared services and BPO.

He cited a recent US Department of Commerce report which named Singapore as the second fastest growing hub for offshoring of business processes by US corporations, after India.

In fact, US MNCs' offshoring to Singapore has grown by 22 per cent per year over the last decade compared with 23 per cent for India. He said Singapore is taking a growing slice of the high-value added segment of the shared services and BPO business.

It is a business that plays to Singapore's strengths - extensive physical connectivity, trusted business environment, security infrastructure, and the skills of the Singapore workforce.

Mr Shanmugaratnam added that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India, which is on track to be concluded by year-end, will be a major leap forward in our bilateral relationship.

It will strengthen both Singapore's and India's competitiveness.
Beyond business, Singapore is also strengthening links in education.
Universities here are actively pursuing collaborations with Indian universities, including the Indian Institutes of Technology or IITs.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 03 November 2004 2046 hrs

China-ASEAN agreement on goods could be in place by January
By Channel NewsAsia's Ca-Mie De Souza in Guangxi

GUANGXI : A China-ASEAN agreement, covering goods, will be discussed at the ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Laos.

The agreement could free up trade in goods between the two regions by January.

Speaking at the 1st China-ASEAN Expo in Guangxi, Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said an agreement on services should follow soon after.

One Singapore company hopes to sell its 'Bee Globe' buns and New Year cakes in southern China.

It is looking for a distributor, but the company is known more for its logistics than for its food.

Mr Lau Swee Khim, Director of Siang Poh Wang Food Industries, said, "I think this 'nian gao' will be my first step to enter China. I hope to get a small share of the 'nian gao' market."

Mr Lau is one businessman who will benefit when Singapore concludes a Free Trade Agreement with China.

The China-ASEAN Expo is one outcome of efforts to boost trade between the two regions.

And as ASEAN works towards its own Free Trade Area by 2010, it is also working to promote free trade between ASEAN and the rest of the world.

The 10-plus-1 FTA with China - covering just goods - could be in place by January.

While the trickier negotiations over services have also started.

Singapore has 15 Singapore companies taking part in the Expo in China - the first of its kind.

Ms Ong Hee Yah, Managing Director of MediaCorp News, said, "We hope that in the next few months, when you travel to China, you will be able to see CNA in 3-star, 4-star and 5-star hotels. It would do us a lot of good when you travel, to ask for CNA in your hotel."

An annual affair, Mr Lim sees this Expo as a one-stop opportunity for Singapore businesses to network and hopefully clinch deals as they make their inroads into China and ASEAN - a market of 17 billion people.

As for 'Bee Globe', it is counting on its 'Fortune God New Year Cake' to make inroads into China.

Mr Lau added, "I hope that it will bring profits to the company. We are not profitable yet." - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

November 03, 2004

Kingsway to open office in Singapore

HONG KONG - Kingsway International Holdings, a Hong Kong-based financial services company, said it plans to open offices in Tokyo, Singapore and China's city of Shenzhen within five months to provide financing for large Chinese companies.

"We're increasing our distribution capability and hiring staff who can execute bigger deals as we reach out to state-owned enterprises," said Mr William Lam, Kingsway's chief executive, in an interview.

The new offices will add to Kingsway's existing network in Hong Kong, Toronto, Sydney, Beijing and Shanghai. About 10 new staff will be hired to join the group's 200 workforce.

Kingsway, listed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange, has about five Chinese clients who intend to launch share offerings, Mr Lam said. - Bloomberg

Copyright © Singapore Press Holdings, 2004. All rights reserved.

Finally! :okay: :)

VSNL unveils India-Singapore undersea cable
Press Trust of India
Singapore, November 3


With an eye to expanding globally in the crucial IT and telecom sectors, the VSNL on Wednesday launched India's first fully-owned undersea optical cable to link Singapore and Chennai.

The 3,175 km cable project, implemented in less than 11 months, comes within two days of VSNL announcing acquisition of Tyco Global Network of submarine telecom cable for $130 million.

Launching the cable, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said this would prove to be an important link for growth of broadband business to serve the needs of corporate customers and households.

While the Tatas declined to give details of investment, company sources said the project was completed in 10 months and two weeks for $100 million, fully financed through internal resources of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

Even after acquisition of Tyco Global Network, VSNL is understood to have resources of Rs 1,600 crore from which the company is planning significant investments over the next two years.

Asked if the company would invest upto Rs 1,500 crore for broadband and other related areas, VSNL director (operations) N Srinath told PTI "we are looking at significant investments" but did not elaborate.

"We are looking at more opportunities (for acquisitions)," he added.

Asked if the Tatas had deep pockets to sustain major operations and investments without immediate returns, he said "we have to have a strong base and which we have."

Speaking on the occasion, Singapore's Education Minister T Shanmugaratnam complimented Tatas for evincing keen interest in Singapore's development and said "Tata Indicom cable has a bandwidth of more than five terrabit per second which is equivalent to nearly 77 million simultaneous phone conversations."

It will enhance Singapore's total connectivity to India by 60 per cent at 13.6 terrabit, he said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1088489,0000.htm

That sounds really cool! I can imagine the immense benefits it will bring in communications :yes:

November 04, 2004

Tata Group eyes hospitality trade in Singapore

By Elston Soares

INDIA'S US$14.25 billion (S$23.7 billion) Tata Group will look at projects in the hospitality sector when it comes to future Singapore investments.

This comment came from Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, 66, yesterday at a press conference, after a function here to formally launch the first fully Indian-owned undersea fibre-optic cable linking Singapore and India.

The Tatas own one of India's premier hotel chains, the Taj Group, which has more than 50 properties locally and abroad.

The 3,175km Tata Indicom Cable linking Chennai and Changi is believed to have cost US$100 million and took just nine and a half months to build.

The Tata Group owns the cable through Indian telecoms firm Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited.

Speaking of the group's other interests in Singapore, Mr Tata said that paperwork on the deal to acquire NatSteel would be completed next month.

Tata Steel offered to buy NatSteel for $486 million in August this year.

Earlier, Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that the cable "brings a new dimension to the Tata Group's engagement with Singapore".

"The Tata Indicom Cable has a bandwith of more than 5 terabits per second - equivalent to nearly 77 million simultaneous phone conversations. It will increase Singapore's total connectivity to India by 60 per cent to 13.6

terabits per second.

"It will also increase Singapore's connectivity to the world by over a fifth to 27.6 terabits per second," he added.

Tracing the Tata Group's links with this country, Mr Tharman said that it was an early investor here - they opened Tata Precision Industries in Singapore in 1973.

On India's growing links with Singapore, the minister said that the Comprehensive Cooperation Economic Agreement, which is on track to be completed by the year-end, "will be a major leap forward in our bilateral relationship".

In the area of education, he said that there had been good progress in the bid for collaborations with Indian universities, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

"We look forward to having an IIT presence in Singapore soon," he said.

Copyright © Singapore Press Holdings, 2004. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 04 Nov 2004

Tide of Singapore investment in Malaysia turning, says DBS

Recent wave of investments led by Temasek and GIC

By EDDIE TOH
IN KUALA LUMPUR

SINGAPORE'S foreign direct investment (FDI) in neighbouring Malaysia may be on the mend after declining in the last two decades, says DBS Bank in Singapore.

In a report released yesterday titled Singapore-Malaysia Investment Flows: Inflexion Point?, DBS Bank economist Chua Hak Bin attributed the structural turnaround to the Malaysian government's gradual relaxation of foreign participation restrictions and the liberalisation of ownership limits.

With the rise of China and India, Malaysia has also come to gradually accept that competitive beggar-thy-neighbour rivalry can be costly and self-defeating.

The recent spate of cross-border deals in Singapore and Malaysia has been highlighted by BT, but the DBS report puts the trend in the context of investment flows in the last two decades.

The report said Malaysia's share of Singapore's direct investment abroad was on a structural decline. Malaysia today accounts for less than 9 per cent of Singapore's cumulative direct investment abroad, down from about 60 per cent two decades ago.

But it said the decline may be turning around, led by the recent wave of Singapore investments by Temasek Holdings and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC). GIC helps manage Singapore's foreign reserves of over US$100 billion. DBS, incidentally, is controlled by Temasek.

The report said Malaysia, which has been cautious and slow in relaxing foreign ownership limits in strategic sectors, is now opening its doors to greater foreign participation. One example is the recent decision to grant new foreign broking and fund management licences.

Dr Chua, previously an economist with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), also attributed the trend to the more active management of Singapore's foreign reserves in pursuit of higher returns.

He reckoned Singapore's foreign exchange reserves have exceeded the thresholds required for exchange rate management or crisis insurance.

The bulk of these foreign reserves has traditionally been invested in passive and risk-free assets - for example, US Treasuries. Regional assets were a small portion of that universe, he added.

He said the recent revamp of Temasek's charter and investment strategy is driven partly by the need to shift Singapore's overall investment portfolio into higher-return assets and away from passive low-yielding assets. Temasek, led by Ho Ching, has become more active in Malaysia following the change in Malaysia's political leadership last October.

Temasek's recent acquisitions are leading the way in breaking new ground in previously sensitive areas.

Temasek's investment in Malaysia alone accounted for more than half of recent Singapore investment flows, noted Dr Chua.

Temasek's most notable investment in Malaysia is the purchase in March of a 5 per cent stake in Telekom Malaysia for RM1.6 billion (S$704 million), probably the largest single Singapore investment across the Causeway.

The investment powerhouse has also struck a deal to buy 15.37 per cent in Malaysian Plantations, which owns Alliance Bank, for under half a billion ringgit from a company linked to former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.

But Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is the current finance minister, has yet to give his blessing for the landmark acquisition.

Analysts said that the deal is significant as it could signal a tweaking of the country's rules governing the banking sector.

The government may allow Temasek and partners to own a controlling stake in the Malaysian bank. But Malaysia will allow other foreign bank owners to acquire stakes in Malaysian banks only by 2007. Standard Chartered Bank and Singapore's OCBC Bank have expressed interest in acquiring Malaysian banks.

Another possible boost to Singapore investments in Malaysia is the cross-trading link between Bursa Malaysia and Singapore Exchange. The system is expected to go live by end-2005.

But the biggest spur to Singapore investments in Malaysia could still come from Temasek.

Dr Chua estimated that a rebalancing of Temasek's portfolio could yield up to S$15 billion for investments in the Asean region. Some of the natural candidates are in the transport, logistics, financial services, property, energy and resources sectors. Malaysia stands to be a prime beneficiary, he added.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

That sounds really cool! I can imagine the immense benefits it will bring in communications :yes:

sure does raffie!:)

Business Times - 05 Nov 2004

UK sweetener maker to open plant here

By CHEN HUIFEN

(SINGAPORE) Singapore is emerging as a manufacturing location for specialty ingredients with the latest announcement by Tate & Lyle plc to open a 97 million (S$299 million) plant here.

The plant will produce a sucralose product called Splenda, a no-calorie sweetener made from sugar, and will be ready by January 2007.

'We believe that we'll recruit around 100 highly skilled operators and engineers, the majority of whom will be sourced from the local area,' Tate & Lyle public relations manager Ferne Hudson told BT yesterday.

'And we've already started that recruitment process. There will also be other sales and back office service staff.'

The move is seen as part of Singapore's efforts to strengthen the specialty ingredients landscape here, which covers high-value additives for food applications as well as fragrances for perfumes. It is a component under the chemicals cluster.

Manufacturing output by the industry reached $680 million last year, double that in 1996. The segment also produced a value-add of $198,000 per worker, which is twice the average amount generated by Singapore's manufacturing sector last year.

'High-value specialty ingredients is an area that has tremendous potential in Asia as this region develops,' said Economic Development Board chairman Teo Ming Kian.

'Tate & Lyle's choice of Singapore reaffirms our position as a strong combination of trust, science, innovation and connectivity to end-markets which will sharpen the competitive edge of these companies.'

One of the largest renewable ingredients manufacturers in the world, Tate & Lyle has a market capitalisation of about 2.13 billion on the London Stock Exchange. Yesterday, the company also announced a half-time profit of 31 million.

The new Singapore facility is in response to the rising demand for sucralose. Sales of the ingredient totalled US$130 million last year.

Tate & Lyle said it is expecting further demand, following EU approval of the product in February this year, which will be applied to all EU member states next February.

'The demand is being driven by demand for reduced calorie and reduced-sugar foods,' said Ms Hudson.

'A lot of people are more aware of their diet and calorie intake and people are looking for ways to manage their lives and diets.'

The Singapore facility will be Tate & Lyle's second sucralose manufacturing plant. It already has a sucralose plant in Alabama, USA, which was also recently expanded to meet rising demand. The new plant, to be located on Jurong Island, will have a capacity that is two-thirds of the Alabama plant.

'The new plant will broaden our manufacturing base and help facilitate improved access to the Asian and European markets,' said Tate & Lyle chief executive Iain Ferguson.

'Sucralose has enjoyed success in Japan since the first products were launched there in 1999 and we aim to replicate this success across the region.'

Sucralose is used in 1,500 to 2,000 products in Japan and more than 3,500 products globally, such as in carbonated soft drinks and confectionery.

Apart from Tate & Lyle, other specialty ingredient players here include flavour makers like Danisco, Firmenich, Givaudan, IFF, Quest, Sensient, Symrise, and Takasago.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 04 November 2004 2256 hrs

Singapore's October PMI eases to 51.5 on lower orders and output

SINGAPORE : Singapore's manufacturing sector expanded in October for the 17th straight month.

The Purchasing Managers' Index showed a reading of 51.5 for the month, a small dip from the figure of 53.2 in the previous month, according to the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management.

The drop was due to lower new orders and new export orders, as well as lower inventory and input prices.

Still, a reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.

A corresponding index that measures the electronics sector came in at 52.3.

Overall, the data shows that while Singapore's manufacturing sector continues to be in an uptrend in line with a broader economic expansion, the pace of growth is slowing as demand for Singapore-made goods falters. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Nov 5, 2004
BMW designer to help put oomph into S'pore centre
Christopher Bangle is one of the Design Singapore Council's eight advisers
By Grace Ng

MR CHRISTOPHER Bangle, the BMW Group's design director whose creative genius radically transformed the look and feel of every BMW car, will now be helping to shape Singapore's bold bid to become a major design centre.

Mr Bangle refashioned several cars bearing the famous BMW blue-and-white marque, along with other brands in the group's stable, from the distinctive Mini to the ultra-luxury Rolls-Royce.

He passionately advocates a philosophy of design which means that company executives must 'understand the forces shaping the lives and desires of their clients'.

He is one of eight renowned designers who will contribute their philosophy and ideas on design to the first International Advisory Panel appointed by the Design Singapore Council.

This is a public organisation which aims to develop Singapore into a leading international centre for design creativity.

Expect to see fireworks on Singapore's design scene as creative sparks fly from the panel, which also includes Sir Terence Conran, the founder of Habitat and Storehouse; as well as Mr Toshiyuki Kita - the famed designer of the Wink lounge chair from Cassina and the home-use Mitsubishi robot Wakamaru.

These eight advisers have been appointed by Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, to be Singapore's 'strategic partners in charting the development of design in Singapore'.

'In the course of Singapore's 39 years of rapid development, we have had to change and transform the way we live, work and play to retain our competitive edge,' said Dr Lee in a statement yesterday.

'In the next phase of Singapore's social and economic development, we envision design to play a significant role in creating new possibilities, new opportunities and new value for us,' he added.

Another of the advisers, Mr Dick Powell, the brains behind the famous Baby-G watch, agreed: 'Singapore appreciates the kind of power and influence that design can bring to its economy, and that's smart forward thinking.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 08 Nov 2004

The future is in S'pore MNCs

The small local market has made overseas growth a top priority

MOST of the world's leading companies today operate in various markets. Even if they don't, they operate in large domestic markets that give them economies of scale.

For Singapore-based companies, the reality of venturing into overseas markets came particularly early, if not prematurely, because of our small domestic market. In then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's new year message in 1993, he urged Singapore to 'participate and ride on the growth in the region', adding that 'if we do not trade with, invest and work in these fast growing countries, we will miss the boost they can give us'.

Subsequently, a committee to promote overseas enterprises, led by Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, was formed to map out the strategies. The committee set three targets:

-to increase our foreign direct investment stock to 30 per cent of GNP;

-to raise the contribution by local indigenous companies

-to achieve 2-2.5 per cent contribution to GNP by our overseas investment income.

By 2001, we had achieved all three targets. This is a good sign. The first target was reached in 1999, and foreign direct investment now accounts for 50 per cent of our GNP.

In terms of overseas investment by local companies, they grew an average of 29 per cent every year from 1993 to 1997. Towards the late 1990s, our firms invested even more aggressively overseas.

By 2001, their overseas investment had reached 30 per cent of our GNP, achieving our second target well ahead of the 2005 timeline set by the committee. If we look at the top 600 companies by revenue, the overseas investment rate was higher still at 34 per cent in the period of 1996 to 2001.

These companies also generated positive returns after the financial crisis, reaching 8.7 per cent in 2000. If we take the rate of return of overseas investments by US companies as a benchmark, then our numbers are not far from their 10.6 per cent for 2000.

In the 2002 Fortune 500 ranking, Singapore managed to claim one place. The company which managed to do this was Flextronics, a company headquartered in Singapore but with substantial operations based out of San Jose, California with revenues of US$13.4 billion.

In comparison, Switzerland, whose population is slightly higher than ours, was home to 11 home-grown Fortune 500 companies in 2002. This works out to one Fortune 500 company per 664,000 people.

Other small countries such as the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Belgium have on average, one home-grown Fortune 500 company per 1.3 million people - a rate even higher than the US and Japan.

These small countries have created large external economies and well-known global companies such as the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Unilever, Philips Electronics, Nokia and Ericsson.

To be fair, these countries we just discussed have had a longer history of industrialisation. Given time, determination, and with some luck, we may also create a number of global companies.

In a ranking of Asia's top 1,000 companies in 2002 by Yazhou Zhoukan, Singapore was ranked third. We had 49 companies which generated a total turnover of about US$166 billion. In comparison, China was fifth then, with 34 Chinese companies generating a turnover of US$132 billion.

However, after only a year, the turnover of the Chinese companies almost doubled to US$262 billion while that of Singapore's decreased to US$161 billion. Likewise, both Korean and Taiwanese companies had also increased their turnover by 9 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.

In terms of total profits, Singapore companies as a whole saw their profits increase from US$5.4 billion in 2002 to US$6.3 billion in 2003. However, profits of companies from other economies such as Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and India grew even faster.

In terms of profitability, we were overall fourth in 2002, but fell to eighth in 2003. There are many ways to look at these numbers. To IE Singapore, it seems that the higher growth of these companies is related to the high growth rates of their domestic economies.

Going forward, we can expect these economies to grow even stronger in the year ahead. The question is: Are our firms players in these markets?

Between 1993 and 2003, it was a decade of regionalisation for Singapore firms. Besides many companies venturing out for the first time, there were a number of flagship projects undertaken to accelerate the expansion of our external economy: the Wuxi-Singapore Industrial Park, Suzhou Industrial Park and Bangalore IT Park.

These projects have provided invaluable experience for our firms in unfamiliar overseas markets.

Post-Asian financial crisis, we observe that our firms have started to place overseas growth as their top priority. This was in part due to the fact that demand in domestic and regional markets was greatly reduced, forcing Singapore firms to look far beyond local shores.

The other factor was the consolidation of many large companies in the last decade. Streamlined supply chains, a shortened list of preferred suppliers and the relocation of some multinationals' operations to cheaper locations have caused many Singapore firms to re-adjust their business models.

Some of our firms joined their MNC customers in foreign markets to be part of a new international supply chain. These two factors forced Singapore firms to compete for new contracts in relatively unfamiliar markets.

Our firms soon learnt to acquire resources, skills, and sophistication that would help them operate trans-border businesses. Our firms are ready for the next phase of growth.

Looking ahead, one might ask: How will our external economy grow? How will our firms compete? Where are the opportunities for top and bottom-line growth? What will we see 10 years on?

At IE Singapore, we believe that 2004 is a watershed year. It will usher in the next phase of external economic growth which is different in structure, substance and strategy. Because of this significance, IE Singapore has designated 2004 as the 'Year of Internationalisation'.

We believe that this year marks the beginning of a decade of internationalisation which will be characterised by three strategic thrusts.

The first thrust will be to catalyse private sector-led internationalisation. Our entrepreneurs and firms will lead. They will be charting the frontiers, in markets near and far. IE Singapore hopes to be an active supporter. We will cheer them on.

The second thrust will be to maximise our connectivity with the growth markets. In 2002, Singapore's trade was about three times our GDP. We live on trade. To secure open and free trade, Singapore actively pursues discussions in the World Trade Organization, Asean forum and on bilateral fronts through FTAs with our major trading partners.

The third thrust lies in promoting the export of services, leveraging on Singapore's brand name. As Singapore transits into a knowledge-based economy, our exports will comprise more and more services in new business models.

Singapore's excellent brand name in education services, healthcare services, urban planning and infrastructure services, telecommunications and IT services, creative services, banking and financial services, legal, accounting and consultancy services, are some examples that would have great export potential.

We believe the next 10 years will bring great promise for our firms. Over time, we will see the emergence of more Singapore-groomed multinationals, competing in many knowledge-intensive sectors.

This article was contributed by IE Singapore

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

I can never ever access the BT even after 6 nowadays. Says I need to subscribe. No way!

Business Times - 08 Nov 2004

Hidden benefits in USSFTA

The landmark trade pact between Singapore and the US throws up opportunities for certain sectors. GIANLUCA ROMANO explains

THE United States and Singapore Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) was clearly a landmark for the Asia Pacific region, in that it was the first bilateral trade pact between an Asian economy and the large market created by the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). The structure of the agreement also appears likely be a precedent for future agreements between the US and other Asian countries.

So far as trade in physical goods is concerned, the USSFTA covers most products. Many of the duty reductions were effective immediately; and the balance phased in over a maximum of four years. This is a more rapid phase-in schedule than under many other free trade agreements (FTAs), such as Afta.

That said, the extent to which Singaporean exporters are actually able to benefit from import duty reductions is obviously a factor of how much duty was previously paid. An analysis of the top 15 commodities exported from Singapore to the US last year shows that these suffer only low (often zero) rates of duty into the US.

In contrast, the categories of products that suffer the highest existing duty rates, and hence stand to benefit the most from the preferential rate reductions, form a relatively low percentage of Singapore's historical exports to the US.

The converse is yet more pronounced; the duties applicable to US origin products upon importation into Singapore are virtually nil today. Commodities on which duty is imposed by Singapore consist of alcohol, tobacco, and motor vehicles (including motorcycles).

These duties are all excise duty, which are not subject to reductions under the USSFTA, save on four products: beer/ale, stout/bitter, samsu and medicated samsu.

The USSFTA includes a pioneering chapter on digital products, a new concept in FTAs. Among other provisions, this chapter prevents the application of customs duties on electronically delivered products.

In addition, Singaporean companies which have their high-tech electronic products assembled on the island of Bintan will in principle be able to take advantage of the benefits of the agreement.

That said, these benefits are currently restricted to categories of goods that do not attract significant rates of US duty, and hence their practical effect is currently very limited.

Tariff shift

With respect to physically delivered digital products, Singapore has agreed to impose import taxes (including GST) only on the value of the carrier medium and to use a multilateral standard of customs valuation as opposed to an arbitrary means (eg. projected revenues from post-import sales). With experience from Nafta, the customs section in the USSFTA represents an improvement, particularly in the area of origin criteria. Under the USSFTA, the rules of origin are specific to the product's tariff classification and most require a change in tariff classification, also known as a 'tariff shift'.

Many products also carry a corresponding value added requirement under one or more calculation methods. In most cases, this value added requirement will be less than 30 per cent of the value of the finished good. From experience with Nafta and other FTAs, origin is likely to be the most controversial aspect of the agreement.

The benefits of the USSFTA will largely accrue to those companies in the services industries, such as financial services. That said, there will be a limited number of exporters of other goods from Singapore whose products attract relatively high rates of duty upon import into the US.

Good examples of this are textiles and apparel, under Chapters 52, 61, and 62 of the Harmonised System of Classification. These goods generally attract relatively high rates of duty into the US (10-20 per cent duty).

Singapore exported approximately $1.2 billion worth of apparel to the US in 2002. However, textiles and apparel have very specific and complicated rules of origin, and exporters in these industries will likely be challenged to ensure that the value of originating material is calculated correctly.

Other examples of exports attracting relatively high rates of duty include ball bearings and footwear.

Rules of origin based on 'tariff shift' criteria will create opportunities for specific exporters and processes. In some cases, simple assembly may be enough to satisfy the necessary change in classification of parts to that of the finished product, with minimal value added in Singapore. In some cases there may be opportunities to transfer the final assembly processes to Singapore and achieve full preference for export to the US.

One interesting benefit, which will be available to Singaporean originating products, is the waiver of the US Customs Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF). This Customs User Fee is applicable to all formal entries into the US. It is currently assessed on each shipment at a rate of 0.21 per cent of the customs value, with a cap of US$485 per shipment.

Origin calculation remains the most challenging task under the USSFTA. Many, perhaps most, Singaporean companies have little experience in dealing with this technical area, and may therefore need support to maximise the agreement's available benefits.

The writer is director of regional customs and international trade services, Ernst & Young

AT A GLANCE

Economic impact of the USSFTA

-There will be virtually no duty savings on US origin goods imported into Singapore.

-There will be few products on which the US rates of duty are high enough for the reductions to be overly significant.

-There will be relatively small reductions in duty on many products exported from Singapore to the US. That said, a small reduction in the duty rate can generate significant savings for high volume exporters.

-Exporters from Singapore may enjoy a waiver from the Merchandise Processing Fees imposed by US Customs.

-Importers of software into Singapore may be able to avail themselves of significant GST cash flow savings by having their products taxed on the value of the carrier medium, rather than the full commercial value of the imported goods.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bluedart sells 60% stake to DHL-Singapore

November 08, 2004 12:36 IST

The Indian promoters of air cargo and courier entity Blue Dart Express and Newfields Holdings have sold 68.21 per cent stake in the company to DHL Express (Singapore) Pte Ltd for over Rs 570 crore (Rs 5.7 billion).

The Indian promoters along with the persons acting in concert-holding 1,21,51,552 shares, and Newfields Holdings Ltd with 40,33,405 shares, have entered into separate agreements to sell their stake at Rs 350 per share to DHL Express, subject to necessary regulatory approvals, Blue Dart said in a communication to the National Stock Exchange.

DHL Express (Singapore) would also make an open offer to acquire shares of the company in accordance with Securities and Exchange Board of India's takeover regulations, it added.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2004/nov/08dhl.htm

I can never ever access the BT even after 6 nowadays. Says I need to subscribe. No way!

I thought access is available after 6 pm for non-subscribers?

I also noticed ST now requires you to register to read articles! :rant:

ya, but I still cant access it. Dont know why, dont care why...

This story was printed from TODAYonline

More jobs from the West coming to this region

Tuesday • November 9, 2004

LONDON — Reuters is to relocate 50 jobs from its United States and United Kingdom operations.

It will transfer these operations to offices in India's Bangalore, Singapore and Toronto, the United Kingdom's Sunday Times reported.

Most of the jobs involved are editorial, providing further evidence that the trend to reallocate jobs to cheaper bases overseas is spreading, the newspaper reported.

In another news story, Reuter's chief executive Tom Glocer said four-fifths of the analysts who follow the information group are no good and should do something else, the Independent On Sunday reports.

He said that if there were just four or five good analysts covering Reuters, instead of the 20 who now do, then that would be enough, the newspaper reported.

A Reuters spokesperson was unavailable for comment. — Dow Jones

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 09 Nov 2004

SingTel signs up German car giant

SINGAPORE- SingTel has signed a three-year multi-million dollar contract with the BMW Group to provide, manage and support the company's telecommunications network throughout the Asia Pacific and back to the headquarters in Munich.

The technology chosen is a solution based on SingTel's fully managed ConnectPlus network.

SingTel connects BMW offices in Asia Pacific to its Europe headquarters.

Communication between these offices located in various countries is supported by SingTel's suite of data communications services such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay and Private Leased Circuits.

SingTel said it triumphed over stiff competition because of its strong technical solution, capabilities, competitive pricing, extensive presence and reliable infrastructure throughout the Asia Pacific region.

To serve customers with core hub sites out of Europe, SingTel set up its European headquarters in London in 1997.

SingTel today has 32 offices in 16 countries to support its multinational customers worldwide.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 09 November 2004 2305 hrs

Temasek plan to buy stake in Malaysia's Alliance Bank hits snag: report

SINGAPORE : Plans by Temasek Holdings to buy a substantial stake in Malaysia's Alliance Bank may have hit a snag, a report has said.

Temasek has been looking for opportunities to expand in Asia, and there was talk that it was buying into Malaysia's Alliance Bank.

That would have been its first foray into the Malaysian banking sector.

Temasek is reportedly planning to buy a 30 percent stake in Malaysian Plantations, which owns Alliance Bank, for about S$245 million.

But according to the Asian Wall Street Journal, its investment partners are two Malaysian businessmen, Nizam Abdul Razak, and Yahya Awang.

It says that the Malaysian central bank would prefer Temasek to team up with Malaysian institutional or corporate investors instead, rather than individuals.

Still, the article added that the deal isn't likely to be derailed.

It quoted senior government officials as saying that Kuala Lumpur wants the proposed investment to proceed.

When contacted, Temasek declined to comment on the report. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Nov 10, 2004
S'pore keen to boost economic ties with Indonesia
PM Lee hopes for more trade and investment between the two countries
By Paul Jacob
Deputy Political Editor
In Jakarta

SINGAPORE is keen to move forward on economic cooperation with Indonesia and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong holds out hope for greater trade, investment and other flows once businesses see an improvement in the political and investment climate here.

Wrapping up a two-day introductory visit here yesterday, Mr Lee had no hesitation saying that economic cooperation was the area on which the two countries could move forward most quickly.

'The other items, we will manage them and they will make progress. But the main thing we want is to cooperate economically for mutual benefit and to move ahead,' he told the Singapore media.

'If the political climate is right and the investment environment improves, then naturally more projects will be launched and naturally the trade and tourism flows will grow. We are talking about all aspects of economic cooperation.'

Mr Lee, who called on Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, met key legislative leaders and had a free-ranging discussion with senior Indonesian editors.

Yesterday, he held talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and expressed confidence that Indonesia was moving in the right direction.

He said that 'the mood is right for us to work towards improving cooperation and taking another step forward'.

He revealed that economic ministers were already in contact about new and existing areas for joint cooperation. These included working towards an investment guarantee agreement and deepening cooperation in tourism and civil aviation.

Mr Lee noted that the opportunity existed for opening up more flights between Singapore and Indonesia to take advantage of the growth in tourism traffic. Singapore expects to have close to one million tourists from China before long.

There was no reason why Indonesia should not be one of their destinations, including on low-cost carriers.

He noted that there had been 49-cent fares to Phuket from Singapore and that there could be such offers to Jakarta, for instance, which was a similar distance away.

Mr Lee described Indonesia as being a place 'where we know we will be able to work, and where we are confident that our interests run parallel on many issues'.

'The perspectives may not always be identical, but I think the interests are frequently parallel and where they run parallel we will work together,' he said.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid said during talks with Mr Lee yesterday that he hoped to see investments beyond finance and technology, in areas such as agriculture and forestry.

Such investments would be good for a wide swath of Indonesian society, improve their well-being and make it harder for terrorism to gain a foothold, he said.

Asked about investing in new areas, Mr Lee agreed, but said much depended on the political and investment climate.

'It depends on the private sector seeing the opportunities and taking them up,' he said, adding that an investment guarantee agreement would give investors greater confidence.

The Indonesian government was taking steps to improve the investment climate here. As that takes place, 'I'm sure our investment values will grow', he said, adding that businesses had always known Indonesia's potential.

Even during difficult times two years ago, Singapore was still the biggest source of investments in Indonesia, he noted.

Mr Lee was accompanied on his trip by his wife, Ms Ho Ching, Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo and Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang. The team arrived home last night.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 10 Nov 2004

ExxonMobil's top-investor claim challenged

Shell may still hold a slight edge as assets in S'pore are in excess of US$7b

By RONNIE LIM

WHO is the biggest foreign investor in Singapore? ExxonMobil's claim that it is, is under challenge.

For a good many years, Shell, with its Pulau Bukom oil refinery and investment in two petrochemical crackers on Jurong Island, was the undisputed No 1. That is until ExxonMobil emerged, following Exxon's merger with Mobil in 1998.

Most everyone then had assumed the new US entity, with two oil refineries at Pulau Ayer Chawan and Jurong (formerly Mobil's) under its belt, plus a new petrochemical cracker on Jurong Island, was the new leading MNC here. ExxonMobil said as much in a background paper to last week's visit of its chairman and CEO, Lee Raymond, who was here to receive the Public Service Star from the Singapore government.

'ExxonMobil is the single-largest foreign investor in Singapore. ExxonMobil's investment in Singapore stands at US$6.5 billion, including a US$2 billion investment in the Singapore Chemical Plant,' the background brief said.

But it appears that Shell may still hold a slight edge, as assets held by Shell companies in Singapore are 'in excess of US$7 billion' according to figures on its website, which adds that 'total petrochemicals investments alone amount to US$2.4 billion'.

Still, the numbers are pretty close:

Shell's investments here include a 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery, and two petrochemical crackers producing 1.4 million tonnes of ethylene. It also operates 74 petrol stations and employs about 2,000 staff here.

ExxonMobil operates an integrated complex comprising a 580,000 bpd refinery and an 800,000 tonne ethylene cracker. It also runs 77 petrol stations and employs about 2,500.

Both are now looking at investing in another ethylene cracker here - each of which costs an estimated US$1 billion - to meet growing regional demand for petrochemicals. And whoever goes ahead first will surge ahead in the investments race.

'Hopefully, both will,' said one industry official.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 10 November 2004 1959 hrs

Temasek's plans to buy Alliance Bank stake on track: partner
By Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Correspondent Melissa Goh,

KUALA LUMPUR : Plans by Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings to buy a substantial stake in Malaysia's Alliance Bank may well go ahead soon, according Temasek's Malaysian partner, businessman Nizam Razak.

Speaking to reporters at a company function with Temasek Holdings, he refuted recent newspaper reports that there has been a bureaucratic snag to the deal.

He says Malaysia's central bank may give the greenlight before the end of the year.

The deal will mark the first investment by Temasek into Malaysia's banking sector.

Temasek is reportedly planning to buy a 30 percent stake in Malaysian Plantations, which owns Alliance Bank, for about S$245 million.

But recent reports have suggested that the deal may fall through because Malaysia's central bank had preferred Temasek to team up with Malaysian institutional or corporate investors, rather than individuals.

Two of those individuals were heart surgeon Yahya Awang and businessman Nizam Razak.

And Mr Nizam has come out to refute any suggestions that the deal would be scuttled.

Said Mr Nizam, "I don't know about the snag. You have to ask the authorities. It will be approved hopefully sometime by the end of the year."

Temasek CEO Ho Ching, who was also at the same event on Wednesday, declined to comment on the Alliance Bank deal.

Sources say Temasek, which has been looking for opportunities to expand in Asia, may be switching Malaysian partners in order to meet Bank Negara's requirements and push through the deal that has been in limbo for months. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 10 November 2004 2113 hrs

Temasek makes first foray into Malaysian REIT market
By Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Correspondent Melissa Goh

KUALA LUMPUR : Investment firm Temasek Holdings has made its first foray into the Malaysian real estate investment trust market.

Its Mapletree Capital Management subsidiary has signed a deal with Malaysia's CIMB -- a unit of the country's second-biggest financial group Commerce Asset-Holding.

Together, they will form a joint venture fund to invest mostly in Malaysian properties.

The JV is expected to yield some 7 to 10 percent return on investment a year.

Mapletree and CIMB are launching Malaysia's first private institutional property fund.

It is also Mapletree's first major foray outside Singapore.

The fund, called CM1, will have an initial size of more than 1 billion ringgit and is expected to be rolled out within six months.

It will raise funds from local and foreign institutional investors, particularly from Europe and the Middle East.

The signing of the joint venture was witnessed by Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Ng Yen Yen and Temasek CEO Ho Ching.

CIMB will hold a 60 percent stake in joint venture while Mapletree will hold the remaining 40 percent.

Malaysia has welcomed the deal as paving the way for closer bilateral ties.

"This cross border joint venture promotes closer economic ties between two nations. It's another milestone to mark the even closer geopolitical, social and business ties that we share. It also reflects the way forward for the two nations," Deputy Finance Minister Ng said.

Mapletree CEO Hiew Yoon Khong told Channel NewsAsia the initiative is in line with Mapletree's efforts to become a top flight property fund manager in the region.

The fund will invest mainly in Malaysian properties, with about 20 percent to be invested in other Southeast Asian countries. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

SingTel biggest single shareholder in Globe

By CATHY ROSE A. GARCIA
TODAY Reporter

Singapore Telecom International Pte. Ltd. (SingTel), Southeast Asia’s largest telecoms provider, has acquired majority ownership of the country’s second largest telecommunications firm Globe Telecom Inc.

Ayala Corp., one of the country’s oldest and most diversified conglomerates, sold to SingTel 7 million common shares representing a 5-percent stake in Globe for a total of P6.65 billion. Each Globe share was sold at a price of P950 to SingTel.

The company said it will use the proceeds from the sale to pay down part of its debt at the parent company level. The move is expected to generate some P730 million in interest savings per annum, after it partially pays its debts.

With the transaction, SingTel increased its ownership of Globe to 45 percent from 40 percent, while Ayala Corp. reduced its stake in Globe to 35 percent from 40 percent. The remaining 20 percent of Globe is publicly owned.

Ayala Corp. said the shares it sold to SingTel were part of the block of 16.04 million shares worth P10.9 billion that it acquired from Deutsche Telekom in October 2003.

“We felt that selling the block we acquired from Deutsche Telekom is a more permanent solution to trimming the company’s debt level, while not substantially diminishing our interest in a high growth company,” Ayala Corp. president and chief executive officer Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said in a statement.

Last October, Deutsche Telekom sold its 24.8-percent stake in Globe to Ayala Corp. and SingTel, as it cut debts. SingTel bought 60 percent of Deutsche Telekom’s stake in Globe or 21.64-million shares at P680 each, while Ayala acquired 16.04-million shares.

Before the exit of Deutsche Telekom, SingTel owned 29.1 percent of Globe, and Ayala had 32.7 percent.

Despite the decline in its ownership stake in Globe, Ayala Corp. is still expected to take the lead in managing and setting the direction for the company, with SingTel.

Ayala said its strong partnership with SingTel has allowed Globe to become a pioneer in digital technology and other mobile communications services.

With 56 million mobile subscribers as of end-September, SingTel currently has the largest mobile subscriber base in Asia, outside of China. Aside from Globe, SingTel has strategic investments in Australia’s leading integrated communications company Optus, Thailand’s Advanced Info Service, India’s Bharti Group and Indonesia’s Telkomsel.

Nov 11, 2004
Garment company relocates to Jurong

AS SINGAPORE'S free trade agreement with the United States kicked in, Ghim Li swung into action.

Singapore's largest garment-making company decided to relocate its knitting plant from Johor to Singapore to take advantage of provisions that allow for duty-free exports to the US - as long as the garments are made here from fabric that is procured from the US or produced locally with American yarn.

Early this year, Ghim Li moved its largely-automated knitting operations to its Jurong dyeing and finishing plant - in the process rattling the belief that manufacturing has no future in Singapore.

The company - which sells to big American department stores like Macy's and Wal-Mart - is also expanding capacity at its fabric mill, again to jockey for tariff savings that come from using Singapore-made fabric.

Exports are expected to rake in around US$200 million (S$330 million) this year, said Ghim Li chief executive GK Soh.

'But we enjoy benefits under the FTA only if our product is singularly made in Singapore,' he told The Straits Times.

'The demand today is for embellished clothing. But the embellishments, such as embroidery, have to be done elsewhere in the region because such skills are scarce in Singapore.

'In which case, the clothing can no longer have duty-free access to the US market.

'Only about 1 per cent of our export volume would enjoy direct benefit under the FTA this year.'

The textiles and apparel sector is seeking a review of such constraints in the 10-month-old FTA, said the president of the local Textile and Fashion Federation, Mr Patrick Lee. \-- BHAGYASHREE GAREKAR

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Nov 11, 2004
US medical firm comes to S'pore

MEDICAL electronics maker Welch Allyn set up a research and development centre in Singapore in September and expects to benefit from the free trade agreement once it begins exporting to the United States.

The privately-owned upstate New York firm with US$500 million (S$830 million) in annual turnover plans to develop patient monitors here - devices that doctors use to measure vital signs like heartbeat rate, respiration, oxygenation levels in the brain etc.

Among the draws for the firm, said General Manager Robin Tan, was Singapore's guarantee for the protection of intellectual property rights.

'Definitely, that was the magnet. That's why we set up here instead of in China or any other part of the world,' he said.

He figures that in 'two to three years', the products will be ready to roll from research to production.

In this phase, the firm will outsource the production of its devices to other firms in Singapore, he said.

'In two to three years, we would look at exports worth US$35 million from products developed and manufactured here,' he said.

'The FTA will enable our clients in America to save on import duties of about 10 per cent that they would otherwise have to shell out.'.

The FTA will also let the firm's American proprietors repatriate earnings at lower tax rates, he said. \-- BHAGYASHREE GAREKAR

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Nov 11, 2004
FTA gives US-S'pore trade a boost
Total trade from January to July has increased by 10 per cent
By Eugene Low
Us Correspondent
In Washington

SINGAPORE'S trade with the United States has enjoyed a 10 per cent jump, boosted in part by the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries which went into effect on Jan 1.p> Total trade from January to July between the US and Singapore was worth US$20.3 billion (S$34 billion) - a 10 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Business associations and industry groups in the United States say the FTA has made Singapore a more attractive investment destination by raising its profile among American companies looking to expand into Asia.

Singapore, in turn, stands to gain from any rise in US direct investment which helps boost the creation of jobs and fresh business opportunities.

'There has been an increase in US business interest in Singapore. We have been getting more inquiries from US companies keen on expanding into Singapore,' said Mr Franklin Vargo, vice-president of international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers.

The association has 14,000 members and represents 90 per cent of US manufacturing by value.

The FTA immediately gave 78.7 per cent of imports from Singapore duty-free entry into the US. This will be raised to 92 per cent within four years.

Singapore's tariff savings have been estimated at S$200 million to S$300 million.

In return, all US exports were given immediate duty-free entry into the Singapore market.

While it is difficult to distinguish how much of the increase in trade was due to the FTA and how much was due to Singapore's improving economy, experts agree that the pact with the US has had positive impact on trade.

In fact, some say that Singapore's strong economic recovery after last year's Sars crisis was partly due to the gains it has enjoyed from FTAs with New Zealand, Australia, the European Free Trade Association and Japan.

The FTA with the US is expected to boost Singapore's economic growth by 0.5 per cent a year.

Mr Vargo told The Straits Times that the FTA has changed the perceptions of some US companies towards Asia.

'For those companies that did not do business in the region, Singapore has now become a more familiar name,' he said.

Mr Myron Brilliant, the US Chamber of Commerce's vice-president for Asia, agreed.

'Our members are asking about the FTA and are showing more interest in investing in Singapore,' he said.

Mr Ernie Bower, former president of the US-Asean Business Council, said the FTA - a first for the US with an Asian country - gave Singapore a vital 'first-mover advantage'.

'I see the agreement as having a major impact. Singapore is now at the top of the list for US companies that are starting to return to Asia,' he said.

'I expect to see a big bounce in US investment in Singapore.'

Mr Bower, who was among the advocates for a US-Singapore trade pact, said the agreement provides American businesses with an easy entry point for the rest of Asia.

'It emphasises world-class protection for US companies in Singapore. This makes the island a good starting point for doing business with Asean, India and China,' he said.

Democrat Congressman Solomon Ortiz, who lobbied hard for the trade deal, expressed satisfaction at its implementation so far.

'I've not heard any complaints about the FTA as yet. I think it has been working well,' he said.

He disagreed with protectionist detractors who claim that such trade deals result in US job losses.

'By offering US companies a larger market, the FTA with Singapore helps create jobs here,' he said.

But the implementation of the FTA is by no means over.

The agreement broke new ground by its inclusion of provisions to protect intellectual property rights for electronically distributed media.

However, Singapore still has to work out the legal implications of these provisions, said Mr Steve Metalitz, senior vice-president of the International Intellectual Property Alliance.

'By including such obligations to protect copyright, the FTA was a positive step. Now, a lot of companies are waiting to see how it will be implemented,' he added.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 11 Nov 2004

German firm unveils special watch for S'pore's 40th year

By LARRY WEE

GERMAN watch company Glasshutte Original (GO) is finalising arrangements for a very special watch to commemorate Singapore's 40th year of independence next year.

Company president Frank Muller revealed in a press conference here yesterday that 2005 also marks the 160th anniversary for his company, which is a member of Swiss watch giant the Swatch Group.

He said: 'Singapore is an important market for us, and to pay tribute to this young and dynamic nation, we would like to offer an exclusive 40-piece edition housing an exclusive in-house movement from our company.'

What will make the watch extra-special is his plan to display an extract of a vintage Singapore map on a porcelain dial made by the famous Meissen factory, which is close to Dresden and the factory of GO - in what was once called East Germany. Current thinking is to house the dial in a mixture of cases - 2 in platinum, 10 in pink gold and 28 in stainless steel.

GO is talking with local officials here to finalise the details of the project, Mr Muller revealed. Map copyright issues will also have to be resolved, before details can be discussed with the porcelain experts of Meissen - though he did showcase some of the options which could be considered.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nov 11, 2004
Temasek likely to lead S'pore's investment charge into Malaysia
By Audrey Tan
Assistant Money Editor

SINGAPORE'S investments in Malaysia are likely to climb in the years ahead, reversing a long period of decline in cross-border business relations, analysts said.

Investment holding company Temasek Holdings is expected to lead this charge into Malaysia, as it is now looking to divert more of its investments to Asia.

Malaysia stands to benefit from this reallocation of Temasek's portfolio, analysts said.

Temasek subsidiary Mapletree yesterday announced plans to increase its Malaysian portfolio by setting up a joint-venture real-estate fund management company with Commerce International Merchant Bankers.

Earlier this year, Temasek also bought a 5 per cent stake in Telekom Malaysia, and said it was negotiating to purchase a substantial stake in Malaysian Plantations, the parent company of Alliance Bank.

Analysts read these deals as a revitalisation of business ties after the change of political guard in Malaysia last year.

Mr Rajeev Malik, an economist at investment bank JPMorgan Chase, said: 'In the past, the political climate was not that conducive for investments by high-profile Singapore companies.

'With the reversal of this, there are opportunities to be capitalised on.'

The economies of Singapore and Malaysia have always been inextricably tied through trade and investment flows.

Malaysia is Singapore's largest trading partner, while Singapore is Malaysia's second-largest trading partner after the United States.

However, investment ties have weakened over the years. Malaysia now accounts for less than 9 per cent of Singapore's cumulative direct investment abroad, down from 60 per cent two decades ago, DBS economist Chua Hak Bin said in a recent report.

'But the tide appears to be shifting,' he said.

'There is good reason to believe that the structural decline in bilateral investment may be arrested, and even reversed, over the coming years.'

In tracing the sometimes-troubled business relationship between the two countries, many analysts and corporate-watchers still point to SingTel's scuttled deal to acquire a significant stake in Time dotCom back in 2000.

The deal collapsed with no reasons given, although it later emerged that political concerns over national security had won the day.

A Malaysian columnist even went as far as to dub the SingTel bid an act of 'colonialism' by the Singapore Government towards a Malaysian company.

JPMorgan's Mr Malik noted that smaller Singapore companies have continued to invest in Malaysia over the years, especially in setting up manufacturing facilities to complement their Singapore factories.

Still, investments by Singapore government-linked companies tended to be touchy. 'It was seen as an extension of Singapore's national investment,' he said.

Besides the change of political guard, the rise of China and India may also have led Malaysia to accept that competitive industrialisation can be self-defeating, beggar-thy-neighbour and costly, said DBS' Dr Chua.

Temasek's recent acquisitions are leading the way and breaking new ground in previously sensitive areas, he added.

The investment company also said recently that it wants to increase its investments in Asia to one-third of its portfolio, from around 17 per cent now.

DBS estimates that Temasek could invest another $10 billion to $15 billion in Asean over the next five to 10 years, in sectors such as transport, logistics, financial services, property, energy and resources.

'Malaysia stands to be a prime beneficiary,' it added.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Nov 12, 2004
S'pore-India trade pact given final touches
It will be signed in two weeks; India expects S'poreans to pour in extra US$2b next year
By Pranay Gupte
Senior Writer

TWO years after Singapore and India initiated the idea of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, their top officials yesterday applied the final touches to a historic pact under which Singapore will invest billions of dollars in India's infrastructure, while the latter will obtain greater access for its professionals in Singapore's burgeoning services industries.

'We see this as a very important pillar in the creation of a new integrated economic zone in South-east Asia,' Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang told The Straits Times after meeting his Indian counterpart, Mr Kamal Nath, over luncheon negotiations at the Raffles Hotel.

He praised Mr Nath for his persistence in pushing the agreement, echoing a perception in poverty-mired India where 52-year-old Mr Nath is viewed as a member of a new generation of politician-technocrat, relentlessly promoting economic development and attracting foreign investment through regional alliances.

'This agreement is going to be a pathfinder for Asean. I see it as drawing on the strengths of both countries,' Mr Lim said.

Those strengths include the ability and desire of Singaporean investors to enter the Indian market more vigorously.

With its current investment of US$1.5 billion (S$2.4 billion) in Indian industries, Singapore is India's biggest Asian investor, and the third largest after the United States and Mauritius.

Mr Nath said he expected Singaporeans to pour an additional US$2 billion into Indian technology, manufacturing, financial services and aviation next year.

Such financial participation is particularly welcomed by India as its foreign direct investment from Western sources has declined to US$3 billion annually.

Since he assumed office in May, Mr Nath has made the finalising of the agreement a top priority.

He said the new agreement, known by its acronym Ceca, would be signed by Prime Ministers Lee Hsien Loong and Manmohan Singh in about two weeks, after this month's Asean summit in Laos.

Mr Nath flew to Singapore from The Hague, where he had attended an Indo-European Union Summit.

It was his second meeting with Mr Lim in three weeks. They last met when Mr Lim visited New Delhi.

Because of Mr Nath's closeness to Prime Minister Singh, Singaporean officials seemed encouraged that India would wrap up the agreement soon.

Yesterday was Deepavali, the Hindu New Year holiday, but Mr Nath wanted to meet Mr Lim to expedite Ceca's remaining details.

These included the protection of foreign investments in India and strengthening the regulatory framework.

Both ministers said they were satisfied with the manner in which these questions had been resolved.

Another sticky issue was also resolved satisfactorily.

It concerned the rule of origin, under which goods from third countries are sent through transit centres such as Singapore without much alteration.

Under Ceca, Singapore will be required to provide 40 per cent value-added properties to the goods it ships to India, and also substantial transformation in things like packaging.

Mr Heng Swee Keat, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, noted that the protection of foreign investments in India was being codified for the first time through Ceca.

'Our own aim is to deepen economic ties significantly with India,' he said, adding that International Enterprise Singapore is likely to accelerate investment missions to India.

Ceca also sets up a special investment facility for India.

Mr Anthony de Sa, Joint Secretary in the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said what set Ceca apart from other trade agreements that Singapore and India had with other countries was that it covered not only trade but also investment and services.

Bilateral trade between India and Singapore is around US$5 billion a year, with Singapore enjoying a trading edge of about US$2 billion.

It imports electrical components, chemicals and manufactured goods from India, for the most part, while India obtains finished electronics and pharmaceuticals.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Nov 12, 2004
S'pore-Thai push for faster Asean integration
They plan to use this month's Asean summit to renew their drive for economic linkages
By Chua Mui Hoong
Senior Correspondent
In Bangkok

SINGAPORE and Thailand will renew their push for a faster pace of economic integration in Asean at the Asean Summit in Laos this month.

There was a 'meeting of minds' that there was some 'urgency' to do this, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Singaporean reporters after meetings with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and delegation officials.

'We feel that time is pressing... We are aiming for an Asean Economic Community by 2020, but our free trade agreements with China, Korea and so on, are around 2009, 2010,' he said.

'If we get our own integration done by 2020, that's really a long time and too slow. We should move faster.'

This was a view shared by Mr Thaksin. In a welcome address over lunch, he said: 'We will continue to adopt the 'Two-Plus-X approach' to put Asean on the fast track in implementing new initiatives towards an Asean community, such as an open sky policy.'

Both sides are keen promoters of the 'Two-Plus-X' approach, where two Asean countries can move faster to cooperate in certain sectors, and others in the 10-member grouping join in when they feel ready.

Air cargo services is one area Singapore and Thailand, together with Brunei, have agreed to liberalise.

Asean leaders signed an action plan last year to transform the region of nearly 500 million people into an economic community by 2020. Asean countries have total annual trade worth US$720 billion (S$1.19 trillion).

Since then, there has been a flurry of activity. In September, Asean economic ministers agreed to liberalise 10 sectors, including agriculture, tourism and health care.

Work is ongoing to cobble together a Vientiane action plan for the Asean Summit, which Singapore hopes will consist of 'substantive' moves to push Asean integration ahead .

Mr Lee said: 'We have to aim to move before 2020. Some pieces we know what we want: free up all non-tariff barriers, have a proper dispute resolution mechanism and closer economic integration so that trade, investment and people flows can respond more readily to economic forces. We can do these progressively over the next few years.'

Mr Lee, accompanied by Mrs Lee, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and Acting Second Finance Minister Raymond Lim, began his introductory visit here yesterday morning, arriving in 35-degree heat to a welcome from a 300-strong guard of honour.

After a 20-minute meeting with Mr Thaksin, deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop and Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, both sides were joined by senior officials for a delegation meeting.

They also exchanged notes on security issues. Defence ties will get a boost when the two defence ministers sign an agreement on closer military cooperation today.

Mr Thaksin also explained the security situation and developments on the unrest in southern Thailand.

On bilateral relations, the two leaders plan to arrange a 'retreat' meeting in Thailand after the Thai elections, due by February, similar to those Mr Thaksin used to hold with former-prime minister Goh Chok Tong. Mr Thaksin is due to visit Singapore to deliver a lecture.

President S R Nathan will make a state visit to Thailand in January, the first ever by a Singaporean president to the country.

Yesterday, Mr Lee also had an audience with Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the palace in Hua Hin. He leaves for home today.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 12 Nov 2004

Singapore-India trade seen surging past $10b

India has overtaken China as Republic's fastest-growing trade partner

By DANIEL BUENAS

(SINGAPORE) India is often billed as a key driver of Asia's future economic growth, but the popular perception remains that the Chinese market is drawing more Singaporean investment and that Chinese companies have been making the lion's share of investment in Singapore.

However, Indian companies are increasingly being drawn to the Singapore market, and vice versa.

'Indian companies form the fourth largest foreign corporate contingent in Singapore, after the US, UK and Japan,' says Wong Peng Wai, director of Asia Pacific operations at the Economic Development Board. 'As at end-2003, there were 1,441 Indian companies operating here, a phenomenal 18 per cent jump from 2002. A large part of these are in the IT and software development businesses.'

Trade figures, too, show that India is growing in significance for the Singapore economy. Singapore was India's fourth largest import source - after the US, Belgium and China - in 2003. And the sub-continent was Singapore's 14th largest export destination.

'In the first six months of 2004, India has overtaken China as Singapore's fastest growing trading partner,' Mr Wong says. 'Bilateral trade between Singapore and India is likely to surge past $10 billion for 2004, based on existing trends.'

One factor which could account for this increase in activity is Singapore's large network of free trade agreements (FTAs), according to Mr Wong.

'For those (Indian companies) ready to export to overseas markets, there is much potential for companies in the automotive components, chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors to leverage on the expanded economic space of Singapore through our FTAs,' he says.

According to figures from trade development agency International Enterprise Singapore, total trade between India and Singapore rose to $8.43 billion between January and September. That's a 54.6 per cent increase over the same period last year. Between January and June, approved foreign direct investment (FDI) into India by Singapore companies was US$57.5 million, making Singapore the country's third largest investor.

In 2002, Singapore was India's eighth largest investor, with US$82 million in approved FDI. It was also India's sixth largest investor in 2003, with US$48 million in approved FDI.

India is also an important source of tourism revenue for Singapore. Last year, there were almost 309,500 visitor arrivals from India, accounting for $409.5 million in spending, according to figures by the Singapore Tourism Board.

In comparison, although there were almost 568,500 visitor arrivals from China during the same period, spending came to only $269.9 million.

Even so, India pales in comparison to China in terms of trade and investment. Total Singapore-China trade between January and September this year was almost $38 billion, a 47 per cent increase from the $25.8 billion in the same period last year.

Investment into China from Singapore also trumped India by a huge margin, with US$2.17 billion in approved FDI in the first six months of the year.

Shabbir Hassanbhai, immediate past chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that one reason for the disparity is that China and India have different ways of valuing FDI.

'Having said that, it's not to say that India is attracting more FDI, it's definitely not,' he says. 'In terms of why investment is not at the same pace as what China is seeing, I think China has captured the imagination as the manufacturing base of the world.'

Mr Hassanbhai adds that while China is 'truly opening up', India has taken a more cautious and conservative approach.

Vikas Goel, chairman and managing director of eSys Technologies, a homegrown distributor of computer hard-disks, believes China is also more 'comfortable' culturally for Singapore companies, although India will be the 'next logical market' for Singapore-based companies to explore.

Looking ahead, Mr Hassanbhai believes it is only a matter of time before India catches up with China. 'The trend is there, but it's hard to say when it will eventually happen,' he says. 'India and China are the two big giants in Asia, and I think the question really depends of where investors have the greatest comfort operating in.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 12 Nov 2004

The Indian connection
As Singapore and India work up to a major economic agreement, the High Commissioner to India talks to AJOY SEN about some of the opportunities

SINGAPORE'S High Commissioner to India is optimistic about a favourable outcome soon to negotiations for an economic cooperation agreement that is expected to open up substantial business opportunities for the two countries.

'We appear to be back on track and I am optimistic that we would be able to conclude the negotiations for the Ceca soon,' See Chak Mun said in an interview with The Business Times on Wednesday.

Although he said it would be inappropriate to comment on specific details at this point of the negotiations, Mr See said the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, better known as Ceca, would recognise the importance of greater connectivity between Singapore and India.

This greater connectivity would facilitate the growth of tourism, trade and good relations, he said.

But he cautioned that it would be unwise for bureaucrats to specifically predict what the private sector would do. 'The role of government is to create a policy framework that would provide the private sector with more options, and to facilitate trade and investment.'

He said Ceca would include provisions for a Services Agreement and a Mutual Recognition Agreement that would enable India to leverage on Singapore's position as an Asian-Pacific hub for marketing and consultancy services.

Singapore is home to over 6,000 MNCs. Close to 200 fund management firms and 150 venture capitalists operate out of country and manage over US$200 billion.

Last year, Singapore's trade with India amounted to US$4.4 billion, an increase of 16.2 per cent over 2002.

'We estimate that Singapore's cumulative investments in India is US$1.17 billion in 2003, and this does not include those which go through Mauritius.

'I understand that we are now India's third-largest foreign investor for the first half of 2004,' said Mr See.

'It is difficult to project how trade and investment would grow after signing the Ceca. But the stronger the commitments to facilitate and protect investments and open up trade, the greater the growth,' he noted.

Asked about the new markets that Singapore is likely to gain through Ceca, he said one growing trend is the leveraging by Indian companies on Singapore's connectivity with the rest of the Asia-Pacific region to grow their international business.

There are already 1,400 Indian companies in Singapore. The top 20 Indian IT companies, like Satyam and Tata Consultancy Services, have already established themselves in Singapore to service MNCs and local businesses in the region.

On the major Singapore companies which plan to set up business in India, Mr See said the infrastructure sector is one segment that is of interest to Singapore businesses.

'Companies like Ascendas and Suburna are active in many industrial parks and townships projects throughout India,' he noted.

Keppel plans to build a township in Bangalore. Changi Airport has also tied up with the Bharti group to bid for the upgrade of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Commending the work of the officials involved, he said: 'Both India and Singapore made an effort to consult our respective private sector, as well as umbrella organisations such as the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India, and the Singapore Business Federation in Singapore.'

Mr See said there was an understandable slowdown in the pace of the negotiations after a new government was elected in India recently.

'Our Indian colleagues explained that they needed to brief the new political leaders on the benefits and the trade-offs that were being negotiated in the Ceca,' said Mr See.

He also addressed the issue of New Delhi's concerns that under Ceca, third-country manufacturers would re-route their goods through Singapore and dump them in India.

The commissioner said India's concerns arise from some bad experiences that it had encountered in the past with other countries.

'Therefore, Singapore understands the caution of the Indian negotiators. However, we have taken pains to demonstrate that India's concerns are appreciated but groundless,' he said. There will be a strong Rules of Origin provision to ensure that third-country manufactures are not simply re-routed through Singapore and dumped into the Indian market, he added.

'More importantly, Singapore has an excellent track record in this area, and it may be seen from our existing bilateral free trade agreements with Australia, Japan, the US, and other countries, that Singapore does not abuse its FTAs,' Mr See said.

Answering another question, Mr See said that, admittedly, India's bureaucracy and the level of infrastructure have deterred some investors.

However, he said the Indian bureaucracy has definitely changed for the better since the days of reform.

'I am optimistic that reforms will continue, and I hope the Ceca will be part of this process.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

more about CECA-agreement.
:)
Singapore to spur trade with Delhi

SINGAPORE: Singapore and India want to complete talks on a trade agreement by the end of this month after negotiators ironed out key issues at their latest meeting, the trade ministry said yesterday.

Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang met his Indian counterpart Kamal Nath in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues in their Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA), initiated two years ago.

"The ministers reached broad agreement on a wide range of substantive outstanding items," the ministry said.

Among others, the agreement aims to ease barriers for Singaporean firms to invest in India's fast-growing economy and give greater access for Indian professionals in Singapore's services industries.

India will cut tariffs on its imports from Singapore by 80 per cent after the pact is signed, gradualling reducing them to zero over five years.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Riau islands could be key

PM Lee says Singapore, Indonesia will benefit from pulling in MNCs

Weekend • November 13, 2004

Derrick A Paulo
derrick@newstoday.com.sg

To many Singaporeans, Batam and Bintan may simply be a weekend getaway.

But to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the two Riau islands could help Singapore rise above the China challenge.

"The MNCs tell us that if the conditions are right in the Riau islands, Singapore, plus the Riau islands, can outperform the Pearl River Delta," he said in an interview with senior members of the Indonesia Editors' Club.

And to make the point to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mr Lee brought him a gift when he visited Jakarta this week — a DVD recorder — according to the transcript released yesterday by the PM's Office.

Made in Singapore, but with components from Batam, the recorder, under Singapore's free-trade agreement with the United States, qualifies for tax-free entry to America, Mr Lee explained to the Indonesian media.

"I think that (Dr Yudhoyono) took the point and I suggested to him that if there's an opportunity, he should promote closer trade ties with the US. He said 'yes'. He's thinking over that seriously," he said.

"My preference is that Indonesia makes it attractive for multinationals to invest in Batam and Bintan — bring in investments, create jobs, exports. Batam and Indonesia benefit, Singapore benefits."

For that to happen, though, the Riau islands must become more competitive and do more than just export raw materials. Labour legislation, administration and infrastructure must all be up to scratch.

"If you don't do that, then you will be in trouble … If you don't do that, the MNCs go to the Pearl River Delta, or they go to Chennai, to Bangalore. You lose, we lose," he said.

With more options for companies now, this is good reason for Singapore and Indonesia to work together within Asean, said Mr Lee, who disagreed with the Indonesian media's view that "Singapore's leadership is always pursuing a zero-sum game".

The latter point was a variation of a theme that was frequently raised during the interview.

"You have a bunch of smart lawyers in Singapore and our diplomats always carry Oxford dictionaries when they have to negotiate with you," said one editor.

In response, Mr Lee said Singapore has always tried to prosper together with the region, but that there was a necessity for countries to move individually.

"We are 10 countries in Asean now. If we want to move together, we will not move at Indonesia's pace. We may move at the pace of the slowest. Are you sure you want to do that?" replied Mr Lee, who cited the Two-Plus-X approach that Singapore and Thailand prefer.

As for the perception of Singapore as "tough bargainers" who "don't see the common interests", Mr Lee put that down to karma.

"We have to work as a small country in South-east Asia. You are much bigger than us. Malaysia is quite a lot bigger than us," he said. "If we are your creature or Malaysia's creature, then we are finished.

"We have to stand up for ourselves and in a reasonable, justified way, look after our interests while cooperating with our friends. That has to be the philosophy of one island. If you're 18,000 islands, you have a different perspective. We accept that."

Mr Lee also tackled two of the emotive bilateral issues between the two countries.

On an extradition treaty, he said "it will take a while, but it will be done". But he warned that there are many places in the world for corrupt individuals to run and park their money besides Singapore.

He added that establishing a clean system in Indonesia was the priority of its government, and doubted that Singapore was a major part of that task even if a treaty did help.

Mr Lee also debated with the editors about whose job it was to determine if the sand being used for reclamation in Singapore was illegal.

"It's not our business to go and decide whether something left another country legally or illegally. Otherwise, you will say we are claiming extra-territorial rights," said Mr Lee.

"It's not possible for us to police the rules and laws of Indonesia on behalf of Indonesia."

He added that since Indonesia has placed an embargo on sand, Singapore would defer its projects, as "they are not urgent".

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

silly..I wonder why the embargo on sand is still on..I'm sure Sg is paying for it anyways

Business Times - 13 Nov 2004

Western Union expands presence in S'pore

It taps into market for migrant workers' remittances

By CHUANG PECK MING

(SINGAPORE) Western Union, the money transfer subsidiary of US-based First Data Corporation, is stepping up its presence in Singapore and Asia to tap into the increasing flow of money that migrant workers send home. The company, which boasts that it has captured 14 per cent of the US$151 billion global remittance market, has added more Western Union agency locations in China, Singapore, Malaysia and India - countries that are growing sources of, or destinations for, migrant workers.

'We are seeing huge growth in the flow of migrant workers in the Asia-Pacific - growth faster than most other areas,' said Western Union's Asia-Pacific managing director Ian Marsh.

In Singapore, Western Union has opened seven new locations at SingPost since September. This raises the number of Western Union agency locations here - most of them franchise tie-ups with Hersing Corporation - from four to 49 in just four years. Filipina maids make up a big chunk of Western Union's business in Singapore, but Mr Marsh declined to give figures. Overseas Indians and Chinese are also becoming big Western Union clients here.

Little India and Chinatown are two of Western Union's flagship locations in Singapore. The other is Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road, where Filipino migrant workers congregate.

The Chinese offer Western Union a very huge market to tap - and it's not just migrant workers but also students that the company is eyeing.

According to Mr Marsh, China's remittance market is estimated to be US$11 billion a year.

There are 45 million Chinese nationals living outside China, and almost 500,000 Chinese students abroad. China entered Western Union's top 50-country list in terms of transactions for the first time in the first three months of this year - and remains on the list, he said.

The company is therefore set to expand aggressively in China. Agent locations there jumped 90 per cent in August from a year ago through its partnership with China Post and Agricultural Bank of China.

In India, banks representing Western Union have increased from six to 15 in just a year.

Across the Causeway in Malaysia, the company tied up with Pos Malaysia in August to offer money transfer service in 30 outlets - and this is only the beginning.

Mr Marsh said Pos Malaysia will expand the service to more than 170 locations by the year-end and add 200 locations in 2005.

Worldwide, Western Union now has about 200,000 agent locations in over 195 countries.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 15 November 2004 1800 hrs

Mitsubishi Heavy expands Singapore presence

SINGAPORE : Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is expanding its presence in Singapore.

The Japanese heavy machinery maker will set up Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Singapore next month by upgrading a part of its representative office here.

Mitsubishi Heavy is aiming to double the amount of annual orders in Singapore to 30 to 40 billion yen -- or up to S$63 million -- within two to three years.

The Singapore unit will be part of a series of subsidiaries to be set up around the world, including in South Korea, India and Brazil.

Mitsubishi Heavy is aiming to expand its sales overseas under a mid-term business plan.

It is targeting export orders worth 1.5 trillion yen by the business year ending March 2008.

Setting up more units will bring the number of Mitsubishi Heavy's overseas subsidiaries and affiliates to 55. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Nov 16, 2004
Tap region's 'cultural DNA' to get new Asian feel
Minister calls on Asian nations to cooperate to grow creative sector
By Clarissa Oon

WITH Asia's creative industries gaining global attention, the time is ripe to work together to strengthen its people, platforms and partnerships in this area.

Dr Lee Boon Yang, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, proposed this at the 2nd Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum in Hong Kong yesterday.

Noting the region's diversity of cultures and wealth of heritage, he said 'the challenge is to tap our omnipresent cultural DNA to launch a new distinctive Asian feel in our lifestyle, products and services'.

He saw as a breakthrough the fact that films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero had achieved box office success and critical acclaim in the West, and that four of the eight award winners at this year's Cannes Film Festival were from East Asia.

He also singled out Korean electronics giant Samsung for its dominance at the recent Annual Design Awards, given out by the Industrial Designers Society Of America.

Dr Lee said Singapore's first priority was the nurturing of creative individuals, as part of a $200 million injection into the sector over the next five years.

This can be seen in the arts, media and design programmes now on offer in tertiary institutions, as well as government-initiated training programmes under the likes of Media 21 and the DesignSingapore Council.

For wider cultural exposure, he suggested a series of annual Asia Creative Youth Workshops, in which young people can be mentored by the region's best artists, designers and media practitioners.

Dr Lee added that 'there will be increasing demand for platforms in Asia of global stature to provide accessible opportunities for our talents to shine'.

He proposed that Asian countries develop regional showcases along the lines of his ministry's Creative Youth Xchange. Its inaugural awards in August were well received with 65 entries in the arts, design and media from all over the region.

He also proposed partnership in developing Asian cultural capital and expressed hope that countries could go beyond memorandums of understanding on arts and media co-productions. By doing so, they could encompass the entire spectrum of activities in the creative industries.

Dr Lee was one of more than 60 Asian cultural ministers and senior government officials who attended the event. Organised by the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the four-day forum ends tomorrow.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

babystan03,.its 7.36AM in Singapore..are you like us vampires who only sleep on daytime?:);)

babystan03,.its 7.36AM in Singapore..are you like us vampires who only sleep on daytime?:);)

Nope I'm not.......:yes:

Guess that makes me human......:lol:

The New Paper - 16 Nov 2004

Hello, Middle East

-Region is S'pore's sixth-largest trading partner
-Potential boom in telecom, IT sectors

IT'S booming in the Middle East.

By 2008, spending on telecom and IT services in the region, as well as North Africa, is expected to grow from about US$25 billion ($41 billion) to between US$55 and US$60 billion.

'Mobile subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa grew to 38.8 million at the end of 2003, an increase of 40.1 per cent on 2002,' a senior analyst at EMC World Cellular Database told The Straits Times.

It is expected to rise to 51.9 million by end-2004, particularly due to 'rapid subscriber growth in the North African markets of Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria.'

The boom has also been fuelled by Middle Eastern governments which are starting to open up state-run enterprises for privatisation.

Apart from promoting greater efficiency and creating jobs, privatisation helps to attract foreign direct investment.

All this is good news for Singapore.

With a trade volume of more than $25 billion, the Middle East is now Singapore's sixth-largest trading partner.

This is up 8.7 per cent from 2002, when the region was Singapore's seventh-largest partner, says the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Singapore concluded its first Free Trade Agreement in the Middle East with Jordan and it is expected to come into force at the end of the year.

First rounds of FTA negotiations with Kuwait and Qatar are also scheduled for the end of this year.

Egypt and Bahrain have also agreed to enter into FTA discussions with Singapore.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

S'pore growth eases to 7.5% in Q3

Wednesday • November 17, 2004

THE growth of the Singapore economy eased to 7.5 per cent in the third quarter, from 12.5 per cent in the second quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced this morning.

The growth momentum, on an annualised quarter-on-quarter basis, declined by 3 per cent, after the 11.9 per cent rise in the second quarter. With the exception of the construction sector, all other major economic sectors registered positive growth.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the ministry has narrowed the 2004 growth forecast from 8-9 per cent to 8-8.5 per cent. For next year, the preliminary forecast remains at 3-5 per cent, in line with an expected deceleration of the global economy.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 17 November 2004 1340 hrs

Singapore's October non-oil domestic exports up 11.9% on-year

SINGAPORE : Singapore's October non-oil domestic exports rose 11.9 percent from a year earlier to S$11.96 billion, on the back of higher electronics exports, data from International Enterprise Singapore showed on Wednesday.

The figure compared with September's 16.9 percent rise and was also below analysts' median forecast for a 14.4 percent gain, according to a Reuters poll.

Seasonally-adjusted, non-oil domestic exports were up by just 1% from September, IE Singapore said.

Non-oil domestic exports were up a seasonally-adjusted 1.0 percent in October from the previous month, reversing a fall of 1.4 percent in September.

Exports of key electronic products rose 10.3 percent from a year earlier to S$6.37 billion, moderating from September's 13.6 percent rise, IE Singapore said in a statement.

Growth was supported mainly by larger shipments of semiconductors, personal computer parts, and telecommunication equipment, it said.

"Domestic exports of disk drives, however, remained sluggish, due to weak demand from the key markets of the US, EU, and Hong Kong," IE Singapore said.

Exports of non-electronic goods continued to show double-digit growth, up 13.7 percent in October at S$5.59 billion.

The rise was sustained mainly by the strong exports of petrochemicals to regional markets, pharmaceuticals and primary chemicals, the statement said.

Non-oil domestic exports to all of Singapore's top 10 markets continued to expand in the month, except for shipments to Australia.

Exports to the US, Singapore's largest export market, rose 3.8 percent on-year to S$2.09 billion, down from a 11 percent rise in September.

Total trade rose a robust 18.3 percent in October, continuing its trend of double-digit growth. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Satyam to recruit mgmt graduates from Singapore

MUMBAI: Satyam Computer Services Ltd today announced that it would recruit fresh graduates from local universities in its first management graduates hiring programme outside India to spur its fast-growing software and outsourcing activities in South East Asia and China.

The Hyderabad-based Company, which has its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, announced it would hire the first batch of five to six local graduates - Singapore citizens or permanent residents - under Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry's Asian Business Fellowship programme.

Under the programme, the Singapore Government will subsidise training cost for a defined period before being deployed in India, China and Singapore. The graduates will be drawn from the IT, business development and marketing courses.

The Singapore graduates will join approximately 100 fresh graduates in India in a management graduate's programme to be conducted at the Satyam Technology Center in Hyderabad.

Mr Hari Thalapalli, Senior Vice-President, HR said, `Satyam is transforming itself rapidly, beyond an Indian IT services provider, into a global company. To cater to the increasingly diversified clientele, we need to inject fresh talent from various cultures'.

"Singapore, being a multi-cultural metropolis and our regional headquarters, is a good place to begin this search for talent".

Specifically, these management graduates will focus less on IT and software and more on marketing-related skills, including pre- sales, marketing, business analysis and client interface.

Singaporeans, with their multicultural background and language skills, can play such roles skillfully in South East Asia and China and help Satyam move up the value chain, he said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/15181507.htm

Nov 18, 2004
S'pore sees potential investments in Turkey
Visiting Singapore delegation led by SM Goh briefed on its business climate
By Azhar Ghani
In Istanbul

SINGAPORE is keen to explore opportunities in Turkey, but potential investors will first need to understand the business and investment climate in the country before embarking on concrete plans for tie-ups.

At a briefing here on the Turkish business and investment environment yesterday, visiting Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong led the way with questions as he outlined to officials some of the factors which Singapore investors will have to consider when making their decisions.

He told officials of Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board that the delegation travelling with him was interested in exploring investment possibilities, attracting investors from Turkey and enhancing trade between the two countries.

He asked, for instance, about how the labour market was being affected by the country's current tight fiscal policy, and sought more information on the labour movement here.

Officials told him that jobs lost as a result of cutbacks in public spending would be adequately replaced by openings created in the private sector.

And while the labour movement is 'not as flexible as' that in the United States, it was not as rigid as that in France or Germany. Overall, investors could look forward to a favourable labour relations climate here.

The briefing by the board's founding chairman Celik Kurtoglu came on the second day of Mr Goh's four-day official visit to the country and provided him and the Singapore delegation with a comprehensive summary of developments on the macro-economic front.

Also covered were reforms in its foreign investment climate and the Turkish government's privatisation plans for state enterprises.

In remarks to the media afterwards, Mr M Rajaram, leader of a 16-member Singapore Business Federation (SBF) delegation, said the briefing was an 'eye-opener' for the group, most of whom know very little about Turkey.

'There are reforms taking place but these won't happen overnight. But if we are among the first few countries to come in, we would be in good stead when they are ready for investment,' he said.

He also spoke of Singapore possibly being a bridge for China and India to markets in the Balkans, the Central Asian republics, Eastern Europe and the Middle East - all of which Turkey also serves as a gateway to.

After the briefing, Mr Goh visited the Istanbul Stock Exchange where he met its president and chief executive, Mr Osman Birsen, and toured the trading floor.

He was also briefed on the outlook for the Turkish economy, as well as the bourse's links to the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, a 28-member group of emerging exchanges in Europe and Asia.

Mr Goh also visited the Topkapi Palace - the former home of all the Ottoman sultans for nearly four centuries until the early 19th century - before leaving for Ankara in the evening.

In Ankara, he is scheduled to meet Turkey's political and business leaders, including President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Travelling with SM Goh are Mrs Goh, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs) Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Minister of State (Trade and Industry) Heng Chee How, senior officials and the SBF delegation.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

WAHHHHHHHH! :) :)

CPG AND SINGAPORE PILING JOIN HANDS TO DESIGN & BUILD INDIAN RESIDENTIAL TOWNSHIP
Press Release 5 November 2004

CPG Consultants Pte Ltd (CPG) and Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering Pte Ltd signed a contract with Whitefield Shelters Pvt Ltd of Bangalore to design and build 2.6-million sqft residential development. The 13-hectare site located in Whitefield is close to the Bangalore International Technology Park. The entire project, scheduled for launch in January next year and carried out in three phases over three years, is estimated to cost about SGD 80 million.

This is another example of the complementary services provided by Singapore consultants and contractors as a total package. CPG will be providing full master planning, architectural, engineering and related design consultancy services for the project, while Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering, a subsidiary of BBR Holdings (S) Ltd, will be responsible for the construction and project management of the entire development.

One of the first in India : The D & B team will ensure that the project adheres to the Singapore Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) CONQUAS standards of measuring workmanship quality (Construction Quality Assessment System : http://www.corenet.gov.sg/homeowners/about/faq.asp).

Mr T Srinivasa Rao, managing director of Whitefield Shelters, said, "Whitefield first came to know about Singapore's construction industry capabilities and its expertise in township development through BCA's visits in India. In September 2003, I met CPG when the Singapore delegation led by Minister Mah Bow Tan visited Hyderabad. Whitefield is impressed with CPG's extensive track record and design capabilities, and we have confidence in Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering's experience in construction management. The planning and design of this development would incorporate good quality living and I believe the latest technology and know-how in construction planning and management would be enhanced by this Singapore-style D & B approach."

As a businessman, Mr Rao finds that the Singapore brand sells in India. In so many ways, he finds Singapore a natural partner for India because of the common language, ethnic ties and the ‘look east’ policy of the Indian government. "I am confident that CPG and Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering will deliver the high quality of design and construction, which is of importance to my customers - the techno savvy young professional of India," said Mr Rao.

Mr Khor Poh Hwa, president and CEO of CPG Consultants, said, "This project, which is one of the largest residential projects that CPG has undertaken in India, marks an important milestone for us. It gives us the opportunity to provide a range of our multi-disciplinary consultancy services, both in terms of planning and design. We also see great potential in collaborating with Singapore companies such as Singapore Piling for overseas projects. We will leverage on each other's strengths and work closely together to make this project a success. "

This being Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering's inaugural project in India, its managing director, Mr Teng Boon Kwee, said in agreement : "Singapore Piling & Civil Engineering is looking forward to enter the Indian construction industry. We will join forces and work closely with CPG to provide high quality standards in construction management and ensure smooth project delivery."

Mr Andrew Tan, CEO of BBR Group of companies, points out that this is in line with the Group’s strategy to grow the export segment of their business.

http://www.cpgcorp.com.sg/eng/latestnews/2004/nov/Media%20Release/images/Signing.jpg
http://www.cpgcorp.com.sg/eng/latestnews/2004/nov/Media%20Release/images/Group%201.jpg

http://www.cpgcorp.com.sg/eng/latestnews/2004/nov/Media%20Release/index.asp

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 19 November 2004 1620 hrs

Motorola opens 3G R&D centre in Singapore
By Michael Lim, Channel NewsAsia

The world's second largest mobilephone maker, Motorola, is setting up a 3G research and development centre in Singapore.

This is its first 3G R&D centre, outside the US, Europe and Japan.

For a start, it is looking to hire up to 60 engineers.

Motorola did not give any financial details but said that the investment could run into tens of millions of dollars.

Singapore has scored another first in the telecom sector.

The Economic and Development Board has managed to attract Motorola to set up a 3G research and development centre here - its very first in Asia outside of Japan.

Bill Werner, Senior VP and GM, Personal Communications, Sector for 3G, Motorola, said: "The initial investment is the 60 people. The investment that we made and will be making over a long period of time could easily get into the tens or millions. Some of the expansion that we are talking about will require some additional space to be found. Because our facility here is heavily utilised already so it will generate the need for some additional space and our desire would have for it to be located very close to our existing site."

So far 28 engineers have been hired.

They will receive training at Motorola's headquarters in the US.

The Singapore R&D centre is set up such that it will be all under one roof.

Jeffery Tan, President, Motorola Singapore, said: "Singapore is the only place that has the entire value chain all the way from research, development, design all the way to manufacturing. In terms of 3G manufacturing we do 60 percent out of our worldwide demand out of Singapore."

Two of Motorola's biggest 3G customers are Hong Kong's Hutchison Global Communication and UK's Vodafone.

The company is currently in talks with regional telcos to sell its 3G products.

The new centre in Singapore will research, develop and design new 3G handsets targeted at Asian users. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 19 Nov 2004

Hng Kiang: Deal in sight for Chile-NZ-S'pore FTA

Once almost derailed, talks for ambitious pact are back on track

By ANNA TEO
IN SANTIAGO

HAVING cleared the biggest hurdles in its way, the three-party free trade agreement (FTA) between Chile, New Zealand and Singapore is now on the home stretch, and can be expected to be signed and sealed in good time, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang told the Singapore media on Wednesday.

Talks on the Pacific 3 (P3) pact - which was launched on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, in October 2002 - had earlier almost been derailed by agricultural issues between Chile and New Zealand. But most of the 'knotty issues' have now been resolved, and negotiations are back on track, Mr Lim said.

He is in the Chilean capital as a member of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's delegation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Mr Lim and Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo attended the Apec ministerial meeting that preceded the Apec economic leaders' meeting this weekend, where leaders of the 21 member economies will convene for annual talks.

Mr Lim described the P3 FTA as a 'very ambitious project', because not only does it involve three countries - which increases the difficulties and complexities in negotiations - it is also set up as an open and flexible arrangement, with access by any other like-minded country that wishes to join.

'So that puts additional demands in the negotiations,' he noted. 'So with all these characteristics, I think the progress is quite remarkable and it reflects the attitudes of the three countries. If you look at the Apec countries, arguably Singapore, Chile and New Zealand are three of the most open trading countries.'

And one leg of the trilateral pact is already up, with Singapore having inked an FTA - its very first - with New Zealand. The Singapore-NZ FTA came into force on Jan 1, 2001. And between Singapore and Chile 'there aren't any significant difficulties', Mr Lim pointed out, 'because both our economies are very open, free traders, fairly complementary'. Chile and NZ have also resolved earlier agricultural hiccups.

'So I think we're now on the home stretch,' Mr Lim said. 'The other issues are not difficult to resolve. We don't have big tariffs that we have to dismantle, we don't have difficult domestic lobbies that we have to worry or pay particular attention to.

'And if we put our minds to it and put our best efforts to it, we should be able to put this together in good time.'

Asked when he reckoned that would be, he said it should be 'within a reasonable period of time'.

The P3 FTA will be the first trade pact to span three different regions. It is widely seen as a forerunner to a broader, region-wide Free Trade Area for the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) that private sector businesspeople have asked Apec to consider establishing.

The role of FTAs and regional trading arrangements (RTAs) - and particularly a code of best practices for FTAs and RTAs - was one of the topics on the table at the Apec Ministerial Meeting. Most countries have now come around to the reality that there are - apart from a global agreement through the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework - separate bilateral trade pacts around the world.

'So how do you dovetail these so that they are complementary, they are consistent and they make for a better world?' Mr Lim said.

In particular, Apec economies must ensure that the trade principles they subscribe to are comprehensive, substantial and consistent with WTO rules. Hence the idea of a code of best practices, which he described as 'quite a significant achievement and a recognition of the current state of affairs'.

And 'if everybody follows this code, in spirit and in practice, then we're indeed reinforcing the WTO process', he added.

With Apec covering a wide spectrum of developed and developing economies with disparate interests, and accounting for 60 per cent of world GDP and nearly half of world trade, any consensus among members would constitute 'quite a major regional consensus', Mr Lim noted.

'So if Apec can knock out a consensus among ourselves, that probably reflects what is workable on a global context.' And what's uppermost on the minds of most Apec trade ministers is how to maintain the momentum of the Doha round of trade talks - launched in the Qatar capital in 2001 - in the run-up to the next WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December 2005.

With 148 members operating on consensus, the WTO is a highly unwieldy organisation. 'I think we're all realistic enough to know that the Doha round will not be completed in Hong Kong but obviously we'd like to make as much progress as possible,' he said. 'We need to identify the gaps, the substantive issues that need to be worked on so that we can make progress.'

Meanwhile, Mr Yeo met 'old friend' Bob Zoellick, the US Trade Representative, on Wednesday evening. The two worked closely on the US-Singapore FTA, which took effect last year.

Earlier in the day, Mr Yeo met his NZ counterpart, Philip Goff. He was also due to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Thursday and outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 19 Nov 2004

More S'pore investment in Japan after trade pact

By VINCE CHONG

SINGAPORE investment in Japan has grown in tandem with increased trade since the signing of the New Age Economic Partnership between the two countries in 2002.

Bilateral trade was $43.7 billion in 2003, up 3.8 per cent from the year before. And the total value of Singapore investments in the North Asian nation leapt 6.5 times year on year to 148 billion yen (S$2.34 billion) last year.

This was due mainly to rising investment by the hospitality industry, as well as the Singapore government and entities linked to the Temasek group, Sumihito Hirai, managing director of the Japan External Trade Organization's Singapore office, said at the fifth 'Doing Business in Japan' seminar yesterday at Suntec City Convention Centre.

International Enterprise Singapore has also doubled its trade missions to Japan to eight this year from 2003, said the government agency's deputy CEO Alphonsus Chia.

Raffles Holdings chief executive Jennie Chua, who delivered the keynote speech at the seminar, said the hospitality giant plans to boost its presence in Japan through more marketing tie-ups, management contracts, leases or small equity stakes.

The group now manages one hotel in Japan, the Swissotel Nankai Osaka, and partners the Okura Hotel and Resorts group in joint marketing efforts worldwide.

Mrs Chua said Japanese guests make up 12 per cent of Raffles' hotel business, or about 150,000 room-nights, for the 12 months ended June - the second-largest source market.

Tung Lok restaurant group COO William Tan said the company is looking at bringing new dining concepts to key cities in Japan.

Non-oil domestic exports to Japan, which was Singapore's third largest trading partner last year, grew by 8.4 per cent year on year in the first six months this year.

IE Singapore's Mr Chia said the gross domestic product of the Greater Tokyo or Kanto region alone is similar to that of emerging superpower China. 'Japan has the second largest GDP in the world,' he said. 'One should not ignore this. Certainly there are many opportunities for Singapore companies in Japan.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 19 Nov 2004

Satyam to recruit fresh graduates from S'pore

By AMIT ROY CHOUDHURY

(SINGAPORE) Indian software major Satyam Computer Services yesterday announced that it would recruit fresh graduates from local universities here.

This is the company's first management graduates hiring programme outside India and those recurited would be absorbed in the company's fast-growing software and outsourcing activities in the region.

The Hyderabad-based firm announced it would hire the first batch of five to six local graduates - Singapore citizens or permanent residents - under Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry's Asian Business Fellowship programme.

The recruits will be sent to India for a 12-18 month internship-cum-training programme at the company's offices in India.

According to Hari Thalapalli, senior vice-president for human resources at Satyam, the Singapore government would bear around 70 per cent of the cost of the recruits' stay in India, under the ABF programme.

Mr Thalapalli said the training in India would comprise 2-3 months of classroom training on various aspects of outsourcing and offshoring. The recruits would then undergo another 2-3 months of on-the-job training and finally they would join actual sales teams and work in India for about a year.

The company is looking for fresh management graduates, not software engineers. The recruits would be involved in marketing, pre-sales, business analysis and client interface, Mr Thalapalli said.

'Singaporeans, with their multicultural background and language skills, can play such roles skilfully in South-east Asia and China and help Satyam move up the value chain,' he said.

Satyam globally employs around 18,500 people and has 700 of them based in Asia-Pacific, including Australia. It has around 220 people in Singapore which is the headquarters for operations in the Asian region, including the Indian domestic market.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 18 November 2004 2052 hrs

Singapore dollar hits 6-year high, may rise further: analysts
By Chua Chin Chye, Channel NewsAsia

The Singapore dollar strengthened to a 6-year high against the US dollar, tracking advances in other regional currencies.

The Singapore currency traded as high as US$1.6448 on the back of a broad decline in the US dollar.

A stronger Singapore dollar could make Singapore's exports less competitive.

But analysts that Channel NewsAsia spoke to say the effect this time would be limited.

Still, others are cautious, saying that the US dollar could fall further in coming months.

The US economy is facing a record current account deficit.

To correct the problem, analysts believe the American government will allow its currency to weaken further in the coming quarters.

P K Basu, Managing Director, Robust Economic Analysis, said: "Over the next 12 months, I think the US dollar could depreciate quite substantially against all major currencies. I say a depreciation of 10 to 15 percent is quite possible. Although it will not be a straight line, there will be brief periods of dollar strength."

David Cohen, Director, Asian Economic Forecasting, Action Economics, said: "Certainly, the market is expecting another 10, to 20 percent over several quarters, that the US dollar would weaken."

A weaker greenback means a stronger Singapore dollar.

While that could dampen US demand for Singapore goods in the short-term, analysts say the Republic's exports should benefit in the long run.

Mr Cohen said: "The price effect of the weaker US dollar would detract from the imports. That's the part of the correction mechanism for the excessive US trade deficit, right now. But, more importantly, that will help keep the US economy growing - which is probably key to whether the world economy can get back on track."

For now, the market wants to see the US dollar declining in an orderly fashion.

Some economists also expect the Singapore dollar to strengthen further because the Monetary Authority of Singapore has a tightening bias for monetary policy.

But they expect any movements to be measured and gradual.

Some say a stronger Singapore dollar may well be good for the economy at time when oil prices are high by limiting imported inflation. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Idea may close deal with STT, TM in 3 weeks
RAJESHWARI ADAPPA THAKUR

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2004 11:37:34 PM]

MUMBAI: Idea Cellular’s long delayed deal with the Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) and Telekom Malaysia International combine is likely to be completed within the next two to three weeks.

The company is looking at the April-June ’05 window for going public, provided all formalities are completed by January next year.

The delay in signing the definitive agreement between Idea and the STT-TM combine had led to speculation that Idea may have started courting other suitors, who had bid for the AT&T stake earlier.

Denying that Idea was talking to other bidders, informed sources said that the agreement would be signed sometime during the next two-three weeks. “We are hoping to apply to the Department of Telecom (DoT) before Christmas,” sources said.

Meanwhile, Sanjeev Aga, ex-CEO of Idea Cellular, has replaced Saurabh Mishra as the Birla nominee on Idea’s board of directors. This follows the appointment of Mr Mishra as the chairman of Ultra Tech Cemco, the demerged cement business of Larsen & Toubro, sources said.

If the application is cleared in January ’05, then Idea will start on its next important project — the IPO, which has also been in the works for quite some time now. Idea Cellular is hoping to time its IPO sometime around April-June ’05.

The two domestic shareholders are yet to take a decision on whether to sell their stakes as part of an ‘offer for sale’ during the IPO. However, sources said that it is unlikely they will sell their stakes during the IPO at the same price that the AT&T stake was sold.

Once the deal is completed, the two Indian shareholders, Tatas and Birlas, will hold a 51% stake jointly, while the STT-TM combine will hold over 47% and the balance will be held by AIG. Individually, Tatas will hold around 25%, while the Birla stake will be about 26% compared to the over 31% and 33% held by the two shareholders, respectively.

The Tata and Birla stakes will be diluted since the combine, apart from buying out AT&T’s stake, is infusing additional funds into the company. AIG currently holds less than 2% in Idea.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/927536.cms

India, Singapore trade to grow by 10 pc

PTI[ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2004 07:45:33 PM]
CHENNAI: The two-way trade between India and Singapore, which stood at 7.9 billion Singapore dollars in 2003, was poised for a 10 per cent growth this year, Ramakrishna Kukkila, centre director of International Enterprise Singapore (IES), said on Friday.

The bilateral trade is in favour of Singapore in the ratio of 2:1 and the trend continues in 2004 too, he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on `Doing business with Singapore', here.

IES assists Singapore-based companies to set up business in India.

In 2001, India was Singapore's 15th largest outward investment (OI) destination, absorbing only USD 1.3 billion or 0.6 per cent of OI. China was top, absorbing USD 18 billion.

Kukkila said India offers great opportunity for Singapore firms in real-estate development, infrastructure, ports and in the setting up of special economic zones (SEZs).

Singapore firms were instrumental in setting up hi-tech parks in Bangalore and Andhra Pradesh. "Many firms are also involved in housing projects in Andhra Pradesh," he said.

Koh Siew Mui, consul, Consulate of the Republic of Singapore, Chennai, inaugurated the seminar.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/006200411191912.htm

Nov 23, 2004
US tech giant moves key HQ to S'pore
By Erica Tay

UNITED States-based technology giant Agilent Technologies is moving its global headquarters for wireless systems operations (WSO) to Singapore, to be closer to Asia's burgeoning mobile phone market.

The WSO arm of Agilent provides sophisticated testing systems to the world's mobile phone giants, many of which have relocated their manufacturing and research and development (R&D) bases to Asia.

Agilent's tailor-made systems ensure that the latest phone models not only have cutting edge applications that work flawlessly, but that each application - from web-surfing to in-built cameras - works properly with other applications.

Its client list reads like the Who's Who of the global mobile business, and includes Alcatel, Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung and Motorola.

The corporation, which already employs 2,700 people and has invested $1 billion here, announced yesterday that it will move its WSO headquarters from Denver, Colorado, and that there will be more investment and recruitment here.

It did not specify how much it will invest or the number of jobs to be created.

Agilent's existing Singapore headquarters in Yishun will oversee WSO activities worldwide, as well as housing its global hub for management, marketing and R&D.

At the same time, Agilent has made its Penang plant the manufacturing and engineering support hub of its WSO business worldwide.

According to Prime Data, more mobile phones worldwide are tested during production with Agilent equipment than with equipment from all other providers combined.

On why Agilent picked Singapore, its vice-president and general manager of wireless systems operations worldwide, Mr Amir Aghdaei, said: 'It is easy to get our customers to come here, easy to do business here, easy to get around, and easier to connect to the world.'

Mr Aghdaei told The Straits Times that the phenomenal growth of the mobile phone market in Asia made the move essential, as many of its multinational partners had already shifted to the region.

'Seventy-five per cent of our business will be in Asia. Using Singapore as a nerve centre, we can be more responsive to our customers' needs.'

Citing massive growth in the tech-hungry markets of China, India, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, he said: 'The market potential is tremendous.'

And as these new consumers demand fancier phone applications, including 3G technology, this means more business for Agilent.

Besides mobile phone testing systems, Agilent's WSO arm provides testing solutions that enable wireless networking for laptops, as well as base stations and wireless gaming devices.

Agilent Technologies is a five year-old spin-off company of Hewlett-Packard, which has been operating in Singapore for 33 years.

Mr Tan Bian Ee, president of Agilent Singapore and Malaysia, said he was proud of how far the Singaporean and Malaysian operations have come.

'Over the years, we have grown from just production and manufacturing. Today, we are very proud of the fact that Singapore and Malaysia have both become business and tech hubs. We have, so to speak, moved up the value chain,' he said.

Overall, the Asia-Pacific region contributed 46 per cent of Agilent Technologies' annual revenue of US$7.2 billion (S$11.9 billion) for the year ended last month.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 23 Nov 2004

A US$591b market S'pore cannot ignore

By RAJU CHELLAM

(SINGAPORE) If you think infotech services is only for developing economies like India and China, think again.

Companies and governments are set to spend a whopping US$591 billion on subcontracting IT services next year, says the latest study by International Data Corp (IDC). And countries like Singapore should tap this potential.

In Singapore, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) says that it wants IT services to net $3.78 billion next year, up from $3.23 billion in 2003.

Infotech services is an umbrella term that includes IT outsourcing, infocomm consulting, systems integration, data hosting services, customised application development, software deployment and support, training, hardware support and network integration.

'The worldwide IT services industry continues to redefine itself,' says Sophie Mayo, IDC's US-based director for worldwide services. 'We expect government undertakings and the corporate sector to spend US$553 billion on external services this year.'

IDC forecasts that worldwide IT services spending would grow 6.9 per cent a year over the next five years.

Another report, by research house Gartner, says up to 25 per cent of traditional IT jobs in many developed countries today will be situated in emerging markets by 2010.

'Increased activity in offshore outsourcing is one of the most significant shifts in IT,' said Gartner's vice-president Ian Marriott.

'By end-2005, 30 per cent of leading European businesses will include near-shore or offshore outsourcing in their business and IT plans.

'The offshore help-desk or contact centre industry - and the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector - represent the highest opportunities for growth.'

In Singapore, a slew of companies offer infotech outsourcing services, including local ones such as National Computer Systems, Singapore Computer Systems, Frontline Technologies, and CSA Holdings (local arm of Computer Sciences Corp). Other key players include MNCs such as IBM Corp, Hewlett-Packard Company, Electronics Data Systems, Accenture, Fujitsu, Samsung, Unisys, Oracle and Cap Gemini, which recently shifted its outsourcing business to Frontline.

According to IDA's 2003 survey of the infocomm industry, revenue from IT services will cross $3.78 billion by end-2005, from $3.23 billion last year and about $3.44 billion this year.

'In 2003, hardware retail, telecoms services and content activities showed growth, while two segments - software and IT services - did not perform as well,' IDA said. 'IT services saw the recent peak in 2002 with revenues of $4.33 billion, which was up 14.5 per cent over 2001.'

Singapore-based companies and government agencies are also outsourcing IT services when it makes business sense. Examples include the Registry of Companies' eBizcore, DBS Bank outsourcing its back-end IT operations, the Department of Statistics' Census 2000 survey and Singapore Airlines recently outsourcing its infrastructure functions to IBM under a seven-year contract valued at around $300 million. The Supreme Court and the Land Transport Authority, too, have outsourced IT services in their Technology Court and online COE bidding system respectively.

Singapore's market for IT services is set to top US$1.86 billion by 2006, from about US$1.3 billion in 2003, IDC says. Across 14 key countries in the Asia-Pacific outside of Japan, IDC forecasts, the IT services market will be worth US$32 billion by 2006, double from 2003.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 23 Nov 2004

Hock Lock Siew
Will Creative's bite match its bark?

By WONG WEI KONG

SO CREATIVE Technology chief Sim Wong Hoo has publicly declared war in the MP3 market and set his sights on US giant Apple Computer. But while it may grab the headlines, is Creative's bravado misplaced?

Last week, Creative announced its bold ambition to seize 40 per cent of the global MP3 player market next year, estimated at about 60 million units. To hit this target, the company will have to sell some 24 million digital music players.

Back in the 1990s, Creative, one of Singapore's best-known companies, was often labelled a 'one-trick pony' - it was too dependent on its sound cards business. A disastrous foray into contract manufacturing notwithstanding, Creative has managed to diversify since then with products such as speakers and now music players. PDEs, or personal digital entertainment devices, now account for over 40 per cent of sales. In this context, its ambition to become a major MP3 player isn't surprising.

It doesn't change the fact, however, that it is a high-stakes game which Creative is playing.

First, Creative will spend US$100 million next year to win its MP3 war. To support the effort, it has signed up for a syndicated loan of US$175 million. Creative, in Mr Sim's own words, 'is hiring like crazy'. It aims to add another 300 engineers to the 600 already working on new gadgets. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, operating and interest expenses will certainly rise. In its first quarter ended Sept 30, operating expenses already jumped 14.6 per cent to US$59.8 million due to increased spending on R&D and marketing.

Second, Creative's chief weapon in the MP3 war, the Zen Micro, will have to go head to head with an American icon in the shape of Apple's iPod and iPod Mini. Reviews of the rival products have been mixed. The Zen Micro has more capacity and capabilities, and costs more. But it lacks the cool and sexy looks of the iPod. In the US market - which Creative must crack to achieve its ambitions - it could prove a major obstacle. Since the iPod's launch in October 2001, it has attained iconic status among the hip and fashionable and the rich and famous in the US, including Hollywood celebrities. Last year, Apple topped the hard disk-based MP3 market with a 54 per cent share, according to International Data Corp (IDC). Creative was a distant second with 16.5 per cent. While Creative may not be producing enough Zen Micros to meet demand from the Singapore market, it means little if it fails to strike a chord with US consumers.

Market opinion suggests that while Creative may take away some customers from Apple, it is unlikely to achieve its ambitious target. And the US giant isn't likely to simply sit on its hands and watch Creative steal its business. Just how important iPod has become to Apple is shown by its recent results. Apple's latest quarterly profit more than doubled, beating analysts' estimates, as surging sales of iPods drove revenue to its highest for the period in nine years. iPod shipments increased five-fold and contributed almost one-fourth of the company's revenue. That Apple became one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index this year is due to a large extent to iPod.

Whatever Creative will throw into the MP3 battle, it's almost a sure bet that Apple will hit back hard. It's a war either side would hate to lose. Creative will also come under pressure when more players such as Sony and Dell enter the fray. That Creative shares are up less than 3 per cent so far this year - underperforming the 14 per cent rise by the benchmark Straits Times Index - is an intimation of the market's caution on the company.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 23 Nov 2004

Boosting S'pore ICT industry's global drive

The only way for the local infocomm and technology industry to survive is to go out, says IE Singapore's Corrine Ong. ROLAND LIM finds out what is being done to help the industry

DESPITE Singapore's worldwide reputation as an intelligent island, Singapore's companies in the infocomm and technology (ICT) industry have yet to garner a similarly strong reputation in the worldwide ICT industry.

However, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is all set to change that, and are shoring up its efforts to help home-grown companies expand into the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Singapore is certainly well known for its IT adoption: it was the third most network-ready country in the world in the World Economic Foundation's Global IT Report for 2003; was ranked number two in a worldwide survey on e-government leadership by Accenture in 2003; and the government has implemented the world's first Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system called TradeNet.

However, Corrine Ong, senior account manager for the Corporate Group (Infocomm Technology) at IE Singapore, pointed out that the domestic market is small and mature, and the Singapore ICT industry grew only 2 per cent in 2003, to $32.8 billion. 'Although we see the export market increasing, the domestic industry growth opportunities are limited, thus the only way for our ICT industry to survive is to go out,' she said. According to Ms Ong, Singapore companies already enjoy several advantages in venturing abroad.

Singapore is geographically well-positioned, being close to rapidly developing neighbouring countries, including China and India. Many developing countries, including those further away in Latin America and Central Europe, have also expressed the desire to learn from Singapore how it has evolved so quickly in the ICT space. 'They want to replicate what we have done back home,' said Ms Ong. 'This opens up lots of opportunities for our ICT companies, especially in the e-government industry.'

Singapore is also home to 7,000 multinational corporations (MNCs), thus the local solutions implemented by the MNCs here are already of international standards, and are 'instantly exportable', she added.

Traditionally, Singapore companies venturing abroad first explore the countries just beyond the borders. Ms Ong cited Singapore companies such as muvee Technologies that are 'born global' and have gone beyond the region as they have niche products targeted at the global market. muvee Technologies specialises in movie editing software, and is the first in the world to develop a software that automatically edits raw video footage into a music video in seconds. 'Some of our local companies sometimes find it difficult to sell to our own local market as the early adopters or lead users of some innovative products are not in Singapore,' said Ms Ong.

Singapore companies are increasingly expanding beyond the Asia-Pacific, and have entered markets such as East Europe, Middle East and Africa. Ms Ong cited System Access, a leader in the financial software market, as a local company that had success in these markets.

Going overseas is not all smooth sailing for local companies. One of the main challenges they face is the lack of knowledge and expertise to 'go-to-market' with their solutions. According to Ms Ong, while a lot of these companies have the technical skills and knowledge, 'they lack the marketing savvy to go-to-market'.

Another challenge they face is the lack of resources in tackling a large overseas market, and yet another is the lack of a strong brand name.

To be competitive in the global ICT market, IE Singapore believes Singapore companies need to 'move up the value chain', and it hopes to act as a catalyst for the process.

'Traditionally, Singapore companies used to be system integrators and distributors, but going forward we have to build our own products and solutions,' said Ms Ong.

IE Singapore has thus set out to groom a group of local ICT companies into world-class players in the next five years. It also offers a host of programmes that aim to assist companies in 'internationalising'. (See accompanying story).

Ms Ong also revealed that there are already local companies that have taken advantage of IE Singapore's range of programmes, for example, eCop.net, a security solutions provider that has made use of the International Franchising Programme to expand its operations into the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

Another initiative that has seen success is the i-Partners programme. The i-Partners programme 'helps to formulate alliances among local players who are complementary along the value chain' so as to better address the overseas market.

Ms Ong revealed that IE Singapore has been bringing together companies which are complementary, to market them as a full suite of solutions. There has also been a 'deliberate attempt to involve small companies in the complementary value chain', she added. This strategy has enjoyed some success, she said, and cited the recent financial software solutions mission to Hungary and Czech Republic, which resulted in 'a lot of requests for quotations'. Another strategy of IE Singapore is to leverage on Singapore's strong international brand name, and invite potential overseas customers to come here so 'they can see for themselves what Singapore has to offer'.

In April next year, 25 officials from various Latin American countries which are keen to understand how Singapore has developed the ICT industry, will visit. Ms Ong also revealed that Singapore has successfully bidded for the Intelligent Transport Systems Asia Pacific Show to be held here in 2008, 'so when the overseas players are here, they can see it for themselves and that is the best testimonial'.

IE Singapore is also currently working with IDA and SITF to develop initiatives on the Singapore infocomm brand, to see how they can promote it overseas. It also plans to launch a platform to better coordinate efforts from the various agencies and industry leaders to provide thought leadership on internationalisation roadmaps and strategies.

For Singapore companies looking to venture overseas, Ms Ong advised that 'you must have a unique value proposition, something that addresses the market gap that is not there'. Drawing upon the successful local companies that have gone abroad, having a strong track record or reference will also definitely help.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 23 November 2004 1628 hrs

Hyflux opens R&D centre in S'pore, signs venture deal with Dubai firm
By Chua Chin Chye, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Water treatment specialist Hyflux officially opened its Membrane Technology Research & Development Centre in Singapore on Tuesday.

The facility is touted as the largest of its kind in Asia, outside Japan.

Hyflux has also signed a joint venture deal with Istithmar group of Dubai to develop a water utility business in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and the rest of the Middle East.

The twin moves dovetail into Singapore's broader strategy - to transform the island into a global hydro-hub and a major player in the global water industry.

In the last 15 years, Hyflux has moved four times - each time, because it outgrew its premises.

On Tuesday, it officially opened its fifth premises - an eight-storey building at Kallang Bahru.

The new buiding will house all of Hyflux's operations under one roof, including its membrane manufacturing and R&D facilities.

The R&D centre is being built at an initial cost of nearly S$20 million.

It will employ 200 workers, including 130 researchers.

But Hyflux's new building holds great significance, beyond domestic economic spin-offs.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said: "The global water industry, currently estimated at some US$250 billion, is a rapidly growing industry, especially in this region.

"EDB is placing a strategic focus on growing the water industry, with the aim of developing Singapore into a Global Hydrohub, responsible for 3 to 5 percent of the global water market."

R&D is one of Hyflux's key drivers. It invests heavily on R&D, spending some S$6.1 million last year.

Over the next two years, Hyflux will set aside some 5 to 8 percent of total revenue for R&D activities.

Indeed, technology and a track record were two key factors that won Hyflux a strategic partner, in Dubai's Istithmar.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Istithmar & Nakheel, said: "We went to many companies around the world...finally, we visited Hyflux. We were very impressed with them - the innovation, the technology they are using, as well as the low maintenance in their products.

"We saw also the research and development team that work for Hyflux, and that gives us confidence that they will control costs."

Through the joint venture deal, Hyflux aims to capitalise on the tremendous demand for water, waste-water treatment and water re-cycling services in the Middle East region. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Temasek buys 10 percent stake in India's Gateway


SINGAPORE/BOMBAY (Reuters) - Singapore state investment agency Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. said on Tuesday it had bought 10 percent of Indian-Singapore logistics group Gateway Distriparks Ltd., accelerating an expansion in India.

The purchase, valued at 204 million rupees, was made through Temasek unit Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pte. Ltd., Gateway said.

Gateway Distriparks is one of India's largest private logistics companies, operating container freight stations at state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port in the western state of Maharashtra and other locations.

Gateway is also setting up a large facility in Visakhapatnam and buying a facility in Madras.

"We are expanding capacity because demand from our clients has grown and we anticipate a big increase in trade to and from India, which will require more facilities," Gateway Chief Executive Kapil Anand said in a telephone interview.

The firm will look to buy existing capacities and build new ones, particularly in the south, and will consider raising capital by various means, Anand added.

The key shareholders of Gateway are Singapore-based Windmill International Pte. Ltd., Parameshwara Holdings Ltd., and Thakral Corp. and Indian partner, Prism International Pvt. Ltd.

India's Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd. has a 19 percent stake in Gateway.

Temasek, which controls most of Singapore's largest businesses, including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd., has a charter to grow Singapore firms into global players and has been snapping up banks and telecom firms from South Korea to India.

In India, Temasek has expressed interest in drug makers and banks. It has a stake in ICICI Bank and Matrix Laboratories Ltd. It recently paid about $35 million for a stake in back-office services company ICICI OneSource.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/041123/137/2i1z0.html

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 23 November 2004 2310 hrs

Hotel group Millennium & Copthorne embarks on global expansion
By Michael Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Hotel chain Millennium & Copthorne is looking to increase its global presence either through acquisitions or management tie-ups.

The company is also looking at joint marketing alliances with other hotel groups.

This was revealed by the Group's Executive Vice President, Michael Tan in an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia.

Mr Tan joined the company 9 months ago and he wants to transform the M & C Group of Hotels through better service.

In the past, Millennium & Copthorne expanded its global reach through acquisitions.

But these days, the hotel group is looking at increasing its presence by managing hotels instead of just owning them.

Mr Tan said: "We have started managing some hotels but not in a big way. I believe in the future M & C may well adopt management contracts as its second wing of its business growth in the future. This is my personal feeling. We are going through a period of consolidation. Acquisition personally I don't think is a top priority for the group, however, one can never say never. If the property and price is right who knows."

M & C revealed that it is currently in discussion with partners in China and India to either buy or to manage hotels there.

It is also looking at the viability of forming a marketing alliance with a Japanese hotel chain.

But Mr Tan also wants to improve on M & C's hospitality service.

He said: "I want to make M & C a well-known brand. A brand that is easily distinguishable by service especially the personal service, the frontline and so on make it special. This is something that I have done at SIA to uplift, upgrade service and sustain that is one of the key thing to sustain our competitiveness."

As part of its business renewal plans, M & C has converted the three-star Copthorne King's to a business hotel.

Mr Tan said: "Copthorne King has always attracted a high degree of business from the SMEs, regional companies as well as Japanese, Taiwanese and some international companies. With this upgrading and transformation of Copthorne King's, it will be able to broaden the corporate client base. But of course that does not mean that we will not serve the leisure market."

Meanwhile M & C is launching a new hotel in Singapore.

It is a new 300-room super luxurious hotel in the Tanglin area which will be managed by St Regis.

The ground-breaking takes place on Wednesday. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 24 November 2004 1217 hrs

Singapore's GIC takes five percent stake in Malaysia's Proton

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government of Singapore Investment Corp Pte Ltd (GIC) has emerged as a substantial shareholder in Malaysia's national car-maker Proton with a 5.04 percent stake, Proton Holdings said.

GIC owned 27.66 million shares in the company as of November 17, Proton said in a statement late Tuesday.

The presence of GIC on the list of Proton shareholders signals that the national car-maker has regained foreign investors' confidence after Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp sold its 7.9 percent stake earlier this year, said an analyst at a local research house.

"Given the strong vote of confidence in the group's future earnings prospects, we are maintaining our 'buy' rating on Proton, with 10.90 ringgit (2.87 dollars) a share target price," he added.

Proton Holdings shares were higher mid-morning Wednesday following the announcement of the GIC stake, up 0.25 ringgit to 9.25 ringgit.

In October, Proton announced that it had formed an alliance with Germany's Volkswagen AG that could lead to technology sharing and the joint development of cars.

Set up in 1983 as part of Malaysia's drive into heavy industry, Proton used to sell six out of every 10 new cars in the country, but its market share fell to 49 percent in 2003 and has dipped further to 44.5 percent in the first eight months of this year. - AFP

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

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November 21
Singapore tech firms feeling pinch from global tech weakness

Singapore's electronics firms, major suppliers to the world's biggest tech giants and an intergral part of the city-state's economy, are likely to face earnings pressure from the slowdown in the global sector, analysts said.

Several of the city-state's top electronics makers are already feeling the pinch from weaker orders as their clients seek to clear an inventory backlog in the run-up to the important Christmas holiday season, they said.

The government has also recently cut its 2005 growth forecasts from 8.0-9.0 percent to 8.0-8.5 percent, citing weaker growth in the global electronics sector as one of the reasons.

"Basically it's an inventory correction by various high-tech companies as a result of slower demand in the markets," said Erly Witoyo, a Singapore-based credit analyst with Standard and Poor's ratings agency.

"It will have an impact on cash flow in the next few quarters."

Venture Corporation has already become one of the big-name casualties, with net profit in the three months to September slumping 26.9 percent to 48.1 million Singapore dollars (29.33 million US) from a year ago.

The company is Singapore's largest electronics contract maker and its clients include Hewlett-Packard, for which it makes computer printers.

Chartered Semiconductor fared better with net profits reaching 16.23 million US dollars in the September quarter, reversing nearly 76 million US dollars in losses a year ago and exceeding analysts' earnings forecasts of 5.5-13.5 million US dollars.

But the company, one of the world's three largest contract chip makers, warned the slowdown was likely to push the company into the red in the December quarter with losses of 44-54 million US dollars.

"As we go into the fourth quarter, we are seeing significant change in the outlook from our customers," Chartered chief financial officer George Thomas said last month when the company announced its September report card.

"The market weakness that we started seeing since the second half of June has deepened as customers in the supply chain reassessed their inventory positions and slower orders due to the softening in their end markets.

"As a result of this, and consistent with the business outlook of five of our larger customers, Chartered's outlook for the fourth quarter 2004 is now considerably weaker than the projections we had earlier in the year."

If Chartered does incur its projected losses in the current quarter, the company will sink into a deficit for its financial year ending December as net profit in the nine months to September amounted to just 33.4 million US dollars.

Rohan Suppiah, a research manager at OCBC Investment Research, said an industry downturn usually hurt Chartered most because its costs were higher.

"(Chartered) has therefore a higher breakeven rate, giving its competitors a better footing to compete for customers on price," Suppiah said in a report this month.

Suppiah projected Chartered would post further losses in the first two quarters of next year.

"We will likely only see a recovery from the third quarter onwards, but are not overly bullish on its velocity."

Suppiah said Chartered was also facing stiff competition from Chinese players, especially Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.

One of Singapore's other highest profile tech companies, Creative Technology, also reported last month declining profit in the September quarter.

Net profit in the quarter fell 83.5 percent to 4.8 million US dollars, with huge one-time gains last year magnifying the decline.

Excluding the gains, the profit would have been 5.5 million dollars, which translates into a 13 percent decline.

Copyright © 2004AFP. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 24 Nov 2004

S'pore workers should add value beyond qualifications

By NANDE KHIN

SINGAPORE workers should seek to add value above their qualifications to make them more competitive, according to a senior official of the US-based Conference Board, a non-profit research organisation that deals with management issues.

'CEOs don't just look for qualifications. Qualifications are very important...they are very important entry points,' said Andrew Bell, programme director of Human Resource Council (Asia Pacific), The Conference Board.

He was speaking yesterday at the Singapore Learning Symposium organised by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

Mr Bell listed experience and a willingness to take on hardship as competencies an employee can offer beyond his qualifications.

He also highlighted the need for employees to challenge and voice opinions.

'Unless you challenge and express opinions, you won't learn, the people around you won't learn and the organisation won't learn.'

Mr Bell added that the US dollar rate for scarce and highly skilled workers in Shanghai is already higher than in Singapore and thus competition and productivity will now depend on whether companies can add value, promise excellence and efficiency, and offer unique contributions.

'The challenge is that the bar is always getting higher. Can Singapore maintain and go beyond the position it has already achieved? How can we cope with all the competition from not just China and India, but from Vietnam as well?'

Some of Mr Bell's views were emphasised earlier in the symposium by Leo Yip, chief executive of WDA.

In his opening speech, Mr Yip called on employers to embrace workforce development and training as a key business priority.

Mr Yip said that increased competition not only from China, India and Eastern Europe, but also from the Internet and giant retailers such as Wal-Mart are driving prices down.

'Companies in the US and other developed economies are compelled to exercise restraint on prices and labour costs...As companies seek greater flexibility and innovation, employees seek economic security and to enhance their employability,' said Mr Yip.

He added that the key to reconciling the two is by training and building competitive advantage through people.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Thursday November 25

Malaysia's Sunway in $45m deal with Singapore GIC

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Singapore government plans to buy 48 percent of Malaysian property company Sunway City Bhd's Sunway Resort Hotal unit in a deal worth 170.1 million ringgit ($45 million), Sunway said on Thursday.

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), which already holds 24 percent of Sunway City, plans to pay 66.2 million ringgit to subscribe for 48 percent of Sunway Resort Hotel Sdn Bhd's ordinary and preference shares.

GIC will also extend a 103.9 million ringgit loan to Sunway Resort, which will be restructured to own two hotels and 15 residential properties, Sunway City said in a statement.

About 65 percent of the proceeds will be used by Sunway Resort to repay amounts owing to its parent while the rest will be used to retire a bank loan.

The proposal, which requires the approval of the central bank and shareholders of Sunway City, is due to be completed by the end of June next year.

Shares of Sunway City closed 1.3 percent up at 1.61 ringgit. (US$1 = 3.8 ringgit)

Copyright © 2004Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Nov 26, 2004
S'pore-Aussie FTA yields early gains

Sydney - IT MIGHT be early days yet, but trade and investment between Singapore and Australia is already enjoying a slight boost, with the free trade pact between the two countries having taken effect in July 2003.

Singapore's exports to Australia hit A$5.1 billion (S$6.6 billion) last year, up from A$4.3 billion the previous year, according to figures from Australian trade officials.

The boost in Singapore's exports came in the telecommunications and IT sectors, as well as in petroleum products.

Investments hit A$22.13 billion in 2003, making Singapore the fifth-largest foreign investor in Australia.

Notable investments included the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation's acquisition of several private hospitals from Australia's Mayne Group last year and Singapore Power's purchase of TXU Corporation's assets in South Australia earlier this year.

Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said in an interview with The Straits Times yesterday: 'The FTA has led to an improvement in trade and investment.

'Australia already had a highly refined economic relationship with Singapore, so it's harder to squeeze out big chunks of improvement.

'But progress has been made, particularly in the high-value end of the relationship, in the communications and IT sectors.'

Ironically, Australian exports to Singapore fell last year but analysts attributed this drop largely to the impact of the stronger Australian dollar which made its goods more costly.

Trade officials said they were optimistic that there were more opportunities for growth in the services industries in the two countries.

\-- WARREN FERNANDEZ

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 27 Nov 2004

China timepiece company taps S'pore connection

By VINCE CHONG

(SINGAPORE) Dominant China timepiece player The Winning Group aims to expand its business to South-east Asia by using Singapore as a gateway to the region.

Consistently among the four biggest-selling watch companies in China, the private Hong Kong group is in the midst of a reverse-takeover of Sesdaq-listed construction company Wee Poh Holdings.

Potential revenue from South-east Asia could be equivalent to at least half of the Winning Group's sales in China, which totalled 100 million renminbi last financial year, says chairman Michael Tung.

The Winning Group makes and distributes its own Tian Wang and Balco timepieces mainly in China, where it has a 16 per cent market for domestic brands and a 4-plus per cent share for international names.

It is also one of the biggest brokers and suppliers of internal watch mechanisms in Hong Kong and China, selling more than seven million pieces a month.

Mr Tung said: 'We have explored listing ourselves. But when (Wee Poh non-executive chairman) Wong Teck Kui presented us with the opportunity, we took it because it'll be faster this way. We will also consider listing in Hong Kong, and maybe China in the future.'

There are no plans to change Wee Poh's name, assuming that the reverse-takeover - slated for completion in March-June next year - goes through.

Mr Tung said he hasn't even thought about whether the deal could fail, even though some Wee Poh directors - led by co-founder and former executive chairman Chew Yin What - are making a final push for the group to stay in the construction industry.

'In business, we look only at success and never consider failure,' Mr Tung said.

Mr Chew's camp has nominated three board candidates for Wee Poh's annual general meeting next week. Should they be voted in, the board is likely to comprise a majority of directors in favour of ditching the deal with Winning Group.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 27 Nov 2004

UK-S'pore science & tech tie-up taking off

By CHEN HUIFEN

TIES between Singapore and the UK were further strengthened yesterday with the launch of a year-long campaign to encourage greater collaboration in science and technology.

Called the 'UK-Singapore Partners in Science', the campaign will be promoting the best of UK science and technology through a series of lectures, workshops, exhibitions and competitions.

Events in the pipeline include a lecture by Rolls-Royce director of engineering and technology Mike Howse, a Web-based science competition and visits by renowned professors from Manchester, Sheffield and Oxford universities.

'If you look at our two relative geopolitical positions, the United Kingdom is quite clearly a gateway to Europe, in the same way that Singapore is a gateway to Asia,' said Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who was at the Biopolis yesterday to launch the campaign.

'If we bring people together in this UK-Singapore Partners in Science, we believe that together we can develop new technologies, new products, new industries and new science for the future.'

As a mark of its commitment, yesterday saw the opening of the British High Commission's new Science and Technology Office at the Biopolis.

'We believe that with an office based here at Biopolis, we'll be much closer to the scientists here,' said Brian Ferrar, first secretary of science and technology at the British High Commission, adding that it would be able to network much more effectively with the scientists.

The UK government this year unveiled a 1 billion (S$3.1 billion) strategy to boost science and innovation over a 10-year period. The aim is to increase R&D investment to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014, from 1.9 per cent now.

Currently, Singapore companies with a presence in the UK include ST Aerospace, Creative Technology, eSys Distribution, Singapore Food Industries and ComfortDelgro. British companies with operations here include GlaxoSmithKline, BP, Shell, Exel Logistics and Reuters.

Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $12.4 billion last year.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Tariff cuts to boost investment in Asean

Group hopes move will make exports competitive and stem loss of manufacturing activities to China

Weekend • November 27, 2004

SOUTH-EAST Asian nations will seek to spur investment within the region by signing an agreement with China next week to cut tariffs on US$100 billion ($164 billion) of goods, opening the way to a free trade accord by 2010.

Lower tariffs may help companies such as Singapore-based First Engineering increase their exports and encourage them to keep their investments at home. The maker of parts for computers and cars has invested $18 million in three factories in China to avoid tariffs as high as 20 per cent.

With a trade pact, "we could manufacture products in Singapore and Malaysia and ship them to China without worrying about tariffs," said Mr J R Ong, managing director of First Engineering, which supplies parts to US IT products giant Hewlett-Packard and China's Dongfeng Motor Corp.

The proposal is part of a wider push by the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) to make its exports more competitive and stem a loss of investment to countries such as China and India.

Asean economies received foreign investment averaging US$13 billion a year between 1989 and 1994, the same as China. Last year, China got US$54 billion, more than double Asean's US$20 billion.

"The overwhelming reason why companies have chosen to concentrate investments in China is because they are also looking at the Chinese domestic market," said UBS economist Sanjay Mathur.

"With a free trade agreement (FTA), it doesn't make a difference where you keep your factory."

Free trade

Asean members and China will agree to begin cutting tariffs from Jan 1 and aim to reduce them to 5 per cent or less by 2010.

By 2010, six of the 10 Asean countries — Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei — will form a free trade area with China that will also include services.

The other four — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam — will join in 2015.

Asean also aims to sign a similar accord with India by 2011 and start negotiations with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in 2005.

At its summit beginning next Monday in Vientiane, Asean leaders will agree to cut tariffs, simplify customs procedures and set common standards for regional commerce in 11 areas including cars, electronics and consumer goods by 2010.

Internal barriers remain

Asean countries have cut tariffs to 5 per cent or less on 96 per cent of goods they trade with each other and aim to eliminate them by 2010.

Still, barriers remain and some countries are reluctant to allow foreign rivals greater market access in areas ranging from cars to telecommunications to banking.

Malaysia, South-east Asia's second-largest car market, protects state-owned Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional, or Proton, so its cars are cheaper than those made by Ford and Nissan in Thailand, the region's largest car market.

Banks such as Singapore's DBS Group, South-east Asia's biggest lender, must wait until at least 2007 before Malaysia considers new licenses for overseas banks. Thailand caps foreign ownership in its telecommunications companies at 49 per cent.

Asean must integrate to attract more foreign investment, said Ms Elizabeth Hernandez, regional director of the US-Asean Business Council, which represents more than US$50 billion in investments by US companies, including Dell and Ford.

US companies based "in one country can manufacture for the entire region and can also export to China or vice-versa," she said. — Bloomberg

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nov 29, 2004
S'pore, China talk bilateral trade and economic ties
PM Lee and Wen Jiabao hold a 'good discussion' before Asean Summit
By Zuraidah Ibrahim
Political Editor
in Vientiane (laos)

IN ANOTHER sign of improving ties between Singapore and China, prime ministers from the two countries yesterday had a warm meeting here in which they discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who arrived in the Laotian capital in the afternoon for the 10th Asean Summit, held talks with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao at his hotel, his second in 10 days with a Chinese leader.

His press secretary Chen Hwai Liang described the meeting thus: 'They had a good discussion. The atmosphere was warm. They exchanged views on how the two countries can further bilateral trade and economic cooperation as well as Singapore's role in advancing cooperation between Asean and China.'

A weekend ago while in Santiago, Chile, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting, Mr Lee called on Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Both leaders agreed that any moves towards independence by Taiwan posed a serious threat to regional stability.

That the talks yesterday between the two prime ministers moved on towards bilateral relations could be viewed as a positive sign of further progress.

The meeting between the two prime ministers, on the sidelines of the Asean Summit, comes four months after the Chinese expressed unhappiness over a private visit Mr Lee made to Taiwan in July when he was deputy prime minister.

In the aftermath of that trip, Chinese officials said that relations with Singapore would inevitably be affected.

Several bilateral exchanges were put on hold and Beijing warned that plans to launch free trade agreement talks this year might be delayed.

But a thawing of sorts began later with interactions on the ground resuming, particularly after Singapore reiterated that there had been no change to its 'One China' policy.

Apart from bilateral issues, Mr Lee and Mr Wen yesterday also discussed Asean.

China and the 10-member regional grouping have a strategic partnership plan that will result in the two sides setting up a free trade area by 2010.

At the summit which opens this morning, leaders will sign an agreement to move forward on the trading of goods by removing most tariffs by that year.

Said Mr Chen: 'Both leaders noted with satisfaction the conclusion of the goods chapter under the framework of the China-Asean FTA.'

The trade-in-goods agreement between China and Asean is one of about 30 that leaders will sign at this year's summit.

The China-Asean FTA will create the world's biggest free trade zone of nearly two billion people with a combined gross domestic product of US$1 trillion (S$1.65 trillion).

Another key pact to be inked will be one which takes Asean members another step further in intergrating its economies, with 11 priority sectors identified.

They range from health care to e-commerce and from textiles to wood-based products.

Yesterday, PM Lee also met Myanmar's new Prime Minister Soe Win, who took over last month after a leadership shakeup that saw him replacing General Khin Nyunt, who was put under house arrest.

The Myanmar premier briefed Mr Lee on political developments in his country and its roadmap to democracy. PM Lee expressed his concern at the situation as it affected Asean's standing and credibility.

He urged Myanmar to make more determined and visible progress on the roadmap, said Mr Chen.

Last night, Mr Lee also met his Laotian counterpartBounnhang Vorachith. His other bilateral meetings are expected to be with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 29 November 2004 1452 hrs

Korea-Singapore FTA completed successfully
By Debra Soon, Channel NewsAsia

VIENTIANE : Korea and Singapore have successfully completed negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement.

The agreement is a comprehensive one which covers trade in goods, services, investment, customs procedures and other areas.

It was concluded after 7 rounds of negotiations and the lastest meeting between the Trade Ministers of both countries at the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Vientiane.

Under the agreement, Singapore's industries will enjoy tariff concessions on consumer electronics, percision engineering and other areas.

These sectors account for 75% of Singapore's exports to Korea.

Korean imports will enter Singapore tariff free when the Agreement goes into force.
The final text of the Agreement is expected to be completed by the end of the year. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

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PM Lee to visit India early next year to sign FTA
By Debra Soon, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Singapore and India have reached common understanding on all outstanding issues being negotiated under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.

The agreement is expected to be inked early next year in New Delhi.


This was revealed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's press secretary, after Mr Lee and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos.

The leaders had a good discussion and were pleased with the outcome of bilateral negotiations.

Mr Lee said he's looking forward to visiting New Delhi to sign the agreement which will pave the way for even closer ties. - CNA

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/119687/1/.html

Nov 30, 2004
Philips to set up R&D for health care here
By Chang Ai-lien

EUROPEAN giant Royal Philips Electronics is looking at expanding its Singapore research and development facility - the biggest outside its Netherlands headquarters - to incorporate health care, said its president Gerard Kleisterlee yesterday.

The company, which has launched a recruitment drive for 200 engineers and expects to have 1,300 in Singapore by year-end, will first consider how to merge the company's expertise in electronics with its medical systems arm, to help people monitor their health from home.

'The Connecting the Community strategy can serve as a platform to bring health care to the people,' Mr Kleisterlee told The Straits Times, referring to an $8 million pilot project rolled out by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to test new products and solutions.

The project will start in February and involve 2,500 trial users.

Apart from monitoring each participant's condition with equipment linked via broadband technology, users can get health-care advice and guidance from a hospital connected to the system, which will also sound the alarm in emergency cases.

Because the chronically ill tend to be older people less comfortable with the Internet, they will be able to keep track of their health condition - blood pressure or glucose level, for example - via their TV set.

This will help reduce medical costs in the long run, said a Philips spokesman, because early detection will allow illness to be treated before it becomes critical and requires intensive care in hospital.

Through the Connecting the Community project, Philips is teaming up with content and service providers to equip selected homes with both wired and wireless broadband and connectivity products.

Those who volunteer will experience interactive services such as e-health, e-learning, e-security and digital entertainment applications.

Mr Kleisterlee was speaking on the sidelines of the Radiological Society of North America conference in Chicago, attended by some 60,000 people from all over the world keen to learn the latest medical technologies in radiology.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 30 November 2004 2113 hrs

Temasek buys over HDB Corp
By Joanne Lee, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Temasek Holdings has bought over HDB Corp, the recently-corporatised arm of the Housing Board that overseas building and development.

A joint statement on Tuesday from the HDB and Temasek said that the sale is in line with the government agency's efforts to focus on its core role as the public housing authority.

It added that the sale will give HDB Corp the autonomy and flexibility to venture into development projects overseas.

HDB Corp's business is in township development, architecture, engineering, land surveying and other roles.

The other two main HDB divisions -- Estate and Lands, and Administration and Finance -- remain under the government's purview.

When contacted by Channel NewsAsia, Temasek declined to reveal any financial details, only saying that it sees good growth potential in HDB Corp.

The Housing Board arm was corporatised in July. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Mindtek acquires Singapore-listed IT firm
VINU LAL


TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2004 02:41:38 AM]
BANGALORE: Mindteck — a global software solutions firm with centres in India, the US, the UK, West Asia and Singapore, and promoted by the Bahrain-based Taib Bank — has agreed in principle to acquire a Singapore-based software firm engaged in business applications segment.

The size of the deal is not known, while sources added that this could be a first-of-its-kind transaction where a Singapore-listed firm is being acquired.

The deal is likely to be announced in another few days and notified to stock exchanges since Mindteck India is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Company sources said that the Singapore company is also a listed firm and is awaiting regulatory clearances to announce the deal.

Public holding in Mindteck India as on September 30, 2004 stood at 12.5%, while foreign promoters including Taib Bank and the US-based Infotech Ventures hold 79% stake in the company.

The stock, on December 1, closed at Rs 24 on BSE, which gained over 100% in the last three months, with the counter last week witnessing above-average trading volumes.

The company, which has emerged as a niche players in embedded systems involved in developing solutions for semiconductor testing equipment, semiconductor manufacturing tools, wireless Internet connectivity and web services has also substantial presence in banking, finance and insurance space.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/943371.cms

December 02, 2004

NZ film school to set up in S'pore

South Seas to offer film, TV courses

By Sharlene Tan

IN a move that seems to signal the increasing significance of Singapore in both the education and the media fields, a leading New Zealand-based film and television school will set up a training centre here.

The school, South Seas Film and Television School (Singapore), will conduct courses in film and TV production next year, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, announced at the opening of the Asia Media Festival at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday. While we cannot produce creativity, we can help creative people to express themselves, using the best digital software there is, he said.

South Seas Film and Television School, established in Auckland in 1992, has graduates working in Hollywood studios and even editing Peter Jackson's latest film, King Kong.

Mr Rob Verhoeven, executive director for South Seas Asia and one of the school's founders, told Streats yesterday that the school targets those coming from the polytechnics and the universities who have little or no experience but want to enter the media industry.

We get them ready to go straight into the industry, said Mr Verhoeven, 39, who added that the school has produced more than 600 New Zealand and international graduates so far.

The school, to be at Leng Kee Road, will kick off with a one-year full-time film and TV production course and will later introduce shorter courses such as for on-screen performance, and 2D and 3D animation.

South Seas in January conducted a special effects make-up industry workshop in association with MediaCorp and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).

He declined to reveal the tuition fees, but the South Sea's website states that New Zealand students pay NZ$13,500 (S$15,700) for the 43-week full-time course, with international students paying NZ$18,000.

The Singapore school will take in 100 students each year.

Singapore currently has several institutions offering film and media courses, such as Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University and the Canon Digital Media Hub.

Dr Balaji also announced other new initiatives such as Asian Food Channel, the new pay-per-view service which will begin operating here next year, and the joint effort between the MDA and the Singapore Land Authority to help film-makers rent vacant state properties such as the former Changi Hospital and the former hangar at Seletar Airport, on a short-term basis.

Copyright © Singapore Press Holdings, 2004. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 02 Dec 2004

M&C out to create its own SIA Girl icon

Group considering whether to create a new upmarket brand, reports VINCE CHONG

FORMER Singapore Airlines stalwart Michael Tan is exploring ways to create the equivalent of the SIA Girl for tycoon Kwek Leng Beng's Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) hotel chain, as the group aims to become Singapore's poster boy in the global hospitality industry.

He revealed too in an interview with BT that the London-listed group will decide in the next few months whether to create a new upmarket brand or to focus its resources on strengthening the Millennium and Copthorne chains.

Going with a new brand might mean more acquisitions, as well as rebranding some of M&C's existing hotels but if it was left up to him, Mr Tan - who was with SIA for 40 years - would take the second option.

'A new brand could dilute the effort to strengthen the Millennium and Copthorne brands,' he said. 'A brand is not just about the logo and colour but its product and quality which can only improve with sound HR (human resource) and personnel development.'

M&C has 20 hotels in the Americas, 27 in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, 13 in Asia and 28 in Australia and New Zealand.

Among them are classic names like Los Angeles' Millennium Biltmore Hotel, where Oscar ceremonies were held before World War II, and the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, which was once frequented by Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone as well as going through a brief incarnation as Hugh Hefner's gaudy Playboy Towers in the 1970s.

Strengthening the entire portfolio through sound branding, marketing and personnel management strategies should take two to three years, Mr Tan said, after which it may be more prudent to look at establishing a new marque.

This would cost 'millions', he said without elaborating.

M&C's capital expenditure has been reduced - from 40-50 million (S$126-157 million) in the late 1990s - after the tourism industry suffered time and again from global catastrophes like the Sept 11, 2001 and Bali terrorism attacks.

Mr Tan was SIA senior executive vice-president (commercial) before taking up the post of M&C executive vice-president (chairman's office) in February this year to oversee branding and marketing.

He spearheaded the formation of the Priority Passenger Services Club and the Frequent Flyers programme at SIA, among other initiatives, and is currently thinking of creating a service icon for M&C. 'I think it's something worth looking at,' he said.

'A face in the service industry shows personal touch, instead of advertising with just buildings and beds in the case of the hospitality business. This way, people relate to a person rather than a company. However, the company must not just have a face - its staff must propagate this service standard or it would not work.'

Standards must be almost impeccable, Mr Tan added, as it is human nature to pick on the negatives no matter how small they are. 'In SIA, I always ask if the staff can smile all the time because taking cabin crew for instance, passengers will be there observing you throughout the flight,' he explained.

He declined, however, to put a monetary premium on what a successful brand like the SIA Girl could bring to M&C.

'Pricing is an art, not a science,' Mr Tan said, adding that hotel rates in Singapore haven't yet fully recovered from 2003's Sars outbreak. 'Whatever it is, our price has to be competitive in terms of market conditions and among the key players. What this standard brings is the quality that is important in our strategy.'

M&C, which sold its half-stake in New York's Plaza hotel in October, posted a third-quarter net profit of 8.9 million last month from 2.9 million in the year-ago period as international travel climbed back up.

Mr Tan, who is employed on a contractual basis, also revealed that he retired from SIA because 'it was the responsible thing to do'. 'I was there for 40 years and when one comes to retirement age, one must go,' he said, adding that he might stay at M&C for one or two years before letting someone else take over.

'Nobody should think he's indispensable. The responsible thing is to let someone else take over because that shows that the succession plan has been well developed. In some cases, it's the right thing (to stay on) but in my case, it was only responsible to take the unselfish approach.

'When a place is left in turmoil when someone leaves, it shows that succession plans have not been made well.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 02 December 2004 1613 hrs

STMicroelectronics investing another S$2 billion in Singapore
By Chua Chin Chye, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Global chipmaker STMicroelectronics is pumping S$2 billion to expand its operations in Singapore over the next two years.

The figure is on top of S$4.7 billion already invested, and will make STMicroelectronics the fourth biggest industrial investor here.

It is also Singapore's fourth biggest industrial employer, with a headcount of 7,400.

The French-Italian chipmaker made the new investment commitment at the official opening of its TechnoPark facility in Ang Mo Kio on Thursday.

STMicro's facility at Ang Mo Kio houses four of Singapore's 12 wafer fabs.

The firm is planning to spend another S$2 billion in the next two years to expand its facilities.

New lines will also be added to another plant at Toa Payoh.

All this is to cope with rising demand.

Indeed, output of its 6-inch wafers -- used in things like computer peripherals, cars and consumer products -- is expected to double in the next two years.

STMicro has added three more wafer fabs over the last few years.

At full production capacity, the four plants in the TechnoPark can produce up to 120,000 wafers per week.

At the official opening, Trade & Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang paid tribute to STMicro's pioneering spirit.

"ST is also the pioneer in setting up an IC design centre, and our first wafer fab plant here in Singapore. These projects paved the way for Singapore's semiconductor industry," Mr Lim said.

STMicro's operations span manufacturing, marketing, supply-chain management, advanced IC design and R&D.

While the bulk of its R&D is done in France and Italy, much of its higher-end R&D is done in Singapore.

"In Singapore, there is a growing portion. You have to consider some R&D is advanced R&D. We do more advanced R&D here than in China. If you do a 3G generation, which you do for the world, you do in Singapore ... if you are to work on nanotubes, it's perfect to do here," said Pasquale Pistorio, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics.

Over the next five years, ST expects its total headcount to grow to 9,000.

R&D staff strength is likely to more than double to 500 from the current 200. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 03 Dec 2004

IDA sets aside $12m to boost outsourcing industry

It will train staff, improve services at local firms, develop R&D initiatives

By AMIT ROY CHOUDHURY

IN a major push to develop the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) yesterday announced that it has set aside $12 million, to be spent over the next two years, to develop capabilities that will help in providing high-end BPO services.

IDA also announced that a working group of the Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC) has developed the world's first industry standards for business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR), two important components of the BPO industry. This is an industry-led initiative to ensure quality of service.

The key strategies outlined include development of training programmes, where IDA will provide training support under existing manpower development schemes. Through these programmes, 1,000 infocomm professionals will be trained in BPO service provision by 2006, an IDA spokeswoman told BT.

The agency will also assist companies in the innovation of their BPO service delivery and promote research and development on outsourcing technologies. From these innovation efforts, IDA aims to help companies seed 20 projects worth more than $10 million in two years.

IDA will also help local companies certify their capabilities through establishing a code of practice for critical BPO activities to ensure quality of service provision. The industry standards developed by ITSC specify the stringent requirements that BC/DR service providers must possess so that they can provide a trusted operating environment and help companies secure and recover critical data in crisis, IDA said.

The industry standard serves to differentiate BC/DR service providers and provide guidance for end-user companies in choosing the best-fit providers. The standards include stipulations for operating, monitoring, maintaining and upkeeping BC/DR services offered to clients, IDA said.

Seven companies received certificates of achievement yesterday from Balaji Sadasivan, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and The Arts and Health, at a seminar organised by the IDA.

These companies include Hewlett Packard, IBM, NCS and Singapore Computer Systems for the BC/DR Service Provider category, and Equinix, SingTel and StarHub for the DR Facility category.

'By engaging a certified BC/DR service provider, assurance is provided to the end-user and frees the company to focus on its core competencies,' IDA said. The certification also serves as a quality mark to inspire service providers to upgrade themselves to provide better services.

Dr Balaji said Singapore can leverage on its intrinsic strengths and competencies to differentiate itself as a value-added player in the BPO arena.

Tan Ching Yee, chief executive officer of the IDA, added: 'The BC/DR industry standard instituted is timely and helps strengthen Singapore's position as a trusted business hub. With world-class quality service provision assured, this will further enhance BPO service delivery in Singapore.'

Stating that the plan to train resources was a good initiative, Patricia Yim, managing director of IBM Singapore, told BT: 'This means that Singapore has a wider pool of skilled resources in business continuity and disaster recovery services to tap. With high value-add skills, Singapore is well-placed to be the business continuity hub for the region.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 03 Dec 2004

S'pore to grow 8.3% in 2004: MAS survey

SINGAPORE - Singapore's economy is expected to grow 5.7 per cent in the final quarter of the year, bringing full-year growth to 8.3 per cent, according to a quarterly central bank survey of economists' forecasts published on Friday.

The figures are based on the average forecast of 19 private sector forecasters polled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and they confirm the country's best performance since 2000, when its economy grew 10.3 per cent.

The economists' estimates are in line with the government's in-house projection for an 8.0 per cent to 8.5 per cent rise in gross domestic product this year. In November, the Ministry of Trade and Industry narrowed its 2004 growth forecast from an earlier 8.0 per cent to 9.0 per cent range after a sharp slowdown in the July-to-September quarter.

In the previous MAS survey, which was carried out in August, economists had pegged full-year economic growth at 8.4 per cent.

For 2005, the economists expect the Singapore economy to grow 4.3 per cent on average, in line with the Singapore government's official forecast for growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

babystan03:Strait Times touched four-year high on thursday:) :)

http://chart.yahoo.com/c/5y/_/_sti.gif

Dec 4, 2004
S'pore seen as gateway for Korean firms
Free trade pact paves way for tie-ups with businesses seeking foothold in S-E Asia
By Lee Tee Jong

IN SEOUL - SINGAPORE could be used as a launchpad by South Korean companies seeking to expand into South-east Asia under the recently concluded Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

At a round-table discussion in Seoul this week, business delegates from both countries saw increased potential for tie-ups between Singaporean and South Korean businesses seeking entry into the region.

Mr Park In Gu, CEO of Dongwon Food and Beverage, a leading player in the South Korean food industry, felt that Singapore, with its strong logistical support, is attractive as a South-east Asian hub for the sourcing of cheap raw food materials from neighbouring countries and production of processed foods.

'We can set up joint ventures to produce Korean food in Singapore factories and export it to South-east Asian markets,' Mr Park said. 'With a high flow of tourists, Singapore can help introduce Korean food to the region.'

Although the free trade agreement, inked late last month, provides business opportunities for both sides, some analysts see it as more symbolic than substantial.

Hanyang University economist Cho Tae Hyo said the trade pact paves the way for South Korea to negotiate similar agreements with other South-east Asian countries and with Asean as a whole.

'The fact that some manufactured goods are not covered under the FTA and both countries reserve the right to implement emergency safeguards should the market share of products from the other country rise too sharply reflects the stiff competition between the two sides over products such as petrochemicals,' he said.

But there are still areas where both countries can complement each other.

For instance, South Korea, which observers say is 10 years ahead of Singapore in the field of digital media, can help the latter get a slice of the booming online games market in the Asia-Pacific expected to be worth almost US$2 billion (S$3.3 billion) by 2008.

In September, Singapore's Economic Development Board initiated the Games Creation Community with the aim of nurturing 15 to 20 game companies within two years and having 20 to 30 game titles under its belt.

The media industry, which includes the gaming sector, is expected to contribute 3.5 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product by 2012, up from 1.6 per cent now.

As the world most wired society and leader in the gaming business, Seoul has more than 200 gaming companies with total yearly revenue estimated at between US$83 million and US$415 million.

Singapore can leverage on South Korea's expertise in the digital media industry, according to Korea International Cooperation Agency for IT president Cho Sung Kap.

'With both countries placing emphasis on this industry, we can partner Singapore firms to develop products such as online games and mobile communication platforms,' he said.

As for South Korea, it can tap into Singapore know-how in the financial and services sectors to upgrade its competitiveness.

Singapore's established pre- sence in South-east Asia would be attractive to Korean companies branching out to the region.

'With industrial parks in Batam, Bintan, Vietnam and Wuxi, China, we can provide infrastructure and administrative help for Korean companies seeking to branch out in these places,' said Mr Victor Lim, senior marketing manager of SembCorp Parks Management.

He added that SembCorp's experience in setting up these parks can be instructive for South Koreans who are seeking to develop free economic zones.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 06 December 2004 1725 hrs

Mercedes heritage cars to be showcased in Singapore in 2006
By Derek Cher, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : DaimlerChrysler, the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz, will soon be showcasing its heritage cars in Singapore.

The cars will be on display at the new Mercedes-Benz Centre along Alexandra Road, which is due to be completed by early 2006.

The centre is the first of its kind in Asia and will occupy a total land area of some 9,300 square metres.

The move comes despite a drop in sales for Mercedes cars in Singapore.

For the first nine months of this year, Mercedes sold more than 2,400 cars in Singapore - down 10 percent on year.

The decline pushes its share on the market in the third quarter down to 3.6 percent - from 5 percent.

Mercedes is seeing strong competition from BMW, and that's threatening its leadership in the luxury car segment.

But its sole distributor, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, is not too worried.

Mr Cheah Kim Teck, CEO of Group Motor Operations of Jardibe Cycle & Carriage, said: "This year, in particular, sales was a little flat compared to last year. But nonetheless, I think given the circumstances, we have done very well.

"You have to take into consideration that the big growth of the market has been in the mass market product, mainly Japanese and Korean.

"Being a luxury brand, we don't necessary have to grow like the mass market grow. We will outsell our competitor in the luxury segment."

To boost its sales, Jardine C&C is investing some $36 million on a new Mercedes-Benz Centre.

This is part of its agreement with DaimlerChrysler to extend its sole distributorship until 2010.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage is confident that its exclusive dealership with DaimlerChrysler will last beyond 2010.

It says its history and track record has consistently shown good performance. So there is no reason why the partnership won't continue.

The new Mercedes Centre will not only showcase a wider range of luxury cars, but also heritage cars.

It is the first of such centres outside Europe.

Wolfgang Huppenbauer, Managing Director of Singapore operations at DaimlerChrysler Southeast Asia, said: "I think it is important for us that we show different ways, new ways and ideas of how to present our vehicles, as well as to showing our brand heritage."

The centre can easily house up to 40 showroom vehicles and a gallery for exhibitions and events. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

The telcos looking for different ways to grow their business.......

Dec 6, 2004
STI FAMILY
M1 could soon roll out broadband
It may sign up its first customers as early as July next year, says telco's chief exec
By Bryan Lee

HEMMED in by a fairly saturated market in which nine in 10 people own a mobile phone, growth appears to be an elusive target for Singapore's second-biggest mobile operator M1.

Indeed, chief executive Neil Montefiore acknowledges that the heady days when the telco grabbed new customers by the tens of thousands a month are well over.

That, however, has not stopped the energetic and effervescent 52-year-old from seeking new growth engines for the company - not just within its existing businesses but in brand new services and markets as well.

On top of attempts to raise usage of mobile data services by its customers, Mr Montefiore is hoping to break into the Internet broadband market, which he reckons could be a growth driver for the company in future.

'Given Singapore's broadband penetration of about 25 per cent to 30 per cent, there should be a fair amount of growth in that area if we do decide to go into that market,' he said.

M1 is now running trials for three technologies that will allow customers to enjoy broadband connections in their homes and offices without cables or phone lines.

While a decision to enter the broadband market will be made only in the first quarter of next year, Mr Montefiore says things 'look quite promising', adding that M1 could sign up its first broadband customers as early as July.

Sceptics may question how successful Mr Montefiore will be in breaking the largely SingTel-StarHub duopoly, but they will do well to remember that just seven years ago, it was he who led M1's charge against SingTel's stranglehold on the domestic mobile market.

Since then, the orange brigade has proven that red umbrellas do not always give better coverage.

M1 has also been mostly successful in fending off rival StarHub's challenge.

'We expect to continue to hold around 30 per cent of the market but we are not hung up on pure market share,' says Mr Montefiore.

Rather, he reckons it is more critical to get customers to spend more than simply to gain new customers.

One key area is mobile data services which have been showing 'healthy growth trends'.

'The challenge is to educate consumers on how to use their phones to enhance their lives with data services and multimedia content,' he said.

3G, which will boost data transfer rates for cellphones, will play an important role in fuelling this growth area, though meaningful revenue contributions are expected no earlier than 2006.

Another important source of mobile revenue is roaming, that is when customers use their phones abroad.

M1 has formed alliances and partnerships such as the Asian Mobility Initiative and with global mobile giant Vodafone to widen its reach and provide easier access to services to its customers.

'We're past the rapid growth phase and we're now focused on customer satisfaction.

'We're more interested in growing what the customer does with our services than just growing our customer base,' says Mr Montefiore.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Dec 6, 2004
SingTel guns for regional corporate network business
Telco is boosting its marketing budget to woo potential MNC clients from Europe and the US
By Bryan Lee

SOUTH-EAST Asia's biggest telco, SingTel, is flexing its muscles as it hopes to treble its regional corporate data services business, targeting as many as 50 new customers next year from Europe alone.

The telecommunications company is looking to replicate its success in regionalising its consumer mobile business in this fast-growing arena where telcos provide international links to the offices of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the region.

To fulfil these ambitions, Mr Lucas Chow, who heads the telco's corporate business, told The Straits Times that SingTel is spending more money organising seminars and other marketing events to raise its profile among potential MNC customers in Europe and the United States.

It has already started to do so, having organised three such events in Hong Kong, the US and Germany this year. Said Mr Chow: 'These seminars are very effective and generate more sparks and interest.'

He reckons that in five years' time, SingTel's corporate data services business should derive two-thirds of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) from overseas.

To achieve this, overseas contributions must grow by two to three times to match the foreign-local ratio of SingTel's overall Ebitda, he said.

For the six months ended Sept 30, SingTel derived 67 per cent of its $3.06 billion Ebitda from its wholly owned Australian subsidiary Optus and stakes in a handful of key mobile players in the region.

'In the corporate business that we are responsible for, we are quite far behind the group's average. My immediate goal is to grow the overseas contributions of my corporate business to match the group's average,' said Mr Chow.

Many companies use SingTel's infrastructure for their telecoms needs in Singapore, but elsewhere in the region, the telco has much more room to grow as it is a lot less dominant.

In addition, growth in less mature markets such as China and India will be faster than in older ones such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

Indeed, research house International Data Corp (IDC) predicts that these markets will power the pan-Asian market, excluding Japan, for international data services to grow by 30 per cent over the next five years.

Said IDC senior analyst Claus Mortensen: 'Starting next year, growth should pick up, especially in India and China. More and more companies are putting production facilities or call centres in those markets.'

According to IDC, SingTel is now the No. 4 player in the US$1.8-billion-a-year (S$3-billion-a-year) market. While its 6 per cent share may not seem impressive, it is just 3 percentage points behind market leader France Telecom's Equant, and is ahead of bigger telcos like AT&T and MCI.

SingTel has been making further inroads in this market with recent multimillion-dollar deals with German carmaker BMW, French retailer Decath- lon and German logistics giant Schen- ker. It has also partnered Dutch KPN to market each other's networks to each other's corporate clients.

Mr Chow said that as firms expand in Asia, they would rather work with an Asian specialist to save on costs and get a more responsive service.

Besides having good knowledge of and long-term partnerships in Asia, he said SingTel has an extra edge: 'Our unique position is that unlike other Asian telcos, we don't have a very big domestic market and that makes us very hungry for business overseas, so we will walk the extra mile just to make sure we get the business.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Seems like Singapore is very aggressive in the pursuit of FTAs.......:eek:

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 06 December 2004 1811 hrs

S'pore-Bahrain FTA talks to begin after Bahrain inks FTA with US
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Free trade agreement negotiations between Singapore and Bahrain will begin soon after Bahrain completes its FTA talks with the United States.

Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan told Channel NewsAsia this during his recent trip to Bahrain.

It's believed the Singapore-Bahrain FTA is likely to explore enhanced air links between both countries.

The groundwork for the Singapore-Bahrain FTA negotiations were laid when leaders of both countries first met in Singapore in October last year.

Singapore and Bahrain share several similarities.

Both are small island states dependent on external trade and commerce for survivial.

So, Deputy Prime Minister Tan feels both can serve as link cities for the companies of each country.

He said: "We would also like to see the FTA as benefitting not just Singapore and Bahrain but also to use it as a vehicle for Bahrain and the Middle East to interact more closely with Singapore and Southeast Asia."

Dr Tan added that Bahrain's experience in the area of Islamic banking can be tapped on as Singapore plans to become the financial centre for the Middle East.

But he noted that Singapore businessmen are still concerned with the security situation in the Middle East.

Dr Tan said: "The security situation is not going to be resolved easily. I think it is up to each company and businessman to assess the situation for himself and to see how to invest and to do business. But, it is also in these areas where there is the greatest opportunity, in some of the smaller Arab countries which are very positive about Singapore."

Trade between Singapore and Bahrain grew 26 percent in the first 10 months of this year to nearly $166 million.

And that has already surpassed the total trade for the whole of last year. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

So kiasu... Like FTA with everyone... :D :eek:

So kiasu... Like FTA with everyone... :D :eek:

Kaoz......stereotyping...... :bash: .........other countries also pursuing FTAs wat.......;)

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 06 December 2004 1842 hrs

SembCorp Engineers & Constructors gets S$660m deal for Indian refinery

SINGAPORE: SembCorp Engineers and Constructors has secured engineering, procurement and construction contracts worth nearly S$660 million for an Indian oil refinery project.

The contracts will see SembE&C provide procurement, project management, and construction management to complete a refinery project for Essar Oil in Gujurat, India.

President and CEO Mr Wong Heang Fine says the contracts are a significant step in SembE&C's efforts to expand its market share of the global process engineering industry.

These contracts do not have a material impact on SembCorp Industries' earnings per share for 2004.

Year-to-date, SembE&C has signed overseas contracts valued at more than S$1.4 billion.

The firm adds it's also currently in advanced talks for new process engineering projects in other parts of the world, including Indonesia, China, Saudi Arabia and the UK. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Another deal......oh boy.....:D

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 06 December 2004 1922 hrs

Singapore and Vietnam sign bilateral market access agreement
By Joanne Leow, Channel NewsAsia

HANOI : Singapore and Vietnam have concluded negotiations for bilateral market access by signing an agreement to facilitate the entry of Singapore products and services to Vietnamese markets.

This takes effect upon Vietnam's entry to the World Trade Organisation.

The agreement also demonstrates Singapore's support for Vietnam's effort to join the WTO.

Vietnamese leaders say negotiations were conducted in a friendly and flexible atmosphere.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong added that relations between the countries have been steadily strengthening since Vietnam joined ASEAN.

Trade and Industry ministers from both sides signed the agreement on the sidelines of Mr Lee's introductory visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam is an important economic partner and Singapore businessmen have invested US$7.9 billion in the country.

Trade between the countries was US$3.9 billion last year and was already US$3.6 billion in the first half of this year.

Mr Lee is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang. He will return to Singapore on Tuesday. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

oh loh i was posting the sembcorp-news and saw that you already posted it;) :D

Business Times - 08 Dec 2004

Aussie gaming firm to expand in Asia

(MACAU) Australia's Publishing and Broadcast Ltd and Hong Kong joint venture partner Melco signalled plans on Monday to expand in the gaming business in Asia, with possible casinos in Thailand and Singapore.

'This is just the beginning. We are keen to grow our gaming business in the region,' said James Packer, executive chairman of PBL, at a ceremony for the joint-venture Park Hyatt hotel and casino in Macau.

The ceremony, which featured dragon dancers and fireworks popping out of a model casino on display, is the latest in a spate of high-profile events as the once sleepy enclave of Macau mushrooms into a gambler's paradise.

The joint venture is PBL's first step into Asia, where gambling is becoming big business thanks to eased travel restrictions for millions of mainland Chinese tourists.

Over 60,000 new hotel rooms are expected to become available in the next decade, with US firms planning local versions of Nevada luxury complexes such as the Venetian Hotel.

Lawrence Ho, group managing director of Melco and son of gaming mogul Stanley Ho, said that together the two companies were looking for further gaming opportunities in Thailand and Singapore as well as anywhere in the region, political conditions permitting.

'We have met with the Singapore authorities and made enquiries about setting up. We have things on the drawing board for sure,' Mr Ho said.

The six-star Park Hyatt project is the first joint venture between PBL and Melco, which currently leases and manages slot machines in Macau.

Park Hyatt will cost HK$1.5 billion (S$315 million) to build and promises 240 luxury VIP guest rooms with two presidential suites.

The project is scheduled to be unveiled by 2007 and Park Hyatt will be the first six-star hotel on Macao.

The hotel will be the tallest building on the island. It is designed to stand at 160 meters high and cover a total construction area of 103,000 square meters.

The 32-story hotel will house a six-storey up-market casino targeting high rollers and big spenders.

Mr Ho said the payback for the casino will take one-and-a-half to two years.

Under the current agreement between Melco and PBL, Melco will have an effective interest of 60 per cent in any future gaming venture within the Greater China region.

With any future gaming ventures outside the region, PBL will have an effective interest of 60 per cent. - Reuters, Xinhua

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 09 Dec 2004

BreadTalk appoints new franchisee for Hong Kong and Macau

SINGAPORE - BreadTalk has signed a master franchise agreement for Hong Kong and Macau with All Global Limited.

This reverses an earlier announcement made on 29 June this year that Richmond HoldingsLimited - owned by the Group's master franchisee in the Philippines, Wilson Chu's Group of Companies (WC Group)- had been awarded the master franchise for Hong Kong and Macau.

Dr George Quek, BreadTalk's Group Managing Director said the WC Group and BreadTalk decided that given the overwhelming response and immense potential of the Philippines market, they needed a dedicated team to grow the country's business.

Breadtalk says All Global which currently holds the master franchise for the Watami chain of 11 Japanese tavern-style restaurants in Hong Kong has the requisite experience, track record and business network for the franchise.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dec 9, 2004
Singapore food brands go global

By Teo Pau Lin
FOOD CORRESPONDENT

A DECADE ago, dim sum was all the rage in Chinatowns around the world.

Now, Singapore companies are leading a South-east Asian charge to titillate the tastebuds of far-flung diners with more adventurous Asian flavours.

And many of these food lovers, from Frankfurt to San Francisco, are keen to cook up Asian treats at home.

So step into any ethnic supermarket in London and you'll see Britons dropping Singapore-made hot bean, chilli and satay sauces into their shopping carts.

Yeo Hiap Seng, a leading food company in Singapore, is the top-selling brand in Britain for these products, the company says.

In Dublin, time-strapped Irish looking for a fast homemade snack a bit more exciting than a boiled egg are turning in vast numbers to Koka instant noodles.

Tat Hui, which manufactures the Koka and Sanwa brands of instant noodles, exports 100 million packets a year to more than 25 countries.

'Westerners are venturing beyond their fish and chips and trying something more exotic,' observes Yeo Hiap Seng president and chief operating officer Tjong Yik Min.

Professional chefs are lapping up Singapore condiments too.

Every month in Dubai, the city's glittery set of hotels and restaurants use up 6,000 bottles of Kwong Cheong Thye soya and oyster sauces.

And Singapore-made fusions of East and West are winning stomachs overseas. In Kuwait, BreadTalk's chicken floss bun is flying off the shelves.

These made-in-Singapore names are just a few of the 35 restaurant brands and 60 food manufacturers which have pushed their products abroad.

There has been a steady increase in the number of local food businesses looking beyond Singapore, says International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), a government agency helping companies expand abroad.

Exports of manufactured food products, such as drinks, sauces, food mixes, instant noodles, fish balls and popiah skins, jumped from $1.65 billion in 2001 to $1.98 billion last year.

'Given the immense size of the global food service industry, which amounted to US$1,322 billion last year, there is a huge market out there for Singapore companies to tap,' says Mrs Tan Li Lin, deputy director of IE Singapore's lifestyle division. It is equal to S$2.1 trillion. Some of Singapore's best-loved food brands already have impressive report cards. In less than two years since it opened, the BreadTalk chain of bakeries has planted 24 outlets in Singapore, and another 24 in six other countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines.

Bee Cheng Hiang now sells its range of bak kwa and meat floss in 75 outlets across seven countries, including China and Taiwan.

The Crystal Jade group has 10 restaurants in six cities, including the opening this month in Beijing of a $7 million mega-restaurant that promises to be one of the finest Chinese restaurants in the world.

The Tung Lok group has seven Chinese restaurants in Jakarta, Beijing and Chengdu.

Meanwhile, up to 80 per cent of the Super Coffeemix Manufacturing group's revenue comes from its Asia-Pacific and global markets. Its best-selling coffee and cereal mixes are distributed to more than 30 countries.

One of the earliest Singapore companies to venture abroad, Yeo Hiap Seng started exporting its signature Yeo's soya bean drinks by following the 'Vietnamese trial' in the 1960s, Mr Tjong says, when the drinks gained considerable loyalty after being introduced to Vietnamese refugees in Malaysian camps.

When the refugees found homes in Britain, France and the United States, demand opened up in these markets.

Since then, Yeo's food and drink products have gone on to circle the globe, reaching 60 countries.

Of its $300 million turnover last year, about 70 per cent came from overseas sales. And of this, 70 per cent came from the sale of sauces.

Mr Tjong says the brand has found a comfortable niche, even among strong competition from Hong Kong's oyster sauce maker, Lee Kum Kee, and China's soya sauce brand, Zhujiang.

'Our product range is different. While Lee Kum Kee is more Hong Kong and Cantonese, we are more South-east Asian. So we complement each other,' he adds.

Companies say that, to penetrate foreign markets, they had to plough much money and effort into advertising and promotions.

BreadTalk's head of brand development, Joyce Koh, says the chain pitches itself as an 'international bakery' serving both Eastern and Western pastries, not strictly as a Singaporean bread maker.

Food Empire, whose flagship MacCoffee brand of instant coffee is not available in Singapore, has been a top-seller of three-in-one coffee mixes in Russia, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan in recent years.

Since setting up 10 years ago, the company has entered more than 40 countries with its range of 170 instant beverages, frozen finger food, snacks and confectionary - thanks to extensive advertising and promotion, says founder and executive chairman, Tan Wang Cheow.

Its MacCoffee logo was emblazoned on everything from a TV dating show in the Ukraine and pop concerts by Ukrainian band Alibi, to Euro Cup qualifier football matches this year.

Of course, selling abroad is not always easy.

Bee Cheng Hiang closed a franchise outlet in Mauritius in 2000 after about four years because the small Chinese population could not sustain it.

Said general manager Daniel Wong: 'Bak kwa is a very niche product, which not many locals could understand.'

Yeo Hiap Seng's Mr Tjong recalls how its brand of soya milk didn't catch on in Thailand when it was introduced three years ago - possibly because Yeo's sounds like 'horse urine' in Thai.

'But we will still re-enter the market at a later stage,' he adds.

As any food lover knows, good Singapore fare is tough to pass up.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 10 December 2004 1928 hrs

S'pore sets up WaterHub to leverage on expertise in water technology
By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore is set to take a slice of the multi-billion dollar water technology and management pie with the opening of the new WaterHub in Jurong.

The S$32 million facility does not just carry out training, it also looks set to put Singapore on the water technology map.

Water management may sound like a pretty dry topic to some.

But at least, it is a multi-billion dollar one.

The WaterHub is now one place interested players can learn all about how water is produced and tested.

And it is appealing not just to local companies but regional ones as well.

Associate Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said, "There is a market for water, people are prepared to come in and invest, to buy the technology because (the) technology will help us produce the water a lot more cheaply.

"It's important to have this and bring in more players and also leverage with people overseas because...the water industry is a global industry and there are many players in the market. We are just a small hub so to speak, but we are important because we have been doing this for many years. We have a lot of experience that we can share.."

And that is what the Singapore Water Association is being started to do.

It aims to promote Singapore as a leader in water technology.

Olivia Lum, President, Singapore Water Association, said, "We have so many water treatment companies and it's because of the needs that we are very focused in making water treatment business. Singapore is a small market and using this platform, we are hoping that Singapore companies can springboard to the other markets as well.

"We want to use this as a platform to reach all the people who are interested in Singapore and this is also a platform for local companies to venture out to the rest of the countries who need water. This platform is also good for (the) local industry, which is quite fragmented, to gather and network so they have a platform to network overseas."

And one potentially huge market that Singapore is eyeing is the China market.

Alone, it is worth about US$5 billion.

Singapore is also looking to export its water technology to India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The Public Utilities Board has already pumped in S$30 million to fund research and development projects.

This includes the membrane bioreactor, built to improve the quality of NEWater.

The bioreactor will compress the three-stage process of treating wastewater into a single step, which PUB says is more reliable, more efficient and cheaper.

Harry Seah, Director, Technology Centre, Public Utilities Board, said, "We have been testing the membrane bioreactor for more than one and a half years already, and we test all the different conditions and all the different techniques. We are confident that it's been proven and we know that this technology will give us better quality water.

"With that testing, we are more or less decided that we are going for a bigger scale plant of a 5 mgd per day plant to be built at the Ulu Pandan water reclamation plant and we hope to call the tender early next year."

In the long run, the use of membrane bioreactor may also bring down the cost of NEWater.

Mr Seah said, "This is one of the aspects that we are looking into. We'll wait until we have built the demo plant. We'll test it on a bigger scale and that will give us a better idea in terms of savings and costs if any."

The setting up of this WaterHub is another important step in Singapore's efforts to ensure that its plan for four national taps is on track to ensure self-sufficiency in future." - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 10 December 2004 1622 hrs

International interior design federation to be based in Singapore
By Joanne Leow, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : The DesignSingapore Council and the International Federation of Interior Architects and Designers (IFI) have inked a deal which will have IFI basing its headquarters in Singapore from February.

The body represents over 35,000 interior architects and designers.

Its projects include promoting good design, setting professional standards and helping young designers.

IFI will receive an annual grant of S$50,000 and have an office at the new National Library Building at Bugis next year.

It said Singapore was the ideal choice since it was easily accessible and had an international outlook.

The Federation said it was a tough decision to make on where to base its new headquarters.

It received over 20 proposals from cities like Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Shanghai and Seoul; but in the end, it chose Singapore.

Said Dr Milton Tan, director of the DesignSingapore Council, "It's about being part of a major network and the HQ is like a major point of contact, a major node in the international network of designers. We expect to find many IFI projects here as well, their meetings, their members coming here for various seminars." - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd


Business Times - 11 Dec 2004

IFI shifting its HQ from Korea to Singapore in 2005

THE International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) will move its headquarters from Korea to Singapore next year.

The IFI is the international body representing some 35,000 interior architects and designers and has working groups that focus on education, universal design, pro vitae projects and continuing design industry development.

'Having IFI in Singapore encourages our local designers to understand that they are part of an international design community and issues related to their practice are shared by other countries,' said Derek Mackenzie, president of the Interior Design Confederation (Singapore) or IDC(S). 'IDC(S) is still a new entity - having IFI close at hand will offer us the opportunity to communicate with international communities and if we are fortunate, learn and grow more quickly with the advantage of the IFI ambience and our propinquity.'

IFI changes the location of its headquarters every four years and will be in Singapore from 2005 to 2008. The IFI office will be in the Mica building on Hill Street.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by NAC CEO Lee Suan Hiang and president-elect of IFI, Madeline Lester.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dec 12, 2004
$649m S'pore-KL telco venture

By Bryan Lee
SINGAPORE Technologies (ST) Telemedia has teamed up with Kuala Lumpur-based Telekom Malaysia to jointly invest US$390 million (S$649 million) in a 48 per cent stake in India's No. 5 mobile phone operator, Idea Cellular.

In the latest sign of warming Singapore-Malaysia business ties, the two companies yesterday unveiled a deal to buy a one-third stake in Idea for US$200 million from Cingular Wireless of the United States, which took over the mobile phone business of AT&T earlier this year.

On top of this, the two companies will inject additional capital of US$190 million into the Indian telco, which will raise its stake by another 15 per cent to the total 48 per cent stake.

ST Telemedia's move to join forces with Telekom Malaysia, which first made the news in May, is one of a number of Singapore-Malaysia tie-ups this year.

In the telecom industry alone, SingTel entered into a partnership with Time dotCom in October. And earlier this year, ST Telemedia's parent, Temasek Holdings, took a 5 per cent stake in Telekom Malaysia.

In the latest deal, ST Telemedia will fork out US$234 million as it has a 60 per cent stake in its joint venture with Telekom Malaysia. This means it will own an effective 29 per cent stake in Idea, making it the single largest shareholder.

Idea's other two major shareholders are India's Aditya Birla and Tata groups which will own 26.3 per cent and 24.7 per cent stakes respectively after the deal is completed in the first quarter of next year.

The purchase will also give ST Telemedia a foothold in India's booming mobile phone market, which is adding an eye-popping 60,000 new subscribers every day.

The country is the second largest mobile market in the world after China with vast potential for growth given that just four in every 100 people there own a mobile phone. Idea Cellular has more than 4.5 million customers, giving it about a 10 per cent share of the market.

Local rival SingTel has already made inroads into the country, having invested $1.13 billion in a 28 per cent stake in Bharti, India's No. 2 mobile operator, since 2000. For the quarter ended Sept 30, SingTel's share of Bharti's net profit was $33 million, more than double the $15 million last year.

'The investment in Idea Cellular is yet another major milestone in the expansion of ST Telemedia's wireless footprint. The investment will enhance ST Telemedia's regional presence and create potential new synergies with the group's existing businesses,' said ST Telemedia chief executive Lee Theng Kiat.

ST Telemedia owns major stakes in two other mobile phone companies: StarHub in Singapore and Indosat in Indonesia.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 13 Dec 2004

Sennheiser subsidiary in Asia-Pac by Q2

S'pore in running to be base for global development of a product group

By DANIEL BUENAS

SENNHEISER Electronic, one of the world's leading manufacturers of professional and consumer microphones and headphones, plans to invest around US$8 million to set up a subsidiary in Asia Pacific responsible for the worldwide development of one of its product groups, and Singapore is a leading contender.

Sennheiser's sales and marketing president Rolf Meyer was in town to open the new office of one of its distributors. He told BT that the company aims to set up a 'product-specific organisation' - which will have the worldwide responsibility for 'a certain product group' - around the second quarter of next year, although the company is keeping mum on what that product will be.

'The total product group will be run from here, and the total revenue will be around US$45-50 million a year,' Mr Meyer said. 'We would start with a team of 12-15 people, but we plan to grow that to 30-50 people over the next 3-4 years, because this is one of our product groups that is growing fastest.'

He added that the company is looking for someone to head the operations for the new subsidiary, although he declined to reveal the specific products it would deal with.

'I don't want to tell my competitors everything,' Mr Meyer said.

Singapore is the regional headquarters of the company, and Mr Meyer said that the decision to set up the new subsidiary in the region was based on the booming Asian market.

Singapore, with its skilled labour pool and good infrastructure, is a prime contender to host the new unit.

Asia is currently the company's fastest growing market - over the last four years, revenues from the region have grown almost four-fold, and Mr Meyer estimates the Asian market for his industry to be worth around US$1.5 billion.

Last year, the region accounted for about 12 per cent of the company's revenues, or around US$25 million, up from US$15 million in 2002, and Mr Meyer believes Asia will make up 30 per cent of total revenue in about five years.

For Singapore, 2003 revenues were around US$6 million, and Mr Meyer expects that to double over the next five years.

'Singapore is a relatively small market compared with China, but Singapore is probably the most challenging market because it has the highest concentrated amount of competition,' he said.

Moving ahead, Mr Meyer said that Singapore will be the 'think tank' for the company in Asia.

'Asia is made up of a number of countries with different traditions and economic developments,' he said. 'Our challenge for our organisation here in Singapore would be to develop the right strategies for each of these markets.'

For its FY03, the company generated worldwide sales of 237.2 million euros (S$522 million), a 3.6 per cent increase over the previous year, while net profit rose 27 per cent to around 428,200 euros, from around 337,000 euros previously.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 13 Dec 2004

IBM launches two new RFID centres

By ROLAND LIM

IBM last week launched two new Radio Frequency Identification Solution (RFID) centres in Singapore, worth a combined investment of $12 million from IBM and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).

The IBM Asean/South Asia RFID Solution Zone is IBM's first in Asean and South Asia.

The centre contains all the infrastructure components necessary to construct an RFID solution and allows IBM's clients from Asean and South Asia to pilot and test RFID deployments before implementing the solutions.

The other centre is the IBM-Nanyang Polytechnic RFID Integration Zone, which aims to increase the adoption of RFID by giving students the opportunity to work with the technology.

Edward Ho, deputy principal of technology at NYP, felt that the centre will help students 'stay close to the industry and stay relevant', and added that 'students can bring in new ideas too'.

Patricia Yim, managing director of IBM Singapore, hoped that with the launch of the centre, 'our local community may yet find new applications for RFID, or contribute another world-first for Singapore in the RFID field'.

RFID is a technology used largely in the logistics and transport industry. IT uses radio frequency to capture data stored in chips or 'tags' that are embedded in products and enables more efficient tracking of inventory.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore hopes to develop Singapore into a leader in the RFID industry. In November it issued a Call For Collaboration (CFC) for the RFID industry. Previous CFCs have seen industry partners working together on joint projects which enjoy partial funding from IDA.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

December 13, 2004

World design body to base HQ here

Move will complement S'pore's bid to become design hub

By Khushwant Singh

SINGAPORE'S ambition to become a design hub received a boost last week with the announcement that the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) will relocate its headquarters here next year.

IFI's president, Mr Min Young Baek, said this before signing a memorandum of understanding with Mr Milton Tan, director of DesignSingapore Council at The Arts House.

DesignSingapore is a department of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) and Friday's announcement came just over a week after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a $3-million fund to promote architectural and urban design.

Mr Min revealed to reporters that the nine IFI council members had agreed unanimously on Singapore over proposals from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea and Malaysia.

He said: "Our decision to partner DesignSingapore Council reflects the common objective of expanding the contributions of interior architecture and design internationally.

"As Singapore is a major international city and design centre, basing IFI's headquarters here was ideal culturally and geographically."

IFI will receive free office premises and an annual grant of $50,000 from the Government.

Mr Tan called IFI's move here an important milestone

in Singapore's strategy to develop itself into a leading design centre.

He was confident that Singapore's strategic location will allow design ideas to flow between East and West.

He said: "We look forward to working closely with IFI to bring together some of the world's best design talents with Singapore designers to raise the impact of design internationally."

Local architects and designers can also plug into IFI's vast network of 35,000 members and 33 associations from 31 countries.

Although the agreement was to have IFI here for the next four years, Mr Min said that this could be extended as past experience has showed.

IFI had its secretariat office in Amsterdam for 32 years and in Johannesburg for seven years before moving to Korea early this year for an interim period while it decided on the next location.

Its secretariat here, which will have a staff of two to three, is expected to be operating by the first half of next year.

Copyright © Singapore Press Holdings, 2004. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 14 Dec 2004

Strong flow of S'pore investments into M'sia

Closer ties and improving economic climate boost flow of funds

By DANIEL BUENAS

(SINGAPORE) In what some observers say is a sign of closer bilateral ties and improving regional economic prospects, the flow of Singaporean investment into Malaysia for the first six months of this year hit the highest level since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997/98, while Malaysian investment into Singapore in the same period reached a three-year high.

Speaking at the Malaysia-Singapore Forum 2004 yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang revealed that Singapore's total portfolio and non-portfolio investments for the first six months of the year reached RM18.5 billion (S$8.02 billion) - the highest flow of Singapore funds into Malaysia since the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis.

Portfolio investment refers to investments in equities and other financial instruments, while non-portfolio investments are those involving physical assets.

During the corresponding period, Malaysia's investment into Singapore reached a three-year high of RM11.1 billion.

'The investment is not just one way, it is two-way,'Mr Lim said. 'What many people do not realise is that the cross-flow (from Malaysia) is equally as strong.'

Mr Lim, who was speaking on the topic of 'Deepening Business and Economic Cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore', added that the countries' 'economic destinies' are 'inextricably linked' not only through geography, but also through shared family ties, cultural traditions, heritage and business values.

He also pointed out two areas - tourism and financial services - where Singapore and Malaysia could 'usefully integrate and maximise returns'.

'Singaporeans constitute the top visitors to Malaysia, with more than 7 million visitors a year,' Mr Lim said. 'Similarly, Singapore enjoys a very strong flow of visitors from Malaysia, and it is in fact, our intention to attract this flow.'

Mr Lim also highlighted the Malaysia-Singapore Third Country Business Fund (MSBF), which is used to help Singapore and Malaysian companies carry out feasibility studies and organise joint missions to venture into third-country markets, as a useful vehicle for collaboration.

'I think this is a very exciting development,' Mr Lim said. 'There is tremendous potential in such ideas ... (and) a new area of opportunities for both of us.'

The MSBF was also mentioned by Mustapa Mohamed, Minister at Malaysia's Prime Minister's Department, who also spoke at the forum.

'Besides having Singapore companies investing in Malaysia, we expect more Malaysia-Singapore joint ventures teaming up to explore opportunities abroad,' he said. 'The prevailing political and economic climate now is more conducive for greater Singapore investment into Malaysia, and also for joint ventures between Malaysian and Singapore companies abroad.'

Also speaking at yesterday's forum was Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who met with his Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn.

Mr Tharman said that there was considerable scope for Malaysia and Singapore to cooperate in education.

'Dato Hishammuddin and I have discussed and agreed that we have to build on past relationships and open new opportunities for collaboration and partnership between Malaysia and Singapore,' Mr Tharman said. 'We will create more opportunities for our students to get together more often through regular visits, and by participating in camps, activities or projects together, and even by attending lessons in each other's schools.'

He added that the education ministries of the two countries would work out the details for the collaboration, with some programmes starting as early as next year.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 14 December 2004 1931 hrs

Six engineering and environmental services get IHQ status
By Chua Chin Chye, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Six more companies received International Headquarters status on Tuesday, pushing the total this year to more than 36.

So, this year will be a bumper crop, outnumbering last year's 27 IHQ awards.

Those awarded came from the fast-growing engineering and environmental services, or EES, sector.

They are expected to generate business spending of some S$67 million annually, and employ about 200 people.

Receiving their IHQ awards from the Environment Minister were: Beca Asia Holdings, SembCorp Environment, Kellogg Brown & Root, Sinomem, Flowserve and Otto.

The award gives preferential tax treatment to companies for their capabilities, scale of operations, and their decision to base their operations in Singapore.

The Dutch firm, Otto, is so confident about the developing industry here that it's relocating its CEO to Singapore.

Lue Charles Muller, Group CEO, Otto Industries, said: "After benchmarking different sites in the region, we decided that Singapore is the most pro-business. Also, Singapore has good talent which we need for developing ourselves in the region."

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment, said: "These companies' decision to set up base in Singapore is significant on two counts: it's both a testimony to Singapore's attractiveness as a global engineering and environmental services hub, and also underscores the growth potential of this industry in Singapore."

He added that Singapore is well-placed to become a comprehensive one-stop engineering solutions hub serving industries, such the pharmaceuticals, electronics and infrastructure.

Singapore is aiming to become a global hub for engineering and environmental services, with firms in water treatment, waste management, pollution control and energy services.

The EES industry accounts for 2 percent of Singapore's economy, and is seen growing by between 5 and 10 percent annually. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Singapore NatSteel Holders OK Sale Of Steel Ops To Tata

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--NatSteel Ltd.'s (N02.SG) shareholders Wednesday approved the sale of its steel business to India's Tata Iron & Steel Co. (500470.BY) for around US$285 million, the Singapore company said.

The acquisition, which was first announced in August, will take NatSteel out of the steel business while giving Tata Steel a presence in seven Asia-Pacific countries.

In addition to Singapore, where it is the sole steelmaker, NatSteel has subsidiaries in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia.

Tata Steel will use the NatSteel facilities and brand in the Asian markets, while NatSteel plans to use money from the sale to expand its chemicals and construction businesses.

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/041215/15/3p9rk.html

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 16 December 2004 1054 hrs

Singapore economy adds 14,100 jobs in Q3; jobless rate falls to 3.4%

SINGAPORE : Singapore's employment rose by 14,100 in the third quarter, for its fifth consecutive quarter of gains, a Manpower Ministry report said on Thursday.

The figure was up from 10,900 in the second quarter and brings the total number of persons employed to about 2.17 million as at September.

"Recovery in the job market strengthened in third quarter, supported by the robust economic growth in the first half of the year. Employment saw its longest sustained period of expansion, outlasted only by the recovery from the Asian crisis," MOM said.

The ministry said the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent by the end of September, from 4.5 percent three months earlier, as the strong economy generated a large number of new jobs.

The figure is unchanged from a preliminary forecast made in November.

"This improvement brought the unemployment rate to around the level in 1999 when the economy started recovering from the Asian crisis but it exceeded the pre-crisis low of around 2.0 percent," the ministry said. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 16 December 2004 1546 hrs

All signs point to slowdown in Singapore economy next year: analysts
By Derek Cher, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Thanks to robust growth in the first half, the Singapore economy looks set to finish the year as one of the fastest-growing in the region.

Full-year GDP is expected to jump by 8%-8.5%.

But looking into 2005, all signs point to a slowdown.

Growth for next year has been forecast at between 3% and 5%, but analysts say a downward revision cannot be ruled out.

Falling technology demand and higher oil prices have hampered Singapore's growth in the second half of the year.

After four quarters of double-digit growth, the economy contracted in the third quarter.

While Q4 numbers are expected to show a pickup, the outlook for next year is clouded by the slowdown in the global IT sector.

And some analysts fear that the slowdown may accelerate next year.

"We have not seen the bottom, for example, in the IT sector. The risk is still for a much stronger decline in the IT sector than we expect. If it does, then it will have a big impact on the potential growth in Singapore and the rest of the region which is heavily dependent on electronics," said analyst Sani Hamid.

And there are also questions over the highly volatile pharmaceutical sector.

In recent months, output in this sector has been erratic as manufacturers shut down plants for maintenance and product changes.

Even though the biomedical sector has a very significant effect on headline GDP, economists say it will have very little impact on domestic consumption.

They expect the sector to continue to be volatile as it is still dominated by a few international companies operating here.

But perhaps the biggest question mark lies over oil prices.

US crude futures are now trading at some 18% below record highs set in October - but they're still up some 30% since the start of the year.

G K Goh's regional economist, Song Seng Wun, said: "As long as the nominal price for oil stays at this current level, between US$40 and US$50, then I don't think it will do much to global economy in the next 12 to 15 months. It is when nominal prices reach somewhere around US$60 or more, then in real terms that will have more of an impact on business and consumer expectation. And, that could affect demand and economic activities."

Other major downside risks include developments in the US and China.

Singapore's economy - which is is heavily dependent on exports - will be hit by any slowdown in the US or a hard-landing in China. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 16 Dec 2004

S'pore seen as an ideal storage hub

EMC chief Joseph Tucci points to its central global location and intellectual property protection laws, reports RAJU CHELLAM from San Francisco

SINGAPORE could be an ideal location for large companies and other MNCs to set up their data warehouses, disaster recovery centres and data hubs, given Singapore's central global location as the third point in a triangle covering the US and Europe.

That's the view of Joseph Tucci, president and CEO of storage management giant EMC Corp.

'Singapore is ideally placed and has adequate laws to protect intellectual property which large companies can take advantage in setting up their disaster and data recovery centres,' he told BT at the Oracle OpenWorld megashow in San Francisco last week.

'EMC is helping quite a few companies to help them set up data hubs in Singapore.'

Mr Tucci said that EMC is aiming to gross US$1 billion in annual revenues from the Asia-Pacific region next year as Asia's economy expands and storage gets back on corporate radar screens.

'The Asia-Pacific region including Japan contributes about 13 per cent to our global revenues,' he said. 'This region is the fastest-growing among all geographies for us.'

EMC's local customers include the Central Provident Fund Board, Citibank, DBS Bank, BNP Paribas, NTUC FairPrice, NTU, NUS, Soundbuzz, Jebsen & Jessen, Siemens Business Services, Seagate Technologies, Agilent, Infineon Technologies and the Singapore Exchange. Here's a peek at some of them:

-BNP Paribas has centralised its Asia-Pacific IT management operations in Singapore. The company also runs a centralised back-up solution centre outside Singapore, as an added safety measure.

-The CPF Board uses EMC's remote data mirroring software to consolidate data and ensure data integrity between its two data centres. The board carried out a simulation exercise where it completely destroyed its primary data centre.

'The recovery of its entire system took about an hour, much lower than three days needed with a solution from another vendor,' an EMC spokeswoman said.

-Siemens Business Services is one of the largest SAP installations in the Asia-Pacific region. It has consolidated its regional data centres into its Singapore operations, which minimised system downtime. The European giant used EMC's replication technology, tiered storage and management software to carry out this exercise.

-Agilent Technology implemented a storage area network based on EMC Symmetrix DMX system, and Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) to ensure high information availability and quick business recovery in the event of planned or unplanned outages.

According to IDC Corp, EMC led the market in Singapore in external storage systems in the third quarter with a 33.5 per cent share, up from 18.8 per cent a year ago.

Ravi Rajendran, EMC's Singapore country manager, said the company made strong gains in the small and medium enterprises market with a range of networked storage solutions that it offers through its channel partner presence.

'Singapore is a very strategic market for EMC,' Mr Rajendran said. 'More local businesses are turning to EMC to solve their information storage and management needs now. Even across the Asia-Pacific region, we recorded the highest year-on-year revenue growth among the five largest suppliers in the region in Q3,' he added.

The data storage industry is crucial to Singapore's economy, given that Singapore makes 35 per cent of the world's hard disk drives. Singapore's domestic data storage market alone is worth about US$100 million a year and accounts for about 5 per cent of the Asia-Pacific region's (excluding Japan) US$1.8 billion in annual data storage revenues.

A slew of listed companies in Singapore supply components and services to the hard disk industry, including Brilliant Manufacturing, Cheung Woh Technologies, Magnecomp International, Miyoshi Precision, MMI Holdings, Seksun Corp and Unisteel Technology. About 30,000 people work in Singapore's hard disk drive sector.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 16 December 2004 2122 hrs

Rolls-Royce, A-Star to jointly set up advanced research centre in Singapore
By Michael Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Rolls Royce will be setting up a new Advanced Technology Centre in Singapore together with A-Star.

The centre will be funded by Rolls-Royce to the tune of $10 million a year over the next five years.

A-Star will provide the institute and the personnel.

The decision to house its first unique one-stop technology centre is a coup for A-Star - the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

Professor Chong Tow Chong, Executive Director of the A-Star, said: "With this collaboration, we hope to anchor Rolls-Royce in Singapore not just in their current activites but also new activities in R&D. This is a main purpose we want to work closely with Rolls-Royce to move the industry up the value chain."

The new centre will conduct research into areas like complex aerodynamics simulations, materials science and precision manufacturing.

And according to Rolls-Royce, all R&D development done will benefit all four of its business arms - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.

The unique feature about this R&D centre is that the researchers would be housed in a few institutes.

Dr Mike G.J.W. Howse, Director of Engineering & Technology at Rolls-Royce in England, said: "We want to use four or five different institutes. It is very important to us we keep the people located amongst where the other skilled people in there with the very advance and unique equipment in some of these institutes. That's why we are calling it virtual because we leaving people there to work together."

For a start, the R&D centre will have 10 researchers - but the number is expected to grow to as many as 40. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Dec 17, 2004
Indian industry to back FTA with S'pore
One of country's oldest industry groups sees it as a win-win deal

By Ravi Velloor
India Bureau Chief

NEW DELHI - INDIAN industry is convinced that a free-trade agreement with Singapore will benefit both sides and now stands ready to give full backing to the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, or Ceca, a leading business lobby group said.

'Ficci has very carefully analysed it and concluded that there is great merit to Ceca,' Dr Amit Mitra, secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said in an interview.

The backing from one of India's oldest industry chambers is a boost to the negotiations, which have dragged on past the original deadline set for April, partly because of the rules of origin set by the Indian government on treatment of imported goods.

A government change in New Delhi in mid-year also contributed to the delay.

Ficci has conducted four industry-sensitisation missions since October, sending teams to Chennai, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, aside from meetings at its New Delhi base. Ahmedabad is a centre for petrochemicals, hydrocarbons and dyestuffs and industries based there have been leery of the competition from petroproducts shipped from Singapore once Ceca is in force.

'From what we know of the negotiations we feel a clear win-win is being achieved on both rules of origin and on Singapore's side, movement of natural persons,' Dr Mitra said.

'We are reasonably confident that at the rate talks are moving we should have a high chance of fruition by the end of January.'

Dr Mitra, an economist by training, said he expected bilateral trade with Singapore to rise from US$4 billion (S$6.5 billion) to US$5 billion in a year's time, and US$10 billion by the year 2010, or earlier.

Political will on both sides was key for trade ties to blossom. For instance, India's trade with China was US$1 billion in 2000. This year, bilateral trade between the two Asian giants is averaging US$1 billion a month.

In the next two or three years, China would overtake the United States as India's biggest trading partner, he predicted.

'What made the difference with China trade was political will,' Dr Mitra said. 'Ceca will give us that political comfort so important to trade. As much as it is an economic document it is a political statement as well.'

An India FTA was mooted by then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong following the success of FTAs with New Zealand and Japan. Singapore and India convened a joint study group in April 2002 and negotiations started in earnest in May last year.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 17 December 2004 1347 hrs

Singapore's Nov non-oil domestic exports up 16.5% year-on-year

SINGAPORE : Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose 16.5 percent on year to S$11.33 billion in November, driven by higher sales of electronic goods and buoyed by a low year-ago base, says International Enterprise Singapore.

A report released on Friday adds that seasonally adjusted, non-oil domestic exports fell 9.1 percent from October.

Exports of key electronic products, which account for more than half of total non-oil exports, rose 20 percent from a year earlier to S$6.15 billion, an improvement from October's 10.3 percent rise.

"Growth was supported mainly by larger shipments of ICs (semiconductors), telecommunication equipment, and parts of PCs (personal computers)," the government agency said.

But domestic exports of disk drives remained sluggish due to weak demand from key markets.

Semiconductor exports were up 32.9 percent on year at S$1.96 billion in November, also better than the 24.8 percent increase in October.

Demand for drugs however cooled, falling 10.0 percent in November from a year earlier.

Exports to the United States, Singapore's second-biggest market for non-oil goods, increased to 21.3 percent in the year through November from 3.8 percent in October. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 17 December 2004 2107 hrs

Services sector main engine of jobs growth in Singapore
By Chua Chin Chye, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: The services sector is the main engine of jobs growth in Singapore.

It hires nearly four times as many workers as the manufacturing sector, and the numbers keep growing each year.

But, the sector is not without its problems.

It's now starting to be hit by outsourcing.

And while the commerce sector - such as hoteliers, wholesalers and retailers - remains optimistic about their growth prospects, others - like the banks and finance companies - have become less bullish.

The services sector now accounts for close to 70 percent of Singapore's 2.1 million employed.

Analysts say they expect the sector to continue creating new jobs.

"There should still be GDP growth of a little over 4 percent, and that should ensure that net employment will continue to rise. Most of the job creation will be in the services sector. Construction and manufacturing will not be creating net new jobs," said P K Basu, managing director of Robust Economics Analysis.

But within the sector, there are differing levels of optimism.

A survey by the Economic Development Board shows that 14% of companies in the commerce industry expect employment to increase in the fourth quarter.

That's up from the 8 percent in the third quarter.

But only 24 percent of banks and finance companies expect employment to increase in Q4.

That's down by almost half - from 58 percent in Q3.

And while the sector will see an overall net gain in jobs, it's not immune to retrenchments.

That's because outsourcing is starting to hit the services sector.

SIA, for example, has outsourced its IT jobs as part of cost-cutting measures.

"It's what we call, 'each one earns his own living'. Flying operations, cabin service, customer service, those are core areas. IT, for example, is not core to us," said Chew Choon Seng, CEO of Singapore Airlines.

But outsourcing is not a zero-sum game. In some cases, outsourcing can also lead to jobs growth.

"I think there has been a lot of talk about outsourcing to countries like China and India. But those companies divested into those countries will be pumping back into Singapore's infrastructure, providing jobs in R&D, engineering and IT," said John Leung, regional marketing manager of Kelly Services.

And, there are jobs that go a begging, for example, in the hotel industry where hundreds of relatively low-paying jobs have yet to find any takers. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Dec 18, 2004
Tiny S'pore trading firm wins Myanmar oil deal

By Bryan Lee

SIZE does not always count in the energy exploration game as tiny Singapore company Golden Aaron has just proved.

The firm, which is essentially a husband-and-wife team, has clinched a deal to explore the coast off Myanmar with the country's state-owned oil company and China's largest offshore oil and gas outfit.

Golden Aaron has signed two production-sharing pacts with Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise and China National Offshore Oil Corp to explore two fields in Myanmar, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Under the agreement, the three companies will carry out oil and gas exploration in a 10,000 sq km area in Rakhine state in the south-west and a 15,534 sq km area in the gulf of Mottama off Tanintharyi in the far south.

The new contracts build on what appears to be a diversification of Golden Aaron's business, which is primarily wholesale trade.

The deals come two months after the company entered into a similar tie-up with the two oil giants to explore a 7,760 sq km area in Rakhine's Kyaukpyu region.

Records at the Registry of Companies and Businesses (RCB) show that Golden Aaron has two shareholders: Myanmese national Htun Myint Naing, also known as Steven Law, and Singaporean Ng Sor Hong.

The records also state that the company, which started in 1995, has a paid-up capital of $5 million.

For 2000, the latest financial records held by the RCB show that the company lost $102,563 on revenues of $40.7 million.

The previous year, it made a profit of $115,265 on a turnover of $38.1 million. For 1998, it lost $2.7 million on a turnover of $24.9 million.

Golden Aaron's main business is importing food products, machinery and raw materials, including oil, into Myanmar.

Mr Law could not be reached yesterday, despite calls to the company's office in Shenton House.

Company officials said he is based in Yangon, but attempts to contact him there were also unsuccessful.

According to official estimates, Myanmar has 19 onshore and three main offshore oil and gas fields.

The country is said to possess 2.46 trillion cubic metres of gas reserves and 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves.

Last year, Myanmar produced 9.79 billion cubic metres of gas and 7.2 million barrels of crude oil.

It exported 6.45 billion cubic metres of gas worth US$655 million (S$1.09 billion).

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Dec 19, 2004
Average bonuses may be close to 3 months
Labour chief shares the good news but advises workers to be self-reliant

By Sue-Ann Chia

WITH companies performing better, workers can expect bigger bonuses this year, labour chief Lim Boon Heng predicted last night.

He said he expects the average bonus payouts of unionised firms to edge closer to three months this year, up from last year's 2.4 months.

This is based on feedback from unionists, he told reporters at the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMWU) dinner and dance at Neptune Theatre.

In a speech to 800 union members earlier, the secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said that of 80 companies that have recently settled annual bonuses with their unions, the payouts ranged from a low of zero months to a high of 7.2 months.

But before workers 'let down their hair' to party, Mr Lim said he had a serious message for them on how and why they must preserve a spirit of self-reliance.

This will help them cope better with the new forces of globalisation and technological change, which would spell more frequent job changes as companies restructure to keep costs down.

Recalling the early days of Singapore's independence, he said that the pioneer generation relied on themselves to earn a living at a time when there were no housing subsidies, utility rebates or FairPrice vouchers.

'Is the same spirit of self-reliance still present in Singapore today?' he asked.

'I think it is true to say that many have become somewhat reliant on the Government or their parents.

'But I think most Singaporeans are still practical and resilient,' he said.

He then urged workers to save for a rainy day and not just rely on their Central Provident Fund savings.

They should also learn new and relevant skills to stay employable, keep themselves up to date with global developments by reading newspapers and remain adaptable.

When he spoke to reporters later, Mr Lim said that he remains 'cautiously optimistic' about next year's job market.

'We may not see such dramatic increases in employment as we have seen in the last three or four quarters, but I expect the situation to be fairly stable at least for the next six months.'

He said workers would stand to gain from their companies doing better as a result of the restructuring that has been taking place.

He also attributed this year's expected hike in bonuses to wage restructuring, which means a larger part of salaries is linked to the company's and the worker's performance.

He cited PSA Corporation and Singapore Airlines as companies that had undergone wage reform and were likely to perform better this year, meaning bigger bonuses for their employees.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 18 December 2004 2341 hrs

Multi-level marketing industry hits $495m in 2003
By Johnson Choo, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : When the economy was sluggish and unemployment at a record high, one industry bucked the trend.

The direct-selling industry grew to hit $495 million last year, a 56 percent increase over 2002.

There are now more than 20 direct-selling companies in Singapore.

When the 1973 prohibition on multi-level marketing was lifted in June 2000, this brought about an immediate boom to the direct-selling industry.

Presently, the industry has some 250,000 members, but there is room for more.

According to the Direct Selling Association of Singapore, some 10 percent of the population could be involved in direct selling, and that is 400,000 people.

As a new market, this presents a great deal of potential growth for the industry.

Amway now has 25,000 members, of whom 3,000 are active distributors.

When the economy was down over the past few years, direct-selling companies had a field day recruiting those out of jobs, including insurance agents.

But even as the economy recovered, many stayed on.

Mr Tony Teng, Amway Distributor, said: "Insurance is also three-tier multi-level marketing, and Amway is just a little more levels than that.

"So to me, that's not much of a difference...it is just that one is a tangible product, the other is an intangible product."

Compared to 2002, the company grew by more than 40 percent last year to $28 million.

But it says its operations have been misunderstood at times.

Mr Leo Boon Want, Country Manager of Amway Singapore, said: "Most of them (consumers) would mistaken legitimate multi-level marketing business versus the pyramid business.

"I am sure over time with education and the efforts of my team and the distributors in educating the Singapore public, we will be able to change all these mindsets."

But is direct-selling still relevant in the face of fanciful retail malls, and powerful advertising?

Mr Doug DeVos, President of Amway Corp, said: "Sometimes all the communications that goes on there create clutter. People stop watching. People are looking for an individual to tell them something. They want more than a 30-second advertisement.

"So when you can have someone that you can trust, you know who can tell you about products, who can give you some personal service and look after you as an important customer."

In March this year, DSAS decided to refer all complaints against direct selling or door-to-door salespersons to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).

This provides dissatisfied direct-selling customers with mediation as a recourse.

And in the first six months, 120 complaints were made - half of them were resolved, with restitutions made. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 20 December 2004 1756 hrs

Cross-border deals by S'pore firms to drive up M&A activity in 2005
By Frederick Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Cross-border deals will drive up mergers and acquisitions activity in Singapore next year.

As it is, Singapore firms have emerged as the top cross-border bidders in the region, and the trend looks set to continue.

Corporate finance advisers say this is because Singapore companies are looking for growth opportunities outside the small domestic market.

There has been a sharp increase in mergers and acquisitions activity in Singapore in 2004.

As of November, some $15.5 billion US dollars worth of deals were completed, up 74% from a year ago.

In terms of numbers, 396 deals were signed, more than double the 177 completed in 2003. And out of these 243 were cross border deals.

Amitava Guharoy, the executive director for Coporate Finance at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, said, "Consolidation across markets, consolidation in the same industry. People are begining to realise that scale makes a lot of difference in a number of industries and the days when the really small players could have a strong business model have probably gone.The other is the increasing emphasis on going international or going global by Singapore companies. These are the 2 trends which we see continuing certainly next year and beyond."

And it is not just the big Singapore companies that are on the acquisition path abroad.

Vishal Sharma, the director of Corporate Finance at KPMG said, "There are actually more and more smaller transactions that are happening which means that the mergers and acquistions a means of growth is increasing its hold over the middle market - or the smaller enterprises as well are getting into this particular mode which they were earlier perhaps not looking at with such a degree of optimism."

Analysts say this year, M&A activity has been driven by companies divesting their non-core assets.

It has also become more broad-based, from companies in financial services, to those in utilities, telecom, logistics and manufacturing.

Looking ahead, analysts say they expect the M&A momentum to continue.

That's because big M&A players such as Temasek Holdings are still on the lookout for acquisitions.

"With Singapore being in the position that it is economically - where the domestic market is not that strong you would find that acquisition of businesses outside of Singapore is a key tenet to anything that Singapore does in terms of its sustainablility long term. And certainly Temasek would continue in my view look for value wherever it can find it." said Mr Sharma.

The outlook is for M&A activity to carry on strongly not just into 2005 - but possibly into the next few years as well. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Singapore firm buys Vanenburg IT park

"We continue to look for more acquisitions to beef up our property portfolio in this fast-growing market," Ms Chong Siak Ching, Ascendas President, said.


Hyderabad , Dec. 20

ASCENDAS, the Singapore-based infrastructure developer, has acquired Vanenburg IT Park Ltd in Hyderabad. This acquisition will be the second project for the Singapore firm in Andhra Pradesh. The first is the Phase-I of Cyber Pearl in Hitec City, which it developed.

Ascendas Pte Ltd, a developer of IT Parks in India, and Dutch technology firmVanenburg Group announced on Monday that Ascendas has signed up to acquire Vanenburg IT Park Pvt Ltd from the Vanenburg Group.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. However, details were not disclosed. The four-year old Vanenburg IT Park, spread across 20 acres, has three multi-tenanted buildings with gross floor area of 850,000 sq ft having 95 per cent occupancy. About 7,000 employees work in the campus that hosts Cognizant, Computer Associates, SSA Global, Motorola and market research companyTNS. The master plan of the park allows for a fourth building which is in the process of development. Ernst & Young were the advisers in managing the transaction.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascendas, Ms Chong Siak Ching, in a statement said "Vanenburg Park fits well with our overall strategy to grow a strong presence in Hyderabad, having completed Phase 1 of Cyber Pearl. Our flagship in India, the International Tech Park Bangalore in Karnataka, is recognised for quality IT parks in India. In Tamil Nadu, we aim to further raise the bar with our IT Park project in Chennai, the first phase of which is scheduled for completion in May next year. We continue to look for more acquisitions to beef up our property portfolio in this fast-growing market."

The Chairman of Vanenburg Group, Mr Jan Baan, in a statement said, "The deal would enable us to focus on our core business of building and selling enterprise software products."

Ascendas India has also announced the appointment of Mr Pang Yee Ean as the new Head of Hyderabad operations with effect from November 1. He will concurrently take charge of the newly acquired Vanenburg IT Park. Mr Pang was previously CEO of Abecha Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of JTC Corporation.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/12/21/stories/2004122102640500.htm

Business Times - 21 Dec 2004

S'pore chip consumption set to fall 4%

But drop unlikely to affect major chip firms here

By RAJU CHELLAM

(SINGAPORE) The semicon honeymoon is over. Chip consumption in Singapore is set to shrink about 4 per cent next year to under US$5 billion, after growing a record 19.4 per cent this year to US$5.1 billion. But the drop in local consumption may not hugely affect the fortunes of major companies that supply the sector, because exports will pick up the slack.

Listed companies that offer semicon products and services here include Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Venture Corp, Stats-ChipPac, United Test & Assembly Centre (Utac), Unisteel Technology, Jurong Technologies Industrial Corp, Ellipsiz, Seksun Corp and Magnecomp International. And four other companies - Asti Holdings, Advanced Systems Automation, AEM-Evertech Holdings and Manufacturing Integration Technology - make equipment that is used by chip-makers.

'Between 30 and 35 per cent of Singapore's semicon consumption goes into hard disk drive (HDD) manufacture,' said research house Gartner's principal semicon analyst for the Asia-Pacific, Philip Koh. 'In 2005, Maxtor Corp will shift some of its HDD production from Singapore to China. This will have some effect on semicon consumption in Singapore.'

California-based Maxtor - the world's second-largest HDD maker - employs about 9,700 people at its facilities in Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. Singapore is one of Maxtor's key regional hubs and hosts its Asia-Pacific headquarters, with sales, marketing, manufacturing and logistics functions.

'We are moving the manufacturing of some of our desktop drives to China this year and into 2005,' a Maxtor spokesman said.

'However, Singapore will continue to be the command and control centre of our HDD manufacturing and we will continue to produce our multi-platter desktop and high-end drives here.'

Mr Koh said Singapore produces about 40 per cent of the world's HDDs and any changes in the HDD scene here will affect semicon consumption. 'Singapore's semicon consumption was about US$4.3 billion in 2003, up some 15 per cent over 2002, fuelled mainly by HDD manufacturers,' he said. 'Those levels of growth may not return in the next couple of years at least.'

According to the Economic Development Board, Singapore's electronics cluster grew 11.4 per cent year on year in October despite the contraction in the data storage segment.

'The production of semiconductors grew 12.5 per cent in October,' EDB said. 'The output of disk drives was constrained by weak demand, leading to a 7.4 per cent contraction in the data storage segment.'

There are 14 wafer fabs in Singapore. STMicroelectronics has four, Chartered has three, Tech Semiconductor owns two, and one each is run by Hitachi Semiconductor, United Microelectronics Corp, Systems-on-Silicon Manufacturing, Chartered Silicon Partners and Silicon Manufacturing Partners.

'In 2003, about 28,660 people were employed in the semicon sector in Singapore,' an EDB spokesman said. 'Singapore's semicon output of $22.3 billion forms 30 per cent of the country's electronics and precision engineering industries' output of $74 billion.'

After Singapore's semicon companies benefited from record global chip sales of US$214 billion this year - up some 28 per cent from over 2003 - next year will see consolidation.

'Growth has been very strong this year,' said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia Corp. 'Comparatively, expect essentially flat sales next year, except in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan.'

Last year, the Asia-Pacific market saw chip sales of US$62.8 billion. This year it will grow 38.3 per cent to US$86.9 billion. Next year, it will still grow - but at a mere 1.9 per cent clip, to US$88.6 billion. The Semiconductor Industry Association has said the Asia-Pacific will be the only region to see reasonable growth next year.

Comparatively, the Americas will fall 4.5 per cent to US$37.7 billion next year, Europe will remain flat at US$39.6 billion and Japan will see 0.2 per cent growth to US$47.9 billion.

Market analyst International Data Corp believes the global semicon market has entered a 'correction phase' triggered by expectations of high demand and resulting over-production.

'This correction will not impact the 26 per cent worldwide revenue growth in 2004, but it is expected to produce negative growth of 2 per cent in 2005,' said IDC's vice-president of semicon research, Mario Morales. 'This year will be a strong year overall for the semicon industry, with revenue reaching US$210 billion. Brace for a steep slide next year, though.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

22 December 2004

Singapore to cut industrial land rents, prices by up to 38%

SINGAPORE: The JTC Corporation will lower its posted industrial land rents and prices by up to 38 percent from January.

Those in the urban and suburban areas such as Jurong East will be reduced by up to 17 percent while those in outlying estates such as Woodlands East will be cut by up to 38 percent.

Contracted rents will be adjusted downwards accordingly, by an average of 20 percent.

The Housing and Development Board will also adjust its rents for the industrial land leases under its management.

Explaining the move, JTC Corp says that with the increasingly competitive environment for global investments, it recognises that its industrial land rents and prices have to be even more internationally attractive.

This latest round of rate cuts will signal to investors that Singapore is working to lower business costs.

The move will ensure that Singapore remains an attractive manufacturing location for global investments.

JTC Corp and HDB also announced on Wednesday that they will be withdrawing the rebates for their lessees when they expire at the end of year.

These measures were introduced in 1998 to help businesses tide over the economic slowdown.

They have been extended many times with the last extension due to expire on 31 December.

JTC Corp says the reduction in rents will help to lessen the impact of the withdrawal of rebates for lessees. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 23 Dec 2004

S'pore hotels urged to consider rate hike

Five-star hotels here charge less than other Asian cities, says hotelier

By VINCE CHONG

(SINGAPORE) Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts president Ichigo Umehara says Singapore hotels must think about raising rates - or risk a slow demise.

Five-star hotels like his chain now charge an average of US$100 per night here, which is below the US$150 rate for similar establishments in other Asian cities like Shanghai and Taipei.

'Hoteliers and landlords must get together and agree on this,' Mr Umehara said. 'Because while rates haven't been raised in 10 years, payrolls have - and yields have been naturally declining.

'If this carries on, there will come a time when nobody will want to invest in hotels in Singapore because it's not worth their while. The sector must snap out of this mindset.'

Mr Umehara - a former city-planner who was also once project manager of the world's most prestigious yachting event, the America's Cup - aims to gradually raise Pan Pacific's rates in Singapore in three years and believes others here must do the same.

'There was a time when Singapore was growing, and there was this impetus to see similar growth in the hotel industry,' he said. 'But now it seems like the industry has reached maturity, where things come to a standstill.

'I'm not saying that we should raise rates for nothing. But there must come a time when hotel customers in Singapore pay for the service and standards that they get. Any increase in price will be on par with the value that they get.'

The Pan-Pacific Singapore is undergoing an over-$25 million revamp, which the group president says underlines the landlord's conviction. Singapore Land subsidiary Marina Centre Holdings (MCH) owns 50 per cent in each of the three hotels in the Marina complex - Pan Pacific, Marina Mandarin and The Oriental - as well as 100 per cent of Marina Square mall.

According to records filed with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority, MCH posted a $24.6 million net profit on turnover of $42.7 million in 2003. It had about $762 million in fixed assets. Besides SingLand, MCH's shareholders include United Overseas Land, Overseas Union Enterprise, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Indonesia's Ciputra group and a Hong Kong vehicle of Indonesian businessman Liem Sioe Liong.

The Pan Pacific group is projecting a 7 per cent increase in total revenue for 2005, driven primarily by anticipated rate growth. Mr Umehara said hotels typically offer lower yields than other real estate like retail and residential. This is why they are typically built these days as part of larger multi-purpose developments so their costs can be offset.

Pan Pacific has 24 hotels - 17 managed properties and seven marketing affiliates - in 11 countries throughout Asia, the Pacific and North America.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dec 24, 2004
Singapore and Qatar start FTA talks

QATAR and Singapore have started negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and hope to wrap up the deal by the middle of next year.

The second round of talks will be in Qatar's capital Doha in late February.

'Substantive discussions were held in key areas such as trade in goods, investment, and government procurement,' a joint statement said yesterday. 'Both sides noted the FTA would enhance bilateral economic and trade relations by further spurring the growing interest by companies in each other's regions, and catalysing greater cooperation between Qatar and Singapore.'

Officials from Singapore and the Gulf state held talks on Wednesday and yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce, Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed Jassim Al-Thani, who was here on Tuesday and Wednesday, had talks on bilateral cooperation with Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang and Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo on Tuesday.

Singapore is also seeking FTAs with Kuwait, Egypt and Bahrain.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Dec 27, 2004
OFFICE & RETAIL
Demand for office space to be sustained

ACTIVITY in the office and retail property sectors was dominated by property funds this year.

2004 was marked by two new Reit (real estate investment trust) launches: the CapitaCommercial Trust which acquired $2 billion worth of office properties in the Central Business District, and Suntec Reit, which holds $2.1 billion worth of office and retail space in Suntec City.

Other major deals this year include CapitaMall Trust's purchase of Plaza Singapura mall for $710 million.

Property analysts expect this trend to continue, as property funds continue to look for quality commercial properties to acquire.

Office and retail rentals also saw modest gains this year, after about three years of decline.

Jones Lang LaSalle's head of Asia real estate intelligence service, Mr Leslie Chua, feels that the office rental rebound this year can be sustained in the next two years, as many companies plan business expansion and so will require more office space.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han predicts that this will lead to a 15 per cent rise in rentals next year.

But the improvement will mostly benefit only the newer commercial buildings in prime locations like the CBD, he said, as companies relocate to bigger and better dwellings.

Property consultancy DTZ Debenham Tie Leung also expects retail rentals to keep rising next year, especially after consumer spending recovered this year.

Helping this is the fact that new retail space will continue to be limited, with just 238,000 sq ft expected in the next year for the prime Orchard Road shopping district, DTZ said. -- DARYL LOO

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 27 Dec 2004

S'pore manufacturing output up 13.2%

SINGAPORE - Singapore manufacturers produced 13.2 per cent more goods in November compared with the same month a year ago - beating October's 2.2 per cent year-on-year increase due to a low base the year before and a surge in biomedical output, the government said.

The gain was in line with estimates of 13.0 per cent growth.

However, on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output fell 3.8 per cent in November, reversing October's 4.6 per cent rise, the Economic Development Board said on Monday.

Excluding output from the volatile biomedical sector, the overall industrial production index rose 7.3 per cent from a year ago, slowing from a gain of 8.9 per cent in October.

For the first 11 months of the year, the island's manufacturing output rose 13.0 per cent.

Economists had expected a better performance by the electronics sector, Singapore's largest industry cluster, which grew 3.1 per cent in November. That was well below September's 21.2 per cent gain and October's 11.2 per cent increase.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 30 Dec 2004

S'pore-HK taxation pact takes effect in YA06

AN agreement to prevent aviation and shipping firms in Singapore and Hong Kong from being hit by double taxation will take effect from Year of Assessment 2006 for Singapore tax.

The pact, which was signed in November 2003, covers income from operating ships and aircraft in international traffic.

The reciprocal exemption also applies to the two economies' shipping and airline enterprises. It also applies to profits or income from ancillary services such as rental of ships and aircraft.

The tax exemption also covers profits from the use, maintenance or rental of goods transport containers, and interest on funds for the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic.

The Avoidance of Double Taxation agreement between Singapore and Hong Kong is the Republic's seventh for income on operating ships or aircraft in international traffic.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

30 December 2004

Chartered Semiconductor Mfg secures $1.6b financing for 30-mm wafer plant
By Joanne Lee, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has secured more than S$1.6 billion in financing for its new 300-millimetre wafer factory.

It has signed an agreement for a term loan of over a billion dollars from JP Morgan - guaranteed by the US Export-Import Bank.

The loan will be available for a period of between two to four years.

Chartered also completed a S$326 million term loan, plus a S$163 million green shoe, with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and OCBC.

In addition, the company obtained a S$81.5 million term loan from Bank of America and a S$244.5 million revolving credit line with Sumitomo.

All this goes towards Chartered's Fab 7 Phase 1 monthly production capacity of 15,000 300-mm wafers.

The plant is slated for commercial production by the middle of next year. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

31 December 2004

Singapore economy grew 8.1% in 2004, best in 4 years
By Tan Soo See, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: The Singapore economy expanded 8.1% this year, its best showing in four years.

In his first New Year's Day address on Friday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said 2004 has been a significant year for Singapore.

Not only did the economy rebound strongly after several difficult years, but unemployment was also at its lowest since 2001.

At the start of 2004, government estimates were modest - with growth for the full year forecast at just 3.5% to 5.5%.

But strong robust growth in the first half of the year saw the government revising its estimates more than once.

At 8.1%, the Singapore economy not only grew at its fastest in 4 years but it will also end the year as one of the fastest growing economies in the region.

For the fourth quarter alone, GDP jumped 5.4% on year.

PM Lee noted that the economy created 38,600 jobs in the first 9 months of the year, helping to bring unemployment rate down to below 4% for the first time since 2001.

Retrenchment was also lower, as more companies are hiring again.

And, he said, Singapore continues to be attractive to investors.

Mr Lee added that the country is benefiting from the economic transformation in China and India.

Meantime, Singapore's foreign trade is expanding strongly and new economic links are being forged as Singapore enlarges its network of free trade agreements.

Looking ahead, the PM said that Southeast Asia would see moderate growth in 2005, and Sunday's tsunami disaster is not expected to have a huge economic fallout.

But he highlighted two downside risks - an economic slowdown in the US and Japan, and a downturn in the global electronics industry.

For Singapore, the economy is forecast to grow 3%-5% in 2005.

This is a drop from 2004, but Mr Lee said it is still "good growth".

He said that what is important is to sustain Singapore's competitiveness and vitality in the long term. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Jan 1, 2005
APRIL
Trade pacts will boost Singapore businesses

SINGAPORE exporters will get a leg-up in Asia's two hottest economies as free trade agreements with India and China look set to tear down trade barriers to these vibrant markets this year.

Those eyeing the South Korean market have cause for cheer too as Singapore expects to sign a deal there soon. Meanwhile, negotiations for a trade pact with India are just about done and the deal is expected to be formally inked within the next few months.

In the mainland, Singapore companies will get an extra boost into the region's fastest-growing market since Asean and China agreed in November to start cutting trade tariffs on each other's exports from July.

This latest array of trade pacts builds on the momentum set by six earlier deals that Singapore cut with key economic partners such as Japan and the US.

They are particularly significant as India and China, with populations of more than a billion each, are both among the top 10 Asian export markets for Singapore.

The year ahead will also see Singapore deepen trade ties with the Middle East.

Following its completed pact with Jordan, talks with Qatar should be completed this coming year. Negotiations have also begun with Kuwait and Bahrain.

In the pipeline are also agreements with Panama, Pakistan and Chile.

This year will also likely see more attempts at inking multilateral trade deals, like one between Asean and China. Already, Asean is on its way to sealing pacts with South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which all ultimately mean a boon to Singapore businesses. -- BRYAN LEE

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Published December 31, 2004

S'pore economy likely grew 3.7% in Q4: survey

Growth next year likely to slow to 4.4% from 8.3% expected this year

SINGAPORE'S economy probably returned to growth in the fourth quarter as pharmaceutical companies increased production and tourists spent more in the island's stores and restaurants, economists said.

The US$91 billion economy expanded at an annualised 3.7 per cent pace, according to the median of 10 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. The economy shrank at a 3 per cent pace in the third quarter. The preliminary report, based largely on data for October and November, is due at 8 am on Jan 3. Some details may be revealed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his annual New Year's Eve message today.

Record numbers of tourists visiting the city of 4 million have fueled wholesale and retail trade, which accounts for 13 per cent of the economy. Expanded production by pharmaceutical companies is helping to overcome a slump in exports of electronics.

'Services and consumer sectors should be stronger,' said Nigel Rendell, an economist at CLSA Singapore, who predicts annualised growth of 4.6 per cent in the quarter ending today and a 4.5 per cent expansion next year. 'We're likely to see a return to the kind of growth rates that we expect will hold through 2005.'

Next year, Singapore's growth will slow to 4.4 per cent from a projected 8.3 per cent expansion this year because of weaker global demand for electronics, the nation's No 1 export, according to the Bloomberg survey.

Unemployment fell to 3.5 per cent in the third quarter, the lowest in three years, giving consumers more to spend at stores.

Retail sales in October expanded at a faster-than-expected 12.5 per cent from a year earlier. Adjusted for seasonal factors, sales in October rose 5.2 per cent from the previous month, the government said on Dec 15.

Tourist arrivals in 2004 surged to a record 8 million as of Dec 20, boosted by visitors from China and India, the government said last week, filling rooms at hotels.

Spending by tourists has exceeded an initial $8.6 billion target in 2004 by $1 billion, Vivian Balakrishnan, senior minister of state at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said on Wednesday. A revival in business and holiday travel after last year's outbreak of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome is also helping increase consumption. Tourism accounts for 5 per cent of Singapore's economy.

'We are beginning to see incipient signs of a pickup in domestic sentiment,' said Lian Chia Liang, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co in Singapore.

Pharmaceutical factories are expanding production after shutting down for maintenance, said Song Seng Wun, an economist at GK Goh Holdings Ltd. Production by companies accounts for 16 per cent of manufacturing. Gains in drug production and consumer spending are helping offset weaker overseas demand for computer chips and disk drives. - Bloomberg

Published December 31, 2004

Singapore's economy grew by 8.1 per cent in 2004

SINGAPORE - Singapore's economy grew by 8.1 per cent in 2004, exceeding the Government's original projections.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his New Year message, said fourth quarter growth was 5.4 per cent. Mr Lee noted that the economy has rebounded strongly, after several difficult years.

He said reforms, such as the changes to the CPF and the tax systems, contributed to this recovery.

The Prime Minister said: 'So when the global economy and electronics industry picked up, we caught the wind and soared.' Mr Lee said it is particularly reassuring that Singapore created 38,600 jobs in the first three quarters.

The unemployment rate has fell below 4 per cent for first time since 2001 and fewer workers were retrenched than last year. He added that many companies are reporting better results, giving moderate wage increases and hiring again.

Barring mishaps the Singapore economy can be expected to grow by 3-5 per cent in 2005. Although less buoyant than 2004 it will still be good growth and will support job creation.

The Prime Minister reminded Singaporeans that they must persevere at upgrading their skills. Singapore must continue to innovate, develop new policies, discard outdated approaches and anticipate fresh problems.

This is the way to stay abreast of the rapid changes around us, and to progress together as a nation.

03 January 2005

Tech cycle the key for Singapore's economy in 2005: economists
By Frederick Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore's economic growth is widely expected to moderate this year, after surging 8.1 percent in 2004.

Private sector economists are projecting an expansion of at least 4 percent, well within the government's forecast range of 3 to 5 percent.

But much will depend on how the global electronics industry performs.

Experts told an industry conference on Monday that the tech sector, more than economic factors, will decide how well Singapore's economy does this year.

Singapore's economy capped 2004 with a growth of 8.1 percent, one of the fastest in the region.

The rise came amid persistent worries over an economic slowdown in the US, a sliding greenback, a hard landing for China and high oil prices.

But going into 2005, economists say the biggest impact on the economy will come from the global electronics industry.

Dr Fong Cheng Hong, head of economic research at DBS Bank, said, "I've looked through all the professional tech or global chip forecasters and the numbers I looked at is 5 percent maximum growth. And to the extent that there could be negative 2 percent growth, if that materialises that means quite a significant slowdown in the US and would not be good for Asia, particularly Singapore."

Already, manufacturing growth has slowed in the last quarter of 2004, mainly due to the electronics segment.

While some economists have warned of worse to come, others see reasons to be optimistic.

Dr Fong said, "This time, the comforting part is currently the global chip cycle is no longer so dependent on purely the US. Don't forget China is also growing fast, plus the rest of Asia; and Japan seems to be growing reasonably well."

Song Seng Wun, regional economist at GK Goh, said "We still believe that for Singapore itself, despite a moderation in chip sales, there is still enough demand for other bits and pieces within the whole tech sector itself to still hold the overall growth up, and still probably deliver probably manufacturing growth of around 7.5 percent for 2005."

On the other risk factors, economists say the US economy is unlikely to slow down much as consumer confidence remains robust and business investment is picking up.

Meantime in China, the authorities appear to be doing a good job of engineering a soft landing.

As for oil prices, excessive speculation is likely to abate as demand and supply factors are looking better.

For the US dollar, a collapse is unlikely, although it will continue to adjust against Asian currencies.

Economists see the greenback bottoming at about S$1.60 to the Sing dollar. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 03 Jan 2005

S'pore's 4Q manufacturing sector up 9.5%

SINGAPORE - The manufacturing sector expanded by a slower 9.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2004 from a year ago, mainly due to less overseas demand for electronics products.

The slower growth followed a revised 11.9 per cent expansion in the third quarter, according to flash estimates released on Monday by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his New Year message that Singapore's economy expanded 5.4 per cent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter.

The transport engineering and chemicals clusters, however, continued to turn in strong performances while the biomedical manufacturing cluster improved from the previous quarter. Activity in the construction sector picked up in the fourth quarter. The sector registered a smaller contraction of 7.4 per cent.

Growth in the services producting industries is at a lower 5 per cent as the pace of expansion eased in most major sectors.

The wholesale and retail trade and hotels and restaurants sectors saw moderated growth, in tandem with the slower increase in entrepot trade and visitor arrivals.

For the transport and communications sector, the expansion was held down by the high base in the last quarter of 2003, while the financial services sector was affected by the lacklustre performance in commercial banking and the stock market.

On the other hand, the business services sector strengthened on a pick up in real estate, professional services as well as business representative offices.

For 2004, the economy grew by 8.1 per cent in real terms.

The manufacturing sector and services producing industries expanded by 13.1 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively while the construction sector contracted by 6.3 per cent.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Jan 3, 2005
Government's tax revenues swell 13% to record $15.44b
January-October takings reflect the brighter economic picture

By Narendra Aggarwal
Economics Correspondent

BOOSTED by Singapore's sparkling 8.1 per cent economic growth last year, the Government's tax collections are running at record levels.

This should be good news for Finance Ministry officials as they get down to the business of drawing up the next financial year's Budget, due to be handed down in Parliament next month.

In fact, the surge in the level of funds in the taxman's coffers easily outpaced economic growth, jumping by 12.57 per cent to hit a record $15.44 billion for the first 10 months of last year, newly released data shows.

In dollar terms, that was an extra $1.72 billion in tax revenue collected from January to October last year by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras), the state tax collection agency.

The upswing in tax revenue was gradual, in line with the growing economic recovery, first hitting double-digits at the nine-month mark at the end of September.

Earlier, at the end of April, tax collections were up 6 per cent, and by the end of August they had risen by 9.7 per cent.

Reflecting the return of good times, the goods and services tax (GST) and property tax together boosted the Government's tax collections by more than $1 billion.

GST is emerging as an increasingly important revenue source: GST collections in the first 10 months of last year increased by well over $700 million - a hefty 37 per cent jump.

Of course the increase in the GST rate from 4 per cent to 5 per cent - amounting to a 25 per cent increase in the tax rate - from Jan 1 last year contributed considerably to pushing up the overall GST collections.

Given that the growth in GST collections far exceeds that 25 per cent increase, this reflects a big hike in real spending by consumers.

And that has all kicked in since September, when the growth in GST collections was running at 25 per cent, in line with the rate increase.

And GST collections are now on track to easily surpass the $3 billion mark for the full year.

Economists welcomed this development as it was in line with a national objective of moving to indirect taxes and reducing direct taxes to improve the country's overall competitiveness.

In fact, income tax collections over the 10 months were almost flat, up 0.4 per cent at $8.85 billion.

Still, income tax continues to be the single biggest source of tax revenue for the Government, accounting for well over half of all taxes collected by Iras.

Property tax collections shot up 44 per cent but this resulted from the discontinuation of rebates on commercial and industrial property rather than any growth factors.

Tax experts said the increase in stamp duty collections by nearly a third to more than $700 million resulted from increased activity in the stock and property markets in line with the overall economic upswing.

The healthy double-digit growth in tax revenue for most of last year will improve the Government's fiscal position, as it reverses a fall in collections experienced in the previous year.

During 2003, tax revenue shrank 1.7 per cent to $16.2 billion from the previous year, as the economy had expanded by a mere 1.1 per cent.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

03 January 2005

Mobile operators get green light to charge different rates for calls
By Derek Cher, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore's mobile operators have been given the green light to charge different prices for calls within and outside of their own networks.

For example, if you are a SingTel Mobile subscriber, you may pay less for phone calls to other SingTel numbers; but you may pay more if you call subscribers of M1 or StarHub.

The change in pricing policy comes as SingTel, M1 and StarHub successfully met the government's requirement for a nationwide rollout of their 3G systems and services by the end-2004 deadline.

The Infocomm Development Authority says the relaxed mobile pricing is in line with its approach to minimise regulation in markets that are effectively competitive.

Under the new policy, operators have the flexibility to price their service packages and promotions to offer more choice and service innovation to customers.

Analysts say the move may lead to more aggressive marketing by Singapore's three mobile phone providers.

It may start a fresh round of discounted offers after the year-end holiday period.

When contacted, the telcos had mixed responses.

SingTel says it is pleased that IDA is allowing differentiated mobile pricing, and will review this positive development together with its overall mobile pricing strategy.

M1 says it is already practising differential pricing in some form, and can now be more creative in designing its tariff plans.

StarHub, though, had a different view.

While it has welcomed the latest development, it also says the market already has a wide array of complicated pricing plans.

It says differential pricing may confuse consumers even further. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

10 January 2005

Manufacturing investments in S'pore seen to drop to S$8b in 2005
By Frederick Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: The Economic Development Board (EDB) expects to see a drop in manufacturing investments this year because of the softening in the global electronics sector.

But the EDB says Singapore will still attract some S$8b worth of manufacturing investments, dipping some 3.6% from 2004.

Investment in services, however, is expected to edge up to S$2.4b from S$2.3b last year.

The EDB says Singapore remains a compelling hub for investments in manufacturing as international investor confidence in Singapore remains high.

While the US, Europe and Japan continue to be the main sources of investment, Singapore is also beginning to attract more manufacturing investments from Asia Pacific countries like Indonesia, India, and China.

EDB's chairman, Teo Ming Kian, said: "For many of the companies, they certainly see Singapore as a location that can provide them value, especially for those who are looking beyond the domestic market, intending to internationalise and globalise.

"In Singapore, they can find potential customers, partners in the companies that are already invested in here. They are able to leverage on our hub of connectivity, supply chain management to move their products to the different markets."

But electronics accounts for a significant part of our manufacturing sector.

And in 2004, fixed asset investments for electronics came in at S$4.6b or more than half of total manufacturing investments.

With an expected downturn in the global IT cycle, the EDB expects investment commitments in this sector to see a dip.

But on the other hand, the investment promotion agency is expecting investments in the services sector to grow.

The services sector has been boosted by more multinationals setting up headquarters in Singapore.

Some 4,000 MNCs now have their regional or international headquarters here.

Meantime, infocomm & media services, logistics, and engineering & environmental services are also showing good growth.

On the employment front, 18,000 new jobs are expected to be created from the projected investments in 2005. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

11 January 2005

Investment in Singapore's infocomm, media sector doubled in 2004
By Michael Lim, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore's infocomm and media cluster managed to attract investments totalling S$1.3 billion last year, more than double the S$544 million in 2003.

Revealing the numbers on Tuesday, the Economic Development Board says it expects the momentum to continue.

Last year's investment will create some 3,000 professional and skilled jobs when the projects are fully implemented.

2004 has been a good investment year for the Infocomm and Media cluster, and the EDB is expecting the uptrend to continue.

That is after it managed to secure several big projects in animation, gaming and mobile communications.

"We have secured a number of game development from Japan. And with the world cyber games coming on stream November, this year there are a lot of companies who are trying to find ways to get involved in activities within the game industry," said Quek Swee Kuan, director (infocomm and media) at EDB.

"In the case of mobile Internet there are a lot of companies in the network equipment providers, content providers, application developers they are all trying to figure a way to participate in this growth in Singapore."

And after having secured the global animation powerhouse Lucas Films, the EDB is hoping to attract other big names in the industry.

Said Mr Quek, "The way we approach industry development is in order to catalyse the development we need key anchor players. Anchor them here then we will create a lot of activities and excitement and then the younger or start-up companies from overseas or Singapore will start to participate in this growth."

EDB says it is optimistic about attracting more investments, given the FTA with the US and the new intellectual property laws in Singapore. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Business Times - 12 Jan 2005

Ericsson starts managed services operation from S'pore

By AMIT ROY CHOUDHURY

TELECOM-EQUIPMENT supplier Ericsson, which has signed managed services deals with some telcos in the region, will be hosting some of these services out of its regional network operations centre (NOC) in Singapore.

It was declared operational yesterday.

The centre is fully equipped to provide hosting services for mobile applications and content management to operators and service providers in Asia.

The centre, one of seven that Ericsson runs worldwide, is equipped with leading-edge network management tools and technologies to support customers with full network operations and maintenance in Asia-Pacific, said Claes Odman, president and country manager of Ericsson Singapore.

Mr Odman added that the centre manages mobile systems integration and round-the-clock operations, maintenance and integration of network infrastructure.

'It also houses mobile platforms specialists and a dedicated customer helpdesk to ensure top-notch delivery,' he added.

The NOC also provides hosting solutions for mobile applications and content management such as Multi-Media Messaging Service (MMS), push-to-talk, streaming, pre-paid and content settlement. In addition, it offers content management and distribution of music, entertainment and games, Mr Odman said.

'There has been strong growth in managed services in Europe, the Middle East, North America and Latin America over the past few years, reflecting a trend between operators and vendors to work as partners to reduce costs and maximise revenues by bringing new and advanced services to market quickly and cost effectively,' Mr Odman said.

'We expect this growth to be replicated in Asia-Pacific, particularly in South-east Asian countries'.

Ericsson has announced 34 managed services contracts since 2002.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business Times - 13 Jan 2005

S'pore eyes Indon deals in infrastructure

By DANIEL BUENAS

(SINGAPORE) An infrastructure summit in Indonesia next week promises to yield US$33.5 billion worth of projects and contracts, and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore will be leading a business mission to the country with an eye to winning a slice of Indonesia's burgeoning infrastructure pie.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Aburizal Bakrie, in Singapore to promote next week's summit, said there is an estimated US$75 billion worth of infrastructure development that the country wishes to embark on in the next five years, and a total of US$150 billion over 10 years.

Mr Bakrie said the summit would offer a 'first batch' of 91 projects - worth US$22 billion - for open tender to private sector investors, and that the projects would offer average rates of returns of 15 to 23 per cent.

Aside from these projects, another US$10 billion worth of government contracts would be up for grabs, as well as US$1.5 billion worth of projects for rebuilding tsunami-devastated Aceh, Mr Bakrie said.

'It's the first time in a big way that we are opening up (infrastructure) projects,' he said. 'This is a very clear definition that we are making ... that all these commercially viable projects will not be done by the government but offered to the private sector (from) around the world.'

Besides a list of available projects, the summit - to be held from Jan 17-19 in Jakarta - would also outline a 'roadmap' for future projects in the country.

Mr Bakrie also said that the Indonesian government would be announcing new legislation during the summit which would address existing legal 'difficulties' that private sector investors face. A second summit will be held later around September, which will offer another US$10-15 billion worth of private sector projects, he added.

IE Singapore will be leading a delegation of more than 20 executives from 14 companies - many of whom are from infrastructure conglomerates and engineering firms - to next week's summit. Keppel Corp executive chairman Lim Chee Onn will be the mission leader.

'Singapore businessmen are very interested and excited about the renewed vision by the new administration for infrastructure, and we see Indonesia as a very promising market full of opportunities,' said IE Singapore chief executive Lee Yi Shyan. Following the summit, mission participants will also meet Perpamsi, the Indonesian association for water supply companies, as well as Pelindo, the Indonesia Port Corporation, to better understand the water and port management sectors in Indonesia.

According to IE, bilateral trade with Indonesia amounted to $26.2 billion in 2003, with imports accounting for $14.5 billion and exports accounting for $11.7 billion.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

Jan 16, 2005
S'pore and Poland sign MOU to aid R&D progress

SINGAPORE and Poland took a step forward in strengthening ties with the signing of a research and development memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday.

The signing at the Istana between Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Poland's Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology was witnessed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Polish counterpart Marek Belka.

The MOU is expected to promote exchanges of ideas and talents in areas like chemicals, materials and biosciences, and also help Singapore to tap into the research capabilities of not just Poland, but also its European neighbours.

Its signing came at the tail-end of Mr Belka's call on Mr Lee. The Polish prime minister was on a one-day visit to Singapore as part of an East Asian trip. He was here with a 45-member delegation which included two other ministers, and will be headed to Vietnam next.

The two leaders had first met on the sidelines of the fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Hanoi last October.

At the joint press conference following the signing, both leaders expressed hope that the MOU will pave the way for other avenues of bilateral cooperation.

For Singapore, Mr Lee said he hopes to see an expansion in the areas of trade, investment opportunities and tourism. He also sees Poland as a potential gateway not only to the European Union, but also countries in Eastern Europe.

He said most Singaporean companies are not too familiar with that area, and added: 'If we establish ourselves in Poland, for some, that will be a base from which we can explore and understand the implications of doing business in the area.'

To Mr Lee's wish-list of possible areas for future cooperation, Mr Belka added shipbuilding. He also wants to see more Polish companies work through Singapore to get to markets in the region - a theme first visited when he met Mr Lee in Hanoi.

Outlining Poland's seriousness in deepening ties with Singapore, the Polish leader pointed out that his country has upgraded its representation in Singapore by having a full ambassador.

Mr Belka also revealed plans to have a permanent foreign investment representative based here, and expressed hope that Singapore would do the same in Poland.

Underlining the increasingly warm ties between the two countries, both leaders also revealed that Mr Lee has accepted an invitation to visit Poland.

Earlier, the two leaders met for about an hour, discussing issues of mutual interest as well as developments in Euro-Asia relationship, and touching on the post-tsunami aid efforts in Asia. -- Azhar Ghani

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

16 January 2005

Singapore searching for new growth engines to power economy
By Derek Cher, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore is still in search of the "next big thing" that will drive its future growth.

But in the meantime, the Trade and Industry Ministry will continue to focus on its core manufacturing competencies, and explore new growth areas like photonics and nanotechnology.

The Finance Ministry is also planning to lower taxes and simplify its tax structure to attract more investments.

The two ministries outlined these plans in their Addenda to the President's Address in parliament charting the future direction for Singapore.

Manufacturers have been moving out to lower cost countries in the region, but the Trade and Industry Ministry remains optimistic about the future of the industry here.

It says biomedical science is yielding good results despite volatility in demand.

The focus now is to continue to strengthen this sector and other key areas like electronics, engineering and chemicals. - CNA

Copyright © 2004 MCN International Pte Ltd

Jan 17, 2005
S-E Asia 'remains key market' despite lure of India and China

By Erica Tay

ENGAGING the powerhouses of China and India is all well and fine, but Singapore businesses must not ignore either the opportunities or the competition in their own backyard.

The warning comes from leading local economist Tan Khee Giap, who fears the lure of the Big Two is distracting local companies from exploring prospects - and meeting challenges - closer to home.

'Both Hong Kong and Singapore face competition from their hinterlands - Hong Kong from China and Singapore from Malaysia. Let's be honest about it,' said Associate Professor Tan, who heads the central banking policies research unit and the Asean economies monitoring unit at Nanyang Technological University.

'We cannot ignore markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. It is good to build ties with China and India, but we are not paying enough attention to our South-east Asian neighbours.'

Prof Tan, who was speaking at the annual Mandarin economic outlook seminar, held at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce, singled out Malaysia as an economy with huge potential.

He said foreign investments going into Malaysian assets have been stagnant.

'If Singapore investors enter Malaysia now, they stand to profit greatly,' he added.

Prof Tan, whose talk centred on the challenges faced by Singapore and Hong Kong, said both have small domestic markets, and need to compete for foreign funds and overseas talent.

'With China's entry into the World Trade Organisation, Singapore and Hong Kong are quickly losing their relevance as middlemen,' he said.

He urged Singapore policymakers to tackle issues such as an ageing population and structural unemployment.

Also, Singapore has to reinforce its existing manufacturing and financial sectors, while developing an edge in new services industries such as medical sciences and education, he said.

'Singapore has the advantage of having excess public funds to invest in foreign long-term assets, which Hong Kong cannot because it needs its funds to support its currency regime,' said Prof Tan, who is also an adjunct senior fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.

However, Hong Kong scores points on the conducive business environment it provides for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

'SMEs may contribute only marginally to gross domestic product, but they contribute a lot to employment.'

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Jan 17, 2005
S'pore can gain from Vietnam building boom

By Erica Tay

THE party is not over for Singapore's construction industry - it has to merely move overseas, to Vietnam, to be precise.

While the building industry here despairs over a shrinking market, there are projects galore to be secured in rapidly developing Vietnam, according to the head of the World Bank's operations there.

Both countries stand to gain if Singapore investors move into construction and infrastructure-related industries in Vietnam, where there is a ballooning demand, said the World Bank's Vietnam country director, Mr Klaus Rohland, who was here briefly last week.

He told The Straits Times: 'In terms of development, Vietnam is probably where Singapore was 30 years ago.

'Ten per cent of its population live in cities now. In 20 years' time, that proportion will go up to 40 per cent. So there is a great need for public housing, which Singapore is good at providing.'

On the other hand, said Hanoi-based Mr Rohland, there is only so much room for construction businesses to grow in Singapore, as it is a developed country.

Infrastructure building typically makes up only 4 to 5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of developed nations, compared with, for example, 8 per cent when Singapore was undergoing industrialisation, he said.

'To maintain its economic growth, Singapore needs to explore developing markets, and Vietnam looks to Singapore for know-how in urban development, so there is potential for synergy,' he added.

In its 10-year presence in Vietnam, the World Bank has seen the economy deliver strong, broad-based growth, while poverty has been dramatically reduced and wealth distribution remains relatively equitable.

The World Bank, which finances development programmes in the country, estimated its GDP growth for last year to be 8.5 per cent.

Singapore is now Vietnam's largest foreign investor, having pumped US$8 billion (S$13.1 billion) into various industries there so far.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.