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Singapore non-oil exports grow at slower 5.9% pace in September

elean
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) grew at a slower pace in September, mainly driven by electronic goods from a low base last year, according to data from Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Friday (Oct 16). September's 5.9 per cent year-on-year rise in shipments was lower than the 7.7 per cent expansion recorded in August. It also missed the 11.5 per cent rise forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll. Nodx has now risen in seven out of the nine months of this year, compared with only one month of gain last year. The Government in August raised Singapore's 2020 trade forecasts, predicting Nodx to grow by 3 per cent to 5 per cent year on year, compared with an earlier forecast for a 1 per cent to 4 per cent fall. Electronic Nodx grew 21.4 per cent in September after a 5.7 per cent increase the previous month. Integrated circuits, disk media products and parts of PCs grew by 30.1 per cent, 15.2 per cent and 22.7 per cent, contributing the most to the growth in electronic shipments. Meanwhile, non-electronic Nodx rose by 1.8 per cent in September, following the 8.3 per cent growth the previous month. Non-monetary gold (+53.4 per cent), specialised machinery (+34.2 per...

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US tech mogul Robert Brockman charged in record tax evasion scheme

elean
3 minutes

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Technology executive Robert Brockman has been charged in the biggest tax evasion case in US history after fellow billionaire Robert Smith turned against him to avoid prosecution himself, the Justice Department said on Thursday (Oct 15). Brockman, the 79-year-old chief executive of Reynolds and Reynolds Co, hid US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) in income from the Internal Revenue Service over two decades, using a web of off-shore companies in Bermuda and St Kitts and Nevis, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday. Reynolds and Reynolds provides software used by auto dealerships to help manage their business. The indictment alleges Brockman appointed nominees to manage the off-shore entities for him as a means of hiding his involvement, saying he even went so far as to establish a proprietary encrypted email system and use code words such as "Permit," "Red fish" and "Snapper" to communicate. At a press conference in San Francisco, US Attorney David Anderson said Brockman was also charged in a securities fraud scheme, after he bought and sold debt securities in his own company, "breaking a promise to investors that he would not buy or sell his own company's d...

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Uber joins forces with SK Telecom to crack tough South Korea market

elean
2 minutes

SEOUL (REUTERS) - Uber Technologies said on Friday (Oct 16) it will invest over US$150 million (S$204 million) in a joint venture and partnership with South Korea's SK Telecom Co Ltd, which is proposing to split off its mobility business. The move is Uber's latest attempt to expand in a market where it has faced tough competition, opposition from taxi drivers and regulations which forced it to stop using private cars for its ride-hailing service in 2015. The US ride-hailing company currently offers premium taxi-hailing and registered taxi-hailing services in South Korea, a market dominated by local player Kakao's mobility unit. The new joint venture would "create opportunities in the taxi-hailing market in Korea and explore new areas, including future mobility services," the companies said in a joint statement. Under the plan, SK Telecom would split off its mobility services including satellite navigation and taxi-hailing into a new company called T Map Mobility, which Uber would then back with a direct investment of US$50 million and another $100 million in a joint venture structure, the companies said. Subject to regulatory approval, the joint venture is expected to begin operati...

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Malaysian workers’ return boosts home rental volumes in Singapore

elean
1 minute

The phased reopening of Singapore's border with Malaysia brought some welcome relief for landlords last month. Rents and leasings for both Housing Board (HDB) flats and condominium units rose after August's rental volumes hit their lowest point in 12 months, according to flash data yesterday. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

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Struggle to find cheap room to rent near workplace

elean
2 minutes

When Malaysian Chan Chee Hao walked across the Causeway to Singapore on the first day of the border reopening in August, he did not expect that he would join hundreds of other workers seeking cheap rooms to rent. Two months later, Mr Chan, 36, still has not found a room near his workplace in Sungei Kadut that meets his budget of $600 a month. "The rent kept rising for every unit that I saw. I found out that it would cost between $600 and $850 per person to share an air-conditioned room," said Mr Chan, an air-conditioner installer. "Most of the landlords also wanted a minimum of one-year lease when I am looking to rent just for six months." He entered Singapore on Aug 17 under the Periodic Commuting Arrangement scheme, which requires him to stay here for at least 90 days before he can return on home leave. "I already started calling the property agents from Malaysia, but all of them told me they didn't have anything available for me," said Mr Chan. He then asked his brother's landlord if he could share his brother's room until he found a place. The landlord said "yes", but the HDB rent in Sin Ming rose from $500 to $900, Mr Chan told The Straits Times. His commute was also 90 minute...

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TikTok owner Bytedance moving to bigger Singapore office at One Raffles Quay amid expansion plan

elean
3 minutes

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - ByteDance, the Chinese owner of video app TikTok, is moving to a bigger office in Singapore's financial district, paving the way for it to make the city-state its beachhead for the rest of Asia. It has signed an agreement to lease three floors measuring over 60,000 square feet (5,574 square metres) at One Raffles Quay, according to people familiar with the plan. Bytedance's office expansion will help the world's most richly valued start-up to anchor itself in Singapore, where it plans to invest several billion dollars. The move will support Bytedance's hiring spree, as it plans to add hundreds of jobs over the next three years in the city-state, people familiar have said. Controlled by billionaire Zhang Yiming, the firm is pushing its social media service across Asia following setbacks in India, the UK and the US, where Chinese tech companies are facing growing hostility amid security concerns. The new office is being refurbished and it's likely that employees will move in by the first quarter of next year and will be informed about it later this month or in November, the people said. A representative for Bytedance declined to comment. The Chinese tech firm'...

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Mass air travel’s return at least two years away: Ong Ye Kung

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - The global aviation industry will take at least two years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and mass travel to return, Singapore's Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said, stressing the importance of developing a widely available and effective vaccine to help countries open their borders. "When a vaccine is widely available around the world and people gain confidence to travel again and visit other countries, then we will have aviation back on its feet, almost fully," Mr Ong said an interview with Bloomberg Television. "How long that will that take, I can't make a guess, I would say minimally a couple of years." Singapore has to "find ways to try to revive" the aviation sector, the minister said, adding that Singapore's testing capacity is now around 30,000 a day and may rise to 40,000 by November and probably further after then. A balance needs to be struck between travel and epidemic control, Ong said. Asked about Singapore Airlines (SIA), which posted a record quarterly loss in the three months through June and is reducing its workforce by about 20 per cent, Mr Ong said the carrier faces a "dire situation" because of the pandemic and the fact it has no...

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Court grants Hyflux ‘last’ adjournment to judicial management application

elean
4 minutes

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Hyflux has a last chance for a firm conclusion to one of three rescue deals currently on the table, as Justice Aedit Abdullah on Wednesday (Oct 14) agreed to grant adjournment to the judicial management application. A hearing will be conducted "no earlier than three weeks" from now, the judge said. But this was after he chastised Hyflux's lawyer Nish Shetty from Clifford Chance Asia for making a last-minute request for an adjournment at the start of Wednesday's hearing. Justice Abdullah described Mr Shetty's actions as "taking the court for granted" and said that "hairdressers and dentists do seem to get more notice than me about cancellations". At the virtual hearing on Zoom, he ordered Mr Shetty and Tan Kok Quan Partnership lawyer Eddee Ng, who represents the unsecured working group (UWG) of creditors, to meet him physically in court. There, Mr Shetty explained that the various new developments in the last 48 hours - including a new expression of interest (EOI) from American fund manager Strategic Growth Investments (SGI) on Monday - had led to his request. But in remarking on the repeated requests for extensions to Hyflux's debt moratorium withou...

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Tycoon Oei Hong Leong discontinues legal action against Raffles Education

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Raffles Education Corp (REC) substantial shareholder Oei Hong Leong has discontinued his latest legal action against the company in relation to its plan to raise its stake in a Chinese property firm. In a statement to the bourse, the mainboard-listed REC announced that Mr Oei and his firm Oei Hong Leong Art Museum had on Oct 12 filed a notice of discontinuance to terminate the legal action against the company with no order as to costs. The conclusion came after the plaintiffs were unsuccessful in obtaining two interim injunctions against REC on Sept 30. One was to stop it from holding a shareholders meeting to vote on the proposed acquisition of an interest in Langfang Hezhong Real Estate Development; the other was to stop REC from proceeding with the proposed acquisition. Following Mr Oei's failure to get the injunctions, REC went ahead on Sept 30 with an extraordinary general meeting, where the proposed acquisition was approved. Mr Oei and his firm had filed the legal action late last month, discontinuance of which has been approved by the High Court. Related Story Oei Hong Leong sues Raffles Education over proposed stake purchase Related Story Ty...

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GIC looks to integrate climate change into investment portfolio

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Sovereign wealth fund GIC will integrate climate change into its investment portfolio, a report noted today (Oct 14). This will involve evaluating the way long-term capital market assumptions are affected by climate change drivers and under different climate change scenarios. GIC is also ensuring that its investment teams integrate climate change considerations into their processes. Analysts tap environmental metrics to identify risks and conduct further due diligence and engagement with companies. Ms Rachel Teo, who heads the futures (research) unit and is senior vice-president of economics and investment strategy, said in the report that GIC will not just bluntly divest firms with high-carbon intensity. "We would instead seek to engage and understand if the companies have plans to transit to a lower carbon business model, and will support them in their transition path towards long-term sustainability," she wrote. The focus for GIC will also be on areas such as renewable energy, green buildings, sustainable food and agriculture, electric mobility and other emerging technologies that will facilitate a decarbonisation of the global economy. This stra...

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Huawei in talks to sell parts of its Honor smartphone business: Sources

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3 minutes

HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Huawei Technologies is in talks with Digital China Group and other suitors to sell parts of its Honor smartphone unit in a deal that could fetch up to 25 billion yuan (S$5.04 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said. Embattled Huawei is resetting its priorities in the face of US sanctions and will focus on its higher-end Huawei phones rather than the Honor brand which is aimed at young people and the budget conscious, they said. The assets to be sold have yet to be finalised but could include Honor's brand, research and development capabilities and related supply chain management business, two of the people said. The deal may be an all-cash sale and could end up smaller, worth somewhere between 15 billion yuan and 25 billion yuan, one of the people said. Digital China, the main distributor for Honor phones, has emerged as the frontrunner but other prospective buyers include Chinese electronics maker TCL and rival smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp, the people said. The sources declined to be identified as the talks were confidential. Huawei and TCL declined to comment. Digital China and Xiaomi did not respond to requests for comment. The Honor brand was es...

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Shares of PPE maker Medtecs up 7.4% after earnings boom

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Shares of medical products supplier Medtecs International advanced further on Wednesday (Oct 14), following its stellar third-quarter financial results that were boosted by explosive demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). The Catalist-listed stock climbed as much as 7.4 per cent or $0.11 to hit $1.59 at around 11.45am. It eased slightly to trade at $1.57 by the midday break, up 6.1 per cent or $0.09 from Tuesday's close, with 32.1 million shares changing hands. The counter was the most actively traded by value on the Singapore bourse, and clocked the fourth-highest volume. More than 70 large trades - each with a value of more than $150,000 - were recorded during the morning session, according to Shareinvestor data. Shares of Medtecs have rallied this year following the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, as investors piled into the pandemic beneficiary. The stock price has spiked by some 4,140 per cent so far this year, from $0.037 at the end of last year. Medtecs reported on Tuesday after market close that its revenue had jumped to US$124.6 million for the three months ended September, increasing by 636 per cent from a year ago. Net profit sur...

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Top battery makers in talks over US$20b Indonesia electric vehicle plans

elean
3 minutes

JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) - Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and LG Chem, two of the world's top producers of batteries for electric vehicles (EV), have signalled they may join projects that could see US$20 billion (S$27.2 billion) more invested in supply chains in Indonesia, according to the country's government. The firms signed separate heads of agreement with Aneka Tambang last month aimed at manufacturing higher value products for batteries from the state-owned miner's nickel output, said Septian Hario Seto, deputy for investment coordination and mining at the coordinating ministry for maritime affairs and investments. It's a strategy that would involve development of new capacity for metals processing to battery pack assembly, according to Seto. "This is a race on technology," he said in an interview. "LG Chem and CATL are two front-runners in lithium battery technology." Indonesia holds almost a quarter of global reserves of nickel, a key metal for electric cars, and is seeking to use that advantage, along with cheap power prices and low-cost manufacturing, to build a domestic battery industry. LG Chem and Aneka Tambang have agreed to explore joint venture options, though th...