Daily Briefing: UOB hiked pay by 8% per employee; Dream Cruises halts Genting Dream operations

And HDB is set to offer two-room BTO flats in May and August.

From eFinancialCareers:

UOB increased pay more than its rivals DBS and OCBC did last year, as average annual employee compensation breached the $100k mark for the first time.

Staff costs per head at UOB – total employee expenditure (such as salaries and bonuses) divided by total headcount – went up by 8% ($7,507) year-on-year to reach $101,072 for 2019, according to figures calculated from the bank’s financial results.

That’s well above the 3.8% wage growth that DBS registered over the same period, and is also higher than OCBC’s 6.2% expansion. UOB has traditionally been regarded as the most conservative of Singapore’s three local banks, but recent pay increases have helped it leapfrog OCBC, where average compensation was S$93,139 last year – almost $8k less than at UOB. DBS remains out in front on $123,650.

Read more here. 

From TTG Asia:

Dream Cruises will be suspending Genting Dream’s operations in Singapore from now until March 27, 2020, in response to growing concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

Michael Goh said: “Guests who are booked on any of the cancelled itineraries will be contacted and provided with a variety of compensation options, including to defer their cruise to a future sailing or, if needed, to cancel their cruise for a full refund,’ said Michael Goh, president at Dream Cruises.

To date, there have been no reported cases of the coronavirus amongst guests or crew while on board, or transmitted via any of Dream Cruises’ ships.

Read more here. 

From PropertyGuru:

HDB will offer more two-room Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Tengah, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands, as more singles acquire homes following a rule change in 2013.

In 2013, singles 35 years old and above were allowed to purchase new flats as first-time applicants. Prior to that, singles can only purchase resale flats.

The new rule caused 15,700 singles to buy homes, of which around 7,700 have received the keys to their new units.

Amongst the buyers were older citizens 55 years old and above who qualify to purchase a flat under HDB’s two-room Flexi Scheme.

Ownership and purchase conditions vary. Seniors, for instance, can choose the length of their flat’s lease.

Read more here.