Daily Briefing: SembMarine commences legal action; Condo prices down 4.3% in Q3

And here’s why Singapore’s public housing is a model for social integration.

Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary, PPL Shipyard, has now commenced an action against Marco Polo Marine (MPM) in the Singapore High Court. PPL Shipyard had demanded that MPM, as guarantor, perform Marco Polo Drilling’s obligations in full under the contract and pay the 2nd disbursement and the November interest. Read more here.

Prices of non-landed private residential properties in Singapore fell 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2015 from a year ago, according to the latest Knight Frank Global House Price Index. Of the 55 housing markets tracked by the index, Singapore was ranked 52nd. Turkey leads the rankings, with prices up 18.9 percent from last year. Meanwhile, Ukraine has the worst-performing housing market, with prices plunging 14.8 percent year-on-year. Find out more here.

Singapore's experience with fully-integrated public housing can help other countries struggling to achieve inclusivity and equality, suggested Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. He made the statement at a specially-convened symposium in Washington that comes at the end of a year of ethnic and racial tensions in various key American cities. Read more here.