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PSP files motion to debate jobs, foreign workforce policy and Ceca in Parliament

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has filed a private member's motion in Parliament on issues about jobs and foreign workforce policy, the party's Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai said on Tuesday (Aug 31). In a Facebook post, he said he expects the debate to take place on either the Sept 13 or Sept 14 sitting of Parliament. The motion, which will allow all MPs to take part in the ensuing debate, states: "That this Parliament calls upon the Government to take urgent and concrete action to address the widespread anxiety among Singaporeans on jobs and livelihood caused by the Foreign Talent Policy and the 'movement of natural persons' provisions in some free trade agreements like Ceca." Mr Leong said the main focus of the debate would be on how to improve the jobs and livelihoods of Singaporeans. "Ceca is not our main concern and has been thrust upon us by the Government," he added, referring to the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India. The PSP first announced its intention to debate employment policies and Ceca in June. The following month, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and Health Minister Ong Ye Kung delivered ministerial statements in Parliament on...

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PSP takes up Shanmugam’s challenge to debate Ceca and foreign employment policies

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has accepted the challenge to debate employment policies and the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca), said Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai on Tuesday (June 22). Writing on Facebook, he added that the opposition party would seek further information from the Government at the parliamentary sitting in July to prepare for the debate which was first mooted by Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam in May. "Subsequently, the PSP will decide on a suitable time to file a motion," said Mr Leong. "It will be then up to the Speaker's discretion to confirm the date of the debate." He told The Straits Times that the party would be asking questions related to the number of employment passes, S passes and work passes issued from 2005 to 2020. "It is in public interest that all data and information regarding our employment situation is revealed. We are concerned about the lack of opportunities for our local workforce due to unfair hiring practices in some sectors," said Mr Leong. Other draft parliamentary questions by the PSP, seen by ST, include a request for a breakdown of industries and commonly-held jobs for n...

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Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim handed 23 more charges; turns up in court after 3 no-shows

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - After three no-shows in State Courts to face 23 new charges of forgery-related offences, Hin Leong Trading founder Lim Oon Kuin finally showed up on Friday morning (April 30) in a wheelchair. Lim, who was charged with 12 additional counts of abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating and 11 counts of forgery, initially did not enter the dock - a point noted by the court. "Is there any reason why the accused is not in the dock?" District Judge Tan Jen Tse asked. Lim was then wheeled into the dock for the charges to be read to him. The frail-looking 79-year-old former oil tycoon - better known as O.K. Lim - had been deemed unfit to attend court a day earlier by his doctor as he had been diagnosed with acute and chronic sinusitis. The court on Thursday was told Lim required surgery but had not yet had an operation as he has been on blood thinner medication Plavix. Deputy Public Prosecutor Navin Naidu told the court on Friday that all 23 charges had been read and explained to him, and that the prosecution was not asking for an increase in Lim's bail. His $3 million court bail was extended on Friday. The DPP asked for six weeks "for further investigations to finalise ch...

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The hunt for lost billions: Failed Hin Leong’s owners face asset claims

elean
4 minutes

SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - Stung by the collapse of Asia's top independent oil trading firm, some global banks have teamed up to seek the personal assets of the family behind Hin Leong Trading, which has left creditors on the hook for billions of dollars. As part of what sources say is the biggest legal case in living memory in Singapore, liquidators and creditors are hunting for assets from the city-state to China to Australia belonging to the Lim family, after the Singapore-based company was wound up in March. At a hearing on Monday (April 5), court-appointed liquidators will ask the Singapore High Court to freeze the family's assets worldwide, from multimillion-dollar homes to country club memberships, shares and funds, three sources with knowledge of the case told Reuters. Hin Leong failed in a year-long effort to restructure about US$3.5 billion (S$4.7 billion) in debts after the Covid-19-led oil crash laid bare huge losses. Founder Lim Oon Kuin admitted in a court document last year to directing the firm not to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over several years. At least a dozen creditors, able to recoup just US$270 million from the collapsed company, are going ...

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Blogger Leong Sze Hian ordered to pay PM Lee $133,000 for defamation over sharing of article

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - The High Court has ordered blogger and financial adviser Leong Sze Hian to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong $133,000 for defamation. The sum includes $100,000 in general damages and $33,000 in aggravated damages. Mr Leong was sued for sharing, on his Facebook page, an article from the Malaysian news site The Coverage that falsely linked PM Lee to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal in Malaysia. Justice Aedit Abdullah said in a written judgment on Wednesday (March 24) that Mr Leong did so "without making any enquiries as to its truth whatsoever" and displayed "reckless disregard of whether the article was true or not". "When seen cumulatively with his refusal to apologise for the defamatory words, malice may be made out on the facts," the judge said. PM Lee's lawyers had argued for $150,000 in damages, in line with what was awarded in a previous defamation case involving blogger Roy Ngerng. But Justice Aedit said that in Mr Leong's case, there was "limited basis to award such damages". He said: "The malice in this case, unlike in several of the other cases cited to me, did not involve a defendant wilfully posting something he knew to be false at ...

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One third of Hin Leong founder’s ships sold to repay debt: Sources

elean
3 minutes

SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - About one third of the roughly 150 ships owned by companies controlled by Singapore tycoon Lim Oon Kuin and his family have been sold as part of efforts to repay billions of dollars of debt owed to creditors, two sources told Reuters. Accounting firm Grant Thornton, court-appointed supervisor of Xihe Holdings, put up several vessels for sale through shipbrokers in September last year. Xihe Holdings is owned by the Lim family and held the bulk of their fleet. The rest of the ships are majority-owned by Xihe Capital - currently under liquidation according to Singapore business registry records - and 10 single purpose companies. The ships owned by the Xihe group have been sold at prices of US$2 million (S$2.65 million) to US$3 million each for coastal barges and around US$30 million each for very large crude carriers (VLCCs), said the two sources. Buyers include Greek ship owners, one of the sources said. Further details, including the total sum of money raised so far, were not available. It is expected the rest of the ships will be sold by late this year, although some of them are tied up in various lawsuits as counterparties try to lay claim to the cargoes on t...

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HSBC, banks repayment hopes fade with Hin Leong liquidation plan

elean
2 minutes

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - HSBC Holdings and other global banks owed US$3.5 billion (S$4.66 billion) by Hin Leong Trading may recoup less than expected from the collapsed Singapore oil trader after a sale process failed to attract bids for the company. Hin Leong's court-appointed managers plan to file an application next week to wind up the company after three potential bidders walked away from the process to buy Hin Leong and two related companies as a combined entity, according to a letter PricewaterhouseCoopers sent to creditors this week that was seen by Bloomberg. Assets of Hin Leong's sister companies Ocean Tankers Ltd. and Xihe Holdings may still draw interest from potential bidders, according to the letter. Banks including HSBC and DBS Group Holdings were already facing recoveries of pennies on the dollar following one of the largest corporate collapses ever in Singapore. An acquisition of Hin Leong and Ocean Tankers and Xihe Holdings as a combined entity would have eased the pain for lenders and helped them recover more than the firm's US$257 million in estimated assets. The liquidation of a company usually results in a fire sale of its assets, which raises less than a formal...

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Tycoon Oei Hong Leong discontinues legal action against Raffles Education

elean
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...