Daily Briefing: More than 98,000 employers to get $940m in Wage Credit Scheme payouts by end-March; Futu taps retail trading frenzy from SG

And MRT train testing facility to be fully operational by 2024.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

More than 98,000 employers will receive $940m in Wage Credit Scheme payouts by 31 March, said the Ministry of Finance and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore on 18 March.

The government will cofund 15% of qualifying wage increases given in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 to more than 800,000 Singaporean workers earning a gross monthly wage of up to $5,000, said the authorities in a press release.

Employers do not need to apply to receive the payouts. Those eligible will receive letters from IRAS by 31 March informing them of their payout amount, which will be credited directly to employers' registered bank accounts through PayNow Corporate or GIRO.

The Wage Credit Scheme, introduced in 2013, cofunds wage increases to support business transformation efforts and encourage sharing of productivity gains with workers.

Read more here.

From Bloomberg:

Chinese online broker Futu Holdings Ltd. is setting up a base in Singapore to tap a retail investor trading boom in Southeast Asia.

The Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed company opened an office in the city-state last week, a market seen as a key driver of its international expansion alongside the United States, said Gavin Chia, director for Futu Singapore Pte. It’s currently looking at Malaysia and Thailand to expand, he said.

“More people are working from home and they are trading. In Singapore, all the brokerages are doing well with revenues rising three to five times year-on-year,” Chia said. “That’s where there’s strong demand and not many competitors.”

Online brokers like Futu, China’s version of the US favourite Robinhood, have profited from the retail mania that grew from the pandemic.

Read more here.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

The Integrated Train Testing Centre (ITTC) will be fully operational by the end of 2024, allowing testing work to be conducted round the clock without disrupting passenger services.

Construction of the centre, which will occupy the former Raffles Country Club site, began on 17 March.

It will be ready to receive two new trains for Circle Line 6 in early 2023.

And when it is fully operational, it will serve the needs of both existing and upcoming MRT lines and allow more than one project to be tested concurrently, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Announced by the Land Transport Authority in 2019, the ITTC will support the testing and commissioning of trains and railway systems, as well as mid-life upgrades of Singapore’s trains.

Read more here.