News

SPH MediaBoxOffice will be launching a large facade LED screen and an in-mall video wall today in Orchard Road's newest shopping mall, 313@Somerset.

The Singapore Mercantile Exchange has received “in-principle” regulatory clearance from the central bank to start commodity derivatives trading in 2010.

UBS, Credit Suisse, and Citigroup forecast further gains for Singapore stocks in 2010 due to earnings estimates. The country's Straits Times Index is expected to rise to approximately 3,180 by the end of next year. Pegged at 14 percent, the foreseen increase is backed by continued upgrades in earnings estimates, according to Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS AG in a report by Bloomberg. As of 3:41 p.m. on 2 December 2009, the index was at 2,786.03.

Work may be a little harder to come by in the global recession, but it seems that older workers are having an easier time than their younger counterparts.

Engineering and steel contractor Yong Nam has been awarded the contract for Marina Coastal Expressway, a deal worth S$21.5 million. The dual five-lane, 5km long expressway will be a strategic underground east-west transport linkbetween three major expressways, catering to the anticipated increase in traffic volume generated by the high-density developments in the Marina Bay area.

Singtel has announced its plans to launch a new channel Russia Today on 1 December. The channel is produced by global content management and delivery company GlobeCast, a subsidiary of France Telcom. The 24/7 English-language channel covers news, world affairs and human-interest stories, as well as featuring special interviews, documentaries and current affairs in contemporary Russia, though its main focus will be the news. The channel will be offered free to all mio TV subscribers. “We are pleased to welcome Russia Today onto mio TV,” said Mr Tim Carmichael,Vice President of mio TV,SingTel.“This further enhances our already diverse range of channels from around the globe, and will help us reach out to an even wider audience.” Russia Today has received many journalism awards including the Silver World Medal for Best News Documentary from New York Festivals, Special Jury Award in the Best Creative Feature category at Media Excellence Awards in London and Russia's most prestigious broadcasting award TEFI in Best News Anchor category.

Agreements made include a signed contract agreement between Sun Isles Resort & Clubs Pte Ltd and Penglai Economic Development Zone with a S$100 million estimated investment value.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) has launched a strategic programme designed to enhance CAG’s partnership with airlines to drive Singapore Changi Airport’s growth.

Though posted a lackluster growth in the last three months of 2009, the Singapore government looks forward to an economic rebound in 2010, according to HSBC.

A CB Richard Ellis study shows prices of Executive Condominiums (ECs) rode on bullish private residential market, causing the surge in their median resale prices by 63 percent in two years.

Electricity has never been safer. Senoko Power has set a new safety benchmark performance in terms of safety by achieving three million man hours without any lost-time injury on the 22nd of October. The firm is Singapore’s largest power generation company with a licensed capacity of 3,300 megawatts which provides about 28% of the nation’s electricity needs.

SingTel’s monopoly on the iPhone is finally over. iPhone fanatics can now look forward to buying the gadget from StarHub as well. In a press statement released today, mobile service provider StarHub announced its confirmation to offer the Apple iPhone later this year, along with tailored service plans to its Singaporean consumers. Information on pricing, tariffs and availability dates were yet to be released. The deal came after much haggling on the part of StarHub. After a results briefing last Wednesday, StarHub chief executive Terry Clontz had initially announced that StarHub would not be able to bring the gadget in this year, but added that the telco was still in 'dialogue with Apple', citing difficulties because Apple had its ‘priorities signing on distributors.' He added that the iPhone been the source of 'some consternation' for StarHub.

Jumping up 11 ranks in a listing of the world’s top country brands, Singapore now ranks 13th from last year’s of 24th in FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index (CBI). Singapore also got top spots in the categories of Best Country Brand for Shopping and Best Country Brand - Easiest to Do Business In.

Roche, a Swiss drug-making firm, specializes in research-focused healthcare particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The company opened its first biologics manufacturing site in the Asia Pacific region in Tuas yesterday. Its two facilities cost Roche US$500 million and will be used to produce drugs Avastin and Lucentis. Avastin is a targeted cancer therapy which treats various tumour types such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer and renal cell carcinoma, while Lucentis is used to treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over 55. On the selection of Singapore, Dr Patrick Y. Yang, Executive Vice President of Genentech Technical Operations, which is a wholly-owned member of Roche Group stated: “As we supply a global market, Singapore offers important advantages to Roche’s manufacturing network, including a skilled labor pool, nearby biotechnology expertise and a supportive business environment.” Finance Minister Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was also at the opening ceremony, said: “Singapore is proud to be Roche’s first site for biologics manufacturing in Asia. The site expresses a number of things that are making Singapore's future – cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, the commercialisation of science, a commitment to develop a top-quality workforce and the deepening partnerships that leading global players are forging with Singapore.” He added that Singapore was committed to building its biologics manufacturing sector, with six plants so far set up in the last four years. When these are fully operational, they are expected to create over 1,000 jobs for employees.

The mailman definitely delivers. Singapore Post Limited reported an increase in net profit by 8.3% to $40.5 million. The group’s mail revenue did decrease 4.4% to S$87.6 million on lower international mail contributions. So which part of Singapore Post’s business was reeling in the profits? The company’s logistics revenue increased 142.6%, benefiting from the first full quarterly contribution from Quantium Solutions, a full-service information technology consulting company, offering both consulting and technical support to middle-market businesses and government agencies. Without Quantium Solutions, it is believed that the group would have posted a 4% decline this quarter. And although revenue from Speedpost saw a decline, rental and property-related income continued to grow, rising 23.1% to S$10.1 million, with higher rental income from Singapore Post Centre and the leasing of space at the repurposed post office buildings. Group CEO of Singapore Post Limited, Wilson Tan is cautiously optimistic about the postal service industry. “Although the global economy is showing signs of recovery, the postal industry typically experiences a longer recovery runway. We are certainly not out of the woods yet and we continue to face unrelenting pressures from the operating environment.” He added: “We remain disciplined on cost management, and are focused on expanding Quantium Solutions’ business beyond cross-border mail and extending its core competencies in Asia Pacific. We will continue to reinvent ourselves and stay relevant to our customers, while actively pursuing new growth opportunities.”

The APEC CEO Summit to be held in Singapore next week has 1,500 participants confirmed to attend. This is the largest attendance in record for the event since its inception in 1996.