Daily Briefing: New telco faces uphill battle; Property watchers unhappy about budget

And here’s how the SGX can liven up the stock market.

An upstart faces a tough climb to break into Singapore's already saturated telecom industry. The city-state, with a population of only around 5.5 million, already has three mobile-service operators, all of which have some government-linked ownership. And there aren't a lot of residents who haven't already picked a carrier: The mobile penetration rate is hovering around 150 percent, meaning many people have more than one device, according to Ryan Tay, senior research manager of Telecoms at IDC Asia Pacific. Read more here.

Some prospective property buyers are unhappy over the lack of any measures in the recently announced budget to help Singapore’s sluggish housing market, reported The Straits Times. Singaporean businesswoman Leena Ganesan, 41, and her husband who is a permanent resident, were upset that the authorities did not repeal or ease the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), as they were considering the purchase of a two-bedroom condo. Find out more here.

The SGX has its focus in many areas, and this could be the reason why the Singapore stock market has been languishing and pretty much monotonous. SGX’s half-year results showed that revenue from its derivatives market was higher than its securities market and that the former grew 1% while the latter decreased by 10%. Read more here.