Singapore Also Can

Singapore raises GDP forecast

The Straits Times
Oct 12, 2009

SINGAPORE raised its 2009 economic forecast to -2.5 per cent to -2 per cent after the economy surged for a second straight quarter in the July-to-September period, led by manufacturing.

The revised forecast boosted previous expectation of a contraction of between four per cent and six per cent.

Gross domestic product grew an annualized, seasonally adjusted 14.9 per cent in the third quarter, following a jump of 22 per cent the previous quarter, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Monday.

'A clear but modest recovery is underway globally, at least for the next three or four quarters,' said MTI in a statement. The year-on-year expansion confirmed Singapore's recovery from the worst recession in its history, which began in the second quarter of 2008.

Separately, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintained a neutral stance in its twice-yearly currency policy review on Monday, favouring neither appreciation nor depreciation against its trade-weighted basket of currencies. The central bank opted for a de-facto devaluation of the Singapore dollar in April to help reverse a collapse in exports.

Looking ahead, MAS said the economy is not expected to sustain the strong pace of expansion seen in Q2 and Q3. While prospects for the external economies have improved, demand in Singapore's key export markets has yet to recover decisively, it noted.

 

Singapore stock market soars

The Straits Times
Oct 11, 2009

THE local stock market has chalked up spectacular gains of 50 per cent so far this year, outperforming other major financial markets.

For the year to date, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) has gained 50 per cent, based on Bloomberg data.

Analysts said that in recent months, with Singapore firms reporting better than expected second quarter earnings, this has prompted the market to rise as investors are confident the worst is over.

Singapore has also officially emerged out of recession, based on the second-quarter GDP figures.

Businesses have hence turned more optimistic. According to data compiled by Thomson Reuters, Singapore companies expect an overall earnings' improvement of 8.1 per cent compared to last year.

The Singapore market has also benefitted from an inflow of liquidity due to the stimulus efforts undertaken by governments around the world, including the United States and China.


The Singapore market has also benefitted from an inflow of liquidity due to the stimulus efforts undertaken by governments around the world. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

 

Singaporean Samuel Kang wins Australian Junior Squash Title 2009

The Straits Times
October 12, 2009

By Frankie Chee

He became the first foreigner to win the Boys' Under-19 title at the Australian Junior Squash Championships (when the 6th seed beat Queensland's first seed, Sunil Seth, in five absorbing sets 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10 in Sydney.) But there was no welcome party for the young Singaporean when he landed at Changi Airport after achieving that feat.

Samuel Kang, 18, a four-time Singapore National Championship winner, beat Australia's top three juniors en route to winning one of the most prestigious tournaments in the region.

Since its inception in 1958, the Junior Men's title at the Australian Junior Championships has always been won by Australians, including David Palmer and Stewart Boswell, ranked sixth and 16th in the world respectively.

"The top three seeds were doing very well and I didn't think I would stand a chance against them," said the sixth-seeded Kang of his feat in Sydney two weeks ago.

The lack of support and recognition for his achievement does not faze him. He explained "Squash is not as big a sport as before, so it's understandable that other sports get the limelight. Furthermore, as sportsmen, we take part not for the recognition, but to do our best in the tournament."

His achievement is all the more creditable considering that he took up the sport only six years ago, after a sports orientation session for Secondary 1 students at the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). He was not selected for the school team initially, but was accepted after he applealed.

His coaches then were his father, Jeremy Kang, 51, a training manager in a finance company, and his school coach, former national player Victor Koh. He made it to the school's resere team when he was in Secondary 2, before representing the school the next two years.

"When he started off with me, he was very raw," said Koh. "He was just like any other new player learning the basics, but he was hard working and dedicated, often staying back for more training, that's how he became so good."

At 15, Kang was selected for the national junior team. He then took part in his first international competition, the Milo All-Star Squash Championship in Kuala Lumpur, where he lost in the first round.

"That was a huge eye-opener for me because I was getting somewhere in Singapore but, when I competed on the international circuit, I was nowhere," he said.

Here he was a name to be reckoned with, as he won the national junior championship twice. He was also a member of the Combined Schools team and captained them in 2006.

The defeat in KL helped the ambitious younster realise that his five-times-a week training was insufficient, as other internationals were doing double that.

He started putting in more hours, while studying at Raffles Junior College, where the former International Baccalaureate student got straight As for his A-level examinations.

His efforts and those of his trainers - who have included former national team coaches Simon Yang and Timothy Arnold and squash legend Zainal Abidin - have paid off this year.

He won his first international title at the Malaysian Junior Circuit Grand Finals in June.

The national serviceman is not done yet. His eligibility to compete in junior championships will end this year, so he is trying to win as many trophies as possible - with the United States Junior Open and the Canadian Junior Open in December his biggest targets.

Next year, he will move on to the senior circuit and register with the Professional Squash Association. He is also looking forward to representing the country at the 2011 Southeast Asia Games.

"I've heard stories about the past, so I hope that Singapore will one day dominate the region's squash circuit again, and be one of the top countries in the sports," he said.

 

Singapore out of recession

The Straits Times
Oct 13, 2009

By Fiona Chan

SINGAPORE'S recession is decisively over after the economy surged with unexpected velocity in the third quarter, growing over the same period a year earlier for the first time in more than a year.

This stellar performance prompted the Government on Monday to raise its full-year forecast for the second time in three months, but it cautioned that this pace of growth is likely to slow.

A 'clear but modest recovery' is under way globally, at least for the next three or four quarters, but economic activity is likely to stay below pre-crisis levels, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

Spending levels in developed economies continue to be weighed down by high unemployment and stagnant income. Uncertainty lingers over how soon and how quickly world governments will scale back stimulus packages, it said.

The good news: Despite possible weak growth and uneven recovery next year, Singapore is unlikely to drop back into recession, barring further financial shocks, said the MTI.

On Monday, it said the economy grew 0.8 per cent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, the most common measure of growth.


The economy grew 0.8 per cent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. -- PHOTO: THE BUSINESS TIMES

 

Budget 2010 to help firms grow

The Straits Times
Oct 13, 2009

NEXT year's budget will provide new and enhanced programmes to support companies' efforts to grow, innovate and compete based on higher productivity, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The measures will reward firms which create new jobs over the medium to longer term, he told trade unionists and members at the NUTC ordinary delegates conference on Tuesday morning.

Said Mr Lee: 'In the longer term, we cannot prosper again and sustain our growth by keeping workers underemployed and unproductive. We have to pursue higher productivity and build better capability, and move workers from less competitive businesses into newer, expanding ones. We have to foster restructuring, not try to hold it back.'

PM Lee also announced that the Jobs Credit scheme will be phased out after two more reduced payouts next year.

'Keeping the Jobs Credit for too long will delay the necessary restructuring, and discourage labour and other resources from being redeployed to new activities where they can be most productive,' he explained.

On the global economic outlook, he said slower growth is expected in the next one to two years, 'but beyond that, prospects for our region are bright.' Singapore should also see modest but positive growth.

 

Government extends Jobs Credit scheme

The Straits Times
Oct 13, 2009

THE Government will extend the Jobs Credit scheme by another six months by giving two more stepped-down payouts in March and June to help firms hold jobs, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Tuesday.

The first extra payment will be based on employees on the payroll in January, at 6 per cent of salary, and the second will be based on next April's payroll, at 3 per cent of the workers' pay. These additional payments will cost the Government $675 million and will be funded from its regular budget, unlike the earlier payments which came from past reserves, said PM Lee at the NTUC ordinary delegates' conference at Orchid Country Club on Tuesday morning.

The $4.5 billion scheme was part of the Resilience Package in Budget 2009, introduced to help ease companies' operating costs and avoid layoffs of workers during the economic downturn. For every resident worker on their Central Provident Fund payrolls, bosses currently get 12 per cent on the first $2,500 of the employee's monthly wage.

Lauding the scheme as 'an extraordinary response to a grave economic crisis,' Mr Lee said it has done its work and held retrenchment and unemployment numbers down. With the economy now having stabilised, he said it is timely to phase out Jobs Credit and adopt more targeted measures to support economic restructuring and enhance productivity.

On the six-month extension, Mr Lee explained: 'Strictly speaking, it is no longer needed. The economy is now recovering, and some companies are hiring again. But if we withdraw the Jobs Credit completely and suddenly, companies may have difficulties adjusting.'

'We have talked to employers and unions. They understand the need to withdraw the Jobs Credit, but hope to be given another few months. We have carefully considered all views and will extend the programme.'

 

Panels to improve policies

The Straits Times
Oct 13, 2009

INTERACTING in cyberspace is not the only way Reach connects with citizens. The feedback unit also regularly appoints experts' committees to suggest ways to improve existing policies.

Five such workgroups, appointed for a two-year period in September 2007, presented their findings to the relevant ministries late last month.

Each group looked at a specific issue - ageing and health, education, economic and employment opportunities, physical and environmental sustainability, and population and integration.

They listened to presentations by civil servants and read documents on key policies pertaining to their areas of expertise, said family physician Teo Beng See, who was vice-chair of the health and ageing group.

After several presentations from the Ministry of Health and one from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Teo's group decided to focus on how to improve access to community rehabilitation facilities.

A survey of 800 Singaporeans and review of existing rehabilitation facilities yielded two broad findings. 'We realised that these services are not really affordable, and patients do not understand the benefits,' said Dr Teo.

 

Halt in Singdollar's rise

The Straits Times
Oct 13, 2009

It is set to hold steady after MAS stands pat on its monetary policy

By Robin Chan

THE rise of the Singdollar against the United States greenback came to a halt on Monday after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signalled it was not going to change its exchange rate policy.

The Singapore dollar, which is kept within a set range against a basket of other currencies, fell to $1.399 to the US dollar at 5.30pm, after hitting a 15-month high of $1.39 last Thursday.

Despite the slight fall, economists do not expect the Singdollar to lose much more value against its US counterpart. They expect it to trade between $1.37 and $1.40 until the second quarter of next year. This is due mainly to the continued weakness of the greenback and market anticipation that the MAS will eventually allow the Singdollar to strengthen.

Some currency strategists predict that the Singdollar could even hit $1.34 against the US dollar by the end of next year.

In Monday's closely watched statement, the MAS announced it was keeping its monetary policy unchanged, falling in line with central banks in South Korea and the European Union.

Despite the economy rebounding 22% and 15% in the second and third quarters respectively, it cautioned that the strength of Singapore's recovery was expected 'to moderate beyond the initial uplift'.

 

I'm afraid we have nothing to boast about as our 4 submarines were bought second-hand from Sweden.

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Singapore_Navy

In 1995, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) acquired a Challenger class (formerly known as Sjöormen class) submarine from the Swedish Navy and another three in 1997, making them Singapore's first underwater platforms.

As the submarines were designed by the Swedish for operations in the Baltic Sea, various modifications were required to suit them to tropical waters. A comprehensive tropicalisation programme was carried out for all four submarines, which involves installing air conditioning, marine growth protection systems and corrosion-resistant piping.

It is believed that the Challenger class were purchased to develop the required submarine operations expertise before selecting a modern class of submarines to replace them, since all the boats are over 40 years old. The four submarines form the 171 Squadron of the RSN.

1. RSN Crest

2. Launch of RSS Archer in Sweden

3. Launch of RSS Chieftain in Sweden
© MINDEF

 

Next: Remaking economy

The Straits Times
Oct 14, 2009

Jobs Credit scheme until June; incentives to boost productivity in the works

By Sue-Ann Chia

EMPLOYERS received good news on Tuesday, not just a six-month extension of Jobs Credit but also more goodies that await them in next year's Budget.

The upcoming offerings are aimed at helping companies boost productivity and devise better ways to do business to bolster Singapore's efforts to transform and grow its economy.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made the promise on Tuesday when he also said that companies which spur job creation over the medium to longer term will be rewarded.

He did not elaborate on the new incentives in his 45-minute speech at a labour movement conference, but identified broadly the critical steps that needed to be taken for Singapore's post-recession economy.

'We have to pursue higher productivity and build better capability, and move workers from less competitive businesses into newer, expanding ones.

'We have to foster restructuring, not try to hold it back,' said Mr Lee.

Mr Lee, in looking ahead, envisions a shift from saving jobs, which was critical during the recession, to a new phase of growth that will focus on shaping businesses to stay competitive in a new world economic order.

Singapore has taken steps to find new ways to grow the economy. The high-powered Economic Strategies Committee will unveil its recommendations ahead of Budget 2010.

PM Lee with participants at the NTUC ordinary delegates conference yesterday. He thanked unionists and workers for accepting painful measures such as pay cuts. With him are (from left) labour chief Lim Swee Say and Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

 

Got class lah! Submarine ada Challenger and other classifications.
Wah luckily no BCer from Sweden, otherwise malu-lah!

Singapore different from Malaysia lah! Second-hand also can. Can save money mah and learn to modify and play around with the internal fixtures and fittings underwater. We have only a small territory to defend unlike our much bigger northern neighbour. So you guys got to spend more money ...

Singaporeans love IKEA and they go there window shopping for trendy ideas. Cheaper this way than employing expensive designers.

And I personally love the "Dancing Queens" from Abba!

So Sweden got quality lah. That's why we buy from them at a huge discount!

 

Mr Mighty Ants, you are touching on rather sensitive grounds. I hope pemuda can open a new thread for this.

 

World's 1st semi-cloned fish

The Straits Times
Oct 16, 2009

The manipulation of cells took five years to complete and cost $1.5 million

SCIENTISTS in Singapore have become the first to 'semi-clone' an animal by fertilising an egg with an embryonic stem cell that mimics sperm.

Holly, a 4cm-long medaka fish, is now 15 months old and a great-grandmother, with a family of more than 100 fish which are able to reproduce normally and healthily.

The success by the scientists from the National University of Singapore may spell promise in future for infertile couples.

The key to the discovery is that scientists managed to generate a haploid DNA cell which mimics sperm. The isolation and manipulation of these cells took five years to complete, and cost $1.5 million.

The work by Associate Professor Hong Yunhan of the National University of Singapore's Department of Biological Sciences came through persistence - he continued his work to create haploid cells even when Nobel Prize winners had given up.

In essence, what the scientists did was to take eggs from one fish, and sperm from another.

The sperm cells were then zapped with UV rays to strip them of their DNA code, and these were then used to "fertilize" the eggs.

As only one set of DNA was contained in the eggs, the resulting division created haploid cells. These cells were then combined with eggs from another fish, and Holly was born.

This method opens up the possibility of obtaining a haploid cell from a man, enabling him to pass on his DNA even if he is infertile.

That will be some time in the future, howeer, as further tests will still need to be carried out.

There will also be ethical hurdles to cross: Scientists and others have long debated the issue of whether it is right to clone humans.

For now, though, scientists here are celebrating what they say is akin to turning science fiction into reality.

Holly is quite different from animals like Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, and the myriad of others that came after her.

Instead of a clone, which is an exact genetic replica of an organism, Holly is a semi-clone with an unpredictable genetic code - similar to how it occurs in nature.

Dr Alan Colman, a principal investigator at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of Medical Biology, executive director of the Singapore Stem Cell Consortium, as well as one of the creators of Dolly, said the isolation of a haploid cell was interesting and valuable to science.

He said: "The reason haploid cells are desirable is that all of us have two copies of each gene.

He explained that being able to look at a human haploid cell, if one day possible, will allow scientists to study and treat genes that cause diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The molecular biologists behind Holly's creation are Associate Professor Hong Yunhan (centre) from the National University of Singapore's Department of Biological Sciences, Dr Yi Meisheng (left) and Ms Hong Ni. Their breakthrough research has the potential of one day allowing scientists to study and treat genes that cause diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. -- ST PHOTOS: CAROLINE CHIA

 

Formula for Singapore to be global player in science

The Straits Times
October 16 2009

By V.V. Krishna & Seeram Ramakrishna
For the Straits Times

In little more than two decades, Singapore has shot ahead of its Asean neighbours in science production.

Peer-reviewed international publications have increased more than eightfold - from 828 in 1990 to 7,110 in 2007. In that same period, 4,900 United States patents were granted.

The country has built up an enviable national science and techology system with world-class universities. For instance, in material sciences, the National University of Singapore (NUS) was named second in the Asia-Pacific region for the decade 1999-2009 in the Times Higher Education rankings, with the Japan Science and Technology Agency ranked first. Singapore now figures among the leading Asia-Pacific countries in the world of science.

All this would not have happened without aggressive state policies to build a research ecosystem. Three science and technology plans in 1991, 1996 and 2005 have allocated more than $13 billion to science. An equal sum has been earmarked in the 2006-2010 plan.

A big boost came with the establishment of the National Research Foundation in 2006 in the Prime Minister's Office. Various expert groups followed up by drawing road maps to develop science and technology here. Last year, Singapore invested around 2.7% of its gross domestic product in research and development - a figure on par with the average among nations in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Billions of dollars have been spent since the 1990s on creating an environment to promote science.

The Science Parks, Biopolis and Fusionopolis form the heart of this environment. Locating the different players close together is meant to encourage communication and research collaboration. All of these efforts have catapulted Singapore into a select league of countries in the sciences.

Singapore's drive to establish a flourishing scientific community stands out because of its single-mindedness in attracting top-notch global talent. The scientific elite who have moved here had research careers in the worl'ds top institutions.

For instance, chemical engineer Jackie Ying was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 11 years before becoming executive director of the A*Star Institute of Bioengineering and Nanatechonology. As she told this newspaper in May: "Here, we are blessed with significant resources to pursue the research we want to do, and focus our enery on the lab work itself."

As for cancer researcher Edison Liu, he was the director of the US National Cancer Research Institute for more than five years before becoming the executive director of the Genome Institute of Singapore.

It is probably less the money which draws top scientific talent here than the world-class research facilities. For example, NUS has established four advanced centres for cancer, water technology, mechanobiology and quantum technology in the last four years with an investment of $600 million.

There is another factor working to Singapore's advantage: It has evolved into a global city characterised by multiculturaism and religious tolerance. Also adding to its attraction is its reputation for safety.

In October 1993 issue, the journal Science commented that "Singapore has made an asset of its smallness" by bringing together a "critical mass" of scientific talent and resources. The country has maintained and built on its reputation since then.

But this is still an emerging and hybrid scientific community. The task now is to generate the next generation of community leaders from within Singapore's institutions while doubling the graduate and doctoral research base in the universities.

So far, economic factors have pushed the growth of science here. Yet there must also be space for science which has no apparent and immediate economic benefits. Only then can a truly creative scientific community be said to exist.

(V.V.Krishna is a visiting senior research fellow at the Asia Research Institute in NUS. Seeram Ramakrishna is vice-president of research strategy and a professor of engineering at NUS.)

Pictures of Biopolis and Fusionopolis

 

Come to Singapore more often for the S League. You must have missed the F1 Grand Prix recently.

Nowadays the coach/bus companies are competing with AirAsia to bring Malaysians from KL to S'pore in cool entertaining comfort, and vice versa, with a much more affordable price.

BTW, did you watch our "Singapore Idols" contest on Ch 5, Wed 8pm? Our girls are gorgeous and got talent too!