Ex-British army homes may become S’pore hedge-fund hub
SINGAPORE is planning to create its own hedge-fund capital modelled after Greenwich, Connecticut, in a cluster of ex-British army homes called Nepal Hill, a 15- minute cab-ride from the city-state’s main banking district.
Jardine Strategic to buy back 13.9m shares
JARDINE Strategic Holdings is looking to purchase 13.9 million of its shares for up to US$250 million.
FJ Benjamin opens flagship Bell & Ross boutique
FASHION retailer and distributor FJ Benjamin has opened the world’s first Bell & Ross watch boutique in Singapore – and it has three more on the drawing board for other parts of Asia this year.
25 from OCBC cycle from KL to S’pore for charity
A PASSION for helping the needy has driven 25 OCBC Bank employees to cycle from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to participate in this weekend’s OCBC Cycle Singapore 2010. The 35-hour, 400-km road trip raised about RM130,000 (S$54,000) from supporters and well-wishers in aid of two Malaysian charities – the National Autistic Society of Malaysia and the Home of Peace, a shelter for girls.
Cosco unit agrees to defer deliveries
SHIPBUILDER Cosco Corporation (Singapore) announced yesterday that its subsidiary, Cosco (Zhoushan) Shipyard, has agreed to reschedule the delivery dates of four 57,000 dwt bulk carriers that were contracted by a European shipowner.
CEO Pun has big dreams for Myanmar’s Yoma
YOMA Strategic Holdings Ltd must be – at the best of times – a bewildering investment for its shareholders.
Shop to your gut’s content
SHOP-CAFE. The term has been fleshed out too many times by businesses with half-baked shopping and dining components – and, as a result, no staying power.
Off the beaten path
IT’S a place where sun-seekers and live turkeys like to hang out, whether to eat or tan, without letting fears of skin cancer or capture get the better of them.
In fine fashion
There was a time when many would have called Singapore’s fashion scene backward – no cult labels and certainly no space for mercurial, rising designers.
House style
USP – those three letters are surely familiar to any working adult who has yawned through a boardroom Powerpoint presentation, but they’re relatively new when it comes to describing a fashion collection. Until now, that is.
Outta sight
PEOPLE who recently forked out hefty sums for fancy high-definition flatscreen televisions might want to kick themselves for not waiting – because new TVs that display three-dimensional (3D) images will be arriving soon.
A new journey
THE crossover is like the tasting menu of the automotive world – you get a bit of everything in a car.
Big body, small engine
THE GT-R may be the iconic super sports car that represents the technology and history of the Nissan brand. But as a mass market make, nothing quite captures the essence of Japan’s third biggest carmaker as its Sylphy compact sedan.
Going upmarket
THE Sylphy may be the quintessential Nissan sedan, but in Singapore, it is outsold by the Latio two to one.
Valley visionary
JOHN Hennessy looks to the day when, as he walks along a street, the tiny chip embedded in the corner of his eyeglasses prods him with timely tips from his surroundings.
Buying ahead of a push on Wall Street?
IT wasn’t a particularly notable week by any standard. Other than Genting Singapore’s volatility and the rotational punting of penny stocks, there wasn’t much to distinguish the five days that have just passed from the many that preceded them.
Private sector key ally in terror fight: Kan Seng
EVEN as security agencies constantly seek out new technologies to strengthen surveillance and security levels in Singapore, the fight against terrorism will require individuals and the private sector to play their part as well, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng in Parliament yesterday.
NSmen to get more allowances for annual in-camp training call-ups
FROM this April, national servicemen will receive at least 5 per cent more in rank allowances for their annual in-camp training (ICT) call-ups, Minister of State for Defence Koo Tsai Kee told Parliament.
STB expects higher visitor arrivals this year
THE Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is projecting to see 11.5-12.5 million in visitor arrivals and rake in $17.5-$18.5 billion in tourism receipts in 2010, up from 9.7 million visitors and $12.4 billion in receipts last year.
Asian Kitchen in tie-up to tap Japan efficiency
IN line with calls for higher productivity and less reliance on foreign workers, The Asian Kitchen Food Company has confirmed a partnership with Nippon Restaurant System (NRS) under which it can adopt the latter’s efficient operating system to create quality dishes.
S’pore infocomm employment up 1.3% in 2009
SINGAPORE’S infocomm sector stayed bright last year despite the economic dark clouds. Employment in the sector rose 1.3 per cent to 140,800 in June 2009, from 139,000 a year ago. The strongest areas of employment growth include software development, digital media and animation and R&D.
Better card security to cut identity theft
THE Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) yesterday unveiled measures to tighten the security of card transactions to reduce identity theft.
Citi appoints new head of credit payment products
CITIBANK Singapore has appointed Han Kwee Juan as head of credit payment products, replacing John Denhof, who moved to Turkey late last year to become Citigroup’s head of consumer business there.
Singapore roundup
THE Housing & Development Board yesterday awarded an executive condominium site near Buangkok MRT Station to the highest bidder – a tie-up between Frasers Centrepoint unit Opal Star and Lum Chang Building Contractors.
Real brick and mortar war rages silently
AS ‘levy’ rapidly became the new four-letter word among the 10,000-odd construction firms in Singapore this week, others were looking past the simplicity of the foreign worker levy hike.
HDB revises policies to stamp out speculation
THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) yesterday unveiled policy changes designed to hurt speculators and make it more expensive for non-Singaporeans to buy government-subsidised flats.
GIC sitting on 5b Swiss franc paper loss in UBS
THE Government of Singapore Investment Corp’s (GIC) 11 billion Swiss franc investment in UBS bonds is showing a paper loss of over five billion francs after the bonds converted into ordinary shares when they matured yesterday, giving GIC a 6.6 per cent stake in the Swiss bank.
RWS prepared for hiccups at Universal Studios’ soft opening
RESORTS World Sentosa (RWS) has announced that Universal Studios Singapore (USS) will have its soft opening on March 18.
S’pore Inc backs Prudential bid
SINGAPORE INC has decided to back Prudential’s ambitious bid to create Asia’s largest insurer, reflecting its confidence in the region.
Fewer jobs lost than expected; analysts optimistic
US EMPLOYERS cut a smaller than expected 36,000 jobs in February, leaving the unemployment rate steady at 9.7 per cent, bolstering views that the labour market was on the brink of creating jobs.
Average CPFIS fund yields solid 1-year returns
PEOPLE who have invested their CPF savings can heave a sigh of relief – the average fund in the CPF Investment Scheme put up a relatively strong showing in 2009. A longer holding of three years, however, still reflects a cumulative loss.
Women more resilient than men, says survey
WHEN it comes to dealing with corporate challenges – especially in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown – the key attribute that all leaders must have is resilience.
Philanthropy heroes not necessarily the biggest givers
FORMER Singapore Exchange chief executive Hsieh Fu Hua, entrepreneur Elim Chew, Lee Foundation chairman Lee Seng Gee and Lien Foundation chairman Laurence Lien are the four Singaporeans who made Forbes Asia’s list of Asia-Pacific philanthropy ‘heroes’ this year.
The secret love affair with India
SOME friends had contested the twin themes of Looking East to Look West: Lee Kuan Yew’s Mission India even before I began writing the book.
‘Who Cares Anyway’ party might win British election
ELECTION fever is too strong a way to describe the state of politics in the UK, where a General Election is due to be held within 10 weeks.
Analysts see more rate hikes and stronger ringgit
BANK Negara Malaysia’s 25 basis-point increase in its overnight policy rate has set the stage for further interest rate rises and a firmer ringgit, analysts say.
Malaysia pursues new economic model
MALAYSIANS must be prepared to adapt to the challenges of globalisation and the initial hardships this will involve because the government intends to pursue a new economic framework that emphasises greater competitiveness, Second Finance minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said yesterday.
Indian firm offers handset with AAA battery power
AN Indian mobile phone company has launched a low-cost handset that uses commonly available AAA- sized batteries aimed at the hundreds of millions of people who live in areas where power supplies are erratic.
Temasek might sell Shin stake if buyer emerges
TEMASEK Holdings could divest its stake in Shin Corp if the right buyer comes along, said the Thai telecommunications giant’s executive chairman and acting president Somprasong Boonyachai.
House passes bill to spur jobs creation
THE House on Thursday approved a US$15 billion measure intended to spur job creation by granting tax breaks to businesses that hire workers, as Democrats, bracing for new jobless figures, tried to show that Congress was doing something about stubborn unemployment.
MetLife near US$15b deal for AIG unit
METLIFE Inc, the biggest US life insurer, may reach an agreement as early as this weekend to buy a unit of American International Group (AIG) after a tax decision cleared the way for the deal, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
Big money a thing of the past for top stars
MOVIE stars, who not so long ago vied to make US$20 million or even US$25 million a picture, have seen their upfront salaries shrink in the last several years as DVD sales fell, star-driven vehicles stumbled at the box office and studios grew increasingly tightfisted.
Luxembourg court blocks claims from Madoff investors
A COURT ruling on Thursday is likely to mean UBS avoids direct compensation claims from investors who lost money to fraudster Bernard Madoff in a fund the Swiss bank had set up.
China eyes 8% growth; vows to fight inflation
IN an annual report on the opening day of Chinese parliament yesterday, Premier Wen Jiabao announced an economic growth target of 8 per cent during a crucial year of recovery.
Shanghai leaves Hong Kong behind in size of the economy in ’09
SHANGHAI’S economy exceeded the size of Hong Kong’s for the first time in at least three decades after stimulus spending helped China skirt the global crisis and lead the world out of recession.
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