Daily Briefing: Singapore’s small boat in rough China seas; Temasek taps European firms

And developers slash prices as ABSD deadline looms.

The economy of tiny Singapore is taking a big hit from the slowdown in China, an impact coming just as the city-state is struggling with a homegrown demographic squeeze. Buying and selling goods is a crucial driver of growth for Singapore's economy: companies based on the island supply components that go into smartphones made in China and the shipping industry helps transport raw materials across the world. Read more here.

Temasek Holdings Pte is tapping heads of several European companies to advise the Singapore state-owned investment firm as it increases its footprint in the region. The investment firm said it established the Temasek European Advisory Panel, whose members include InterContinental Hotels Group Chairman Patrick Cescau, Diageo Plc Chairman Franz B. Humer and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc Chairman Ian Davis, according to an e-mailed statement Wednesday. Find out more here.

Singapore developers are starting to slash condo prices as the deadline for the Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) looms. Under the ABSD rules, developers are given five years within which to complete a housing project and sell all units. Otherwise, they must pay the ABSD, which was initially set at 10 percent of the sites purchase price, and subsequently raised to 15 percent on 12 January 2013. Read more here.