Daily Briefing: Singapore to raise retirement age to 65 by 2030; UOB June headcount up 6% in digital hiring push

And six Kampung Bahru shophouses were launched for sale at $39.6m.

From Channel News Asia:

Singapore will raise the retirement age and re-employment age to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030, alongside increases in the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for older workers, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

This comes after the government accepted "in full" the recommendations put forward by a tripartite workgroup studying the country’s ageing workforce.

These changes will be done in “gradual steps,” said Lee in his National Day Rally speech.

The retirement age, which is currently at 62, will go up to 63 in 2022 before being raised further to 65 by 2030. Similarly, the re-employment age of 67 will go up to 68 in three years’ time, and then to 70 by 2030.

Read more here.

From eFinancialCareers:

UOB’s headcount rose by 1,443 people or a 6% YoY rise in June as the bank hired more employees for digital and technology jobs.

The bank, which is Singapore’s third-largest by assets, reported a 10% YoY rise in total costs to $2.2b on “IT-related expenses” for the second half of 2018.

Headhunters said that the firm is among the most active IT recruiters in Singapore. Currently, 37% of UOB’s current Singapore-based vacancies are for technology or digital-banking roles.

Wee Ee Chong, UOB’s CEO, said in a presentation that the bank is increasingly using “data analytics and machine learning across customer touch points”, and launched its Mighty 2 payments app during the first half of the year.

The bank also reportedly spent about $1.6b in the past five years on technology to enhance its various platforms, from wealth to cash management.

Read more here.

From iCompareLoan:

A row of six freehold two-storey conservation shophouses at Kampung Bahru was launched for sale at $39.6m or about $6.67m per unit, an announcement revealed.

JLL and Tuscany Realty said that the property has a total land area of 7,068 sf and a gross floor area of 17,600 sf. Its guiding price comes at $2,250 psf.

Gazetted for conservation on October 1991, the Blair Plain conservation area was predominantly a residential district for well-to-do Chinese merchant families in the past. Today, the area has evolved into a trendy locale, characterised by its myriad of popular F&B, retail and lifestyle offerings.

The Kampong Bahru two-storey shophouse is within a short walking distance to Outram Park MRT station and the upcoming Cantonment MRT station. 

Read more here.