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SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) contracted unexpectedly in August, falling 6.2 per cent on-year following a 1.9 per cent drop in July. August's fall is the seventh straight month of decline, according to figures from trade agency International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore). The pullback in trade performance surprised some economists who had expected a 2.4 per cent on-year increase in August NODX. Compared to July, NODX declined by 6.0 per cent in August, following the previous month's 1.8 per cent contraction. From January to August, NODX fell 7.7 per cent on-year, and some economists say Singapore could miss its...

Intense competition, a tendency for wealthy Asians to use multiple private bankers and high staff costs are likely to force consolidation in the wealth-management business in Singapore and could push operators out of business, top private bankers have warned. Signs of competitive strain in one of Asia’s biggest wealth management hubs stand in contrast to an image of rising wealth as the number of multimillionaires grows faster in the region than elsewhere. Bankers say that even as assets under management are growing fast in Singapore, that is not translating into profits for many banks that have rushed to Singapore to...

SINGAPORE: Singapore now has a record number of 21 billionaires, up from 16 a year ago, according to the latest Forbes Singapore rich list. The combined net wealth of Singapore's 50 richest is US$80bil. Property magnates Robert and Philip Ng added US$1.4bil to their wealth to hold on to the No 1 spot as the country's richest. Their net wealth is US$10.6bil, up from US$9.2bil last year. The brothers oversee Far East Organization which their late father Ng Teng Fong developed into a conglomerate with more than 700 hotels, malls and condominiums in Singapore and Hong Kong. The biggest rise...

Goh Cheng Liang is one of Singapore’s best-known and least-celebrated tycoons. He has neither featured in any rich lists nor ever talked to the press, save for a one-off interview in 1997. Yet some of Singapore’s most prominent landmarks, like the high profile hospital Mt. Elizabeth and the Liang Court shopping mall at Clarke Quay, have been built by this reclusive businessman. Goh never went to school. He was born to a poor family in a one-room tenement in 1928, one of four siblings. As a boy, he sold fishing nets and worked in a hardware store, learning business skills...

The Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore has been ordered to pay $5,500 in salary to a woman who was fired allegedly for committing adultery. The megachurch, which is home to over 10,000 members and is one of the largest in Singapore, has said that it will abide by the court order, the Associated Press reported, though it insisted that it was right to fire the woman last September. "If we concede that the dismissal was unjust, it means we are condoning adultery and it will weaken our moral and spiritual authority in the organization," said the church's senior pastor,...

SINGAPORE: Singapore will build a new terminal that will double the capacity of Changi Airport in a bid to retain its edge as a regional aviation hub, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. Construction work would begin soon and would be completed in 12 to 15 years, Lee announced in his annual policy speech. “T5 (Terminal 5) sounds like a terminal, but it is actually a whole airport by itself, as big as today’s Changi Airport,” he said. Lee did not reveal the cost of the new facility, but said it would include a third runway that would double the...

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government unveiled a master plan on Sunday to double capacity at South-East Asia's busiest airport, build a new waterfront city, move its massive port and relocate a military airbase to free up land for development. The plan announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong follows mounting discontent in one of the world's wealthiest nations over an influx of foreign workers and expatriates blamed for a range of problems – from strained infrastructure to having among the highest living costs in Asia. In an annual National Day address, Lee sought to allay those fears, elaborating on a trove...

SINGAPORE: A new strategy that cripples the ability of the dengue virus to escape the host immune system has been discovered by A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN). The discovery, scientists said, brings hope to what may become the world's first universal dengue vaccine that can give full protection from all four types of the virus. The dengue virus requires the enzyme called MTase, also known as 2'-O-methyltransferase, to chemically modify its genetic material to escape detection. In this study, the researchers discovered that by introducing a genetic mutation to deactivate the MTase enzyme of the virus, initial cells infected by...

SINGAPORE: The latest survey by GfK, one of the world's largest research companies, has found that economy-related matters appear to be on top of the list of concerns for consumers in the Asia Pacific. Two in every five surveyed are worried about recession and unemployment, as well as inflation and high prices. At the same time, one in three said they are concerned about having enough money to live right and pay the bills. Consumers in Singapore (65 per cent), Thailand (55 per cent), China (51 per cent) and Indonesia (39 per cent) expressed their greatest anxiety towards inflation. Those...

There are two topics that you don’t discuss in Singapore: the weather and politics, because both generally remain the same. Food, on the other hand, is a subject that unifies the people of this small island like nothing else can. Eating out here can range from horrifically expensive - S$300 for a steak if you go to a celebrity chef restaurant - to terrific value, such as S$3 for a bowl of delicious noodles, eaten out of a plastic bowl while sitting under strip lighting. Yet it is the traditional and inexpensive food sold at hawker centres that sparks an...

On Monday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for August delivery increased $6.90 to close at $1,328.40 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for September edged 9 cents higher to finish at $19.86. Both precious metals moved slightly higher, despite the U.S. dollar index, which compares the greenback in a basket against six other fiat currencies, trading in positive territory. Last week, the U.S. dollar declined about 1.1 percent. While gold is on pace for its best monthly gain in over a year, silver is attracting more attention overseas. Reuters reports that Singapore is set to open a 200-ton silver vault this week,...

Today was our first full day in Singapore and there could not have been a more beautiful introduction than our tour of the Botanic Gardens. Singapore Botanic Gardens are known for their orchids and in 1957 the country began to name selected orchid hybrids after State Visitors to foster closer ties between nations. As an avid gardener, I am honored that they chose to name a deep purple Dendrobium orchid the “Joe and Jill Biden” during our visit today. We’ll bring some “Joe and Jill Biden” orchids back to DC to display at the Vice President’s Residence. After leaving the...

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has just unveiled a new suite of product offerings. It has overhauled its first, business and economy class cabins on select flights between Singapore and London. Analysts said this US$150 million investment will go some way in fending off the growing competition from the Gulf carriers. Singapore Airlines has installed wider seats and bigger LCD screens to go along with latest inflight entertainment on eight Boeing 777-300ER planes, costing US$150 million. Passengers flying en route from Singapore to London will be able to enjoy these new trappings in September. Mak Swee Wah, executive vice president, commercial,...

SINGAPORE: The Westin hotel is making a comeback in Singapore after a 10-year absence. Its owner Starwood Hotels and Resorts is aiming to double its footprint in Asia in the next three to five years. The group has about 160 new hotels in the pipeline for Asia, one of them - The Westin Singapore - is due to open this November. It is looking to fill 300 job vacancies, amid the tight labour situation. Located within the new financial district in Marina Bay, the 305-room hotel will serve an increasing number of business and leisure travellers in the region. Starwood...

Tempers flared and police had to be called in Thursday as anxious Singaporeans rushed to McDonald's outlets to buy Hello Kitty plush toys being sold by the fastfood chain as a promotion. Hundreds had begun queueing from Wednesday night to get their hands on a kitten in a skeleton outfit, depicting a character from the German fairy tale "The Singing Bone". It was the last of a series of six limited-edition Hello Kitty characters dressed in different outfits from popular fairy tales which were being sold by McDonald's this month. In some outlets, chaos broke out amid rampant queue jumping...

In spite of having no resources of its own, Singapore relies heavily on the oil and gas sector. That is because much of the oil produced by neighbouring Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia is processed and refined in the city state. This week, Singapore unveiled a new technology to help safeguard the country's oil refining sector.

SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the country's trade agency, released May trade data on Monday. percentage change May April Non-oil domestic exports** (m/m) -1.1 +1.1 Non-oil domestic exports (y/y) -4.6 -1.0 - electronics -13.2 -9.0 - pharmaceuticals +19.9 -11.8 - European Union -4.3 -13.4 - United States -0.8 +4.6 - China +6.2 +6.2 Non-oil domestic exports (S$ bln) 14.2 14.5 ** seasonally adjusted For detailed exports data, see IE Singapore's website at www.iesingapore.com

Singapore's central bank censured a record 20 banks after it found more than 100 traders in the city state tried to rig key borrowing and currency rates. The probe by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) marks the latest development in a global crackdown on rate-rigging and adds more banks, including ING and Bank of America , to the list of lenders involved. The watchdog said on Friday that 133 traders had tried to inappropriately influence the rates. It did not fine the banks, but ordered them to set aside additional reserves for a year. The city state's banking and...

Many of us have probably wondered about this - if I could work anywhere in the world, where would I choose? Of course, there are many factors to consider. In recent times, Singapore has emerged as a preferred destination among companies as well as foreigners looking to work in Asia. But beyond the city-state's clean streets and strong job market, the financial incentive of a low tax rate is, for many, one of its biggest pull factors. As part of our Taxing Times series running across BBC World this week, Mariko Oi reports from Singapore.

SINGAPORE – Human Rights Watch urged Singapore on Friday to drop new licensing rules for news websites, saying the “onerous” regulations would limit access to independent media. The new rules, which require popular news websites to obtain an annual license, will discourage independent reporting and curb free expression in online communities, the US-based watchdog said in a statement. Volunteer-run blogs focusing on social and political issues including poverty and immigration have gained popularity as an alternative source of news and opinion in Singapore, where the mainstream media is widely seen as pro-government. These blogs and other online social media sites...