Daily Briefing: Singtel 1Q profit jumps; Two HDB flats sold above $900k

And here are four mistakes that make trips costlier.

Singapore Telecom (Singtel) on Thursday reported a slight annual increase in its first quarter net profit, boosted by robust mobile data usage and strong contributions from its regional associates. Net profit growth in the three months to June however was weighed down by the absence of exceptional gains which had boosted earnings in the same period the year before, and a strong local dollar, Singtel said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange. Read more here.

A five-room HDB flat at Buona Vista Court on Holland Drive was sold for $945,000 on April 22. Excluding Pinnacle@Duxton, it is the fourth most-expensive transaction for five-room flats this year. Buona Vista Court has recently fulfilled its five-year minimum occupation period. Another five-room flat in the project was also sold above $900,000 in March. Find out more here.

When public holidays roll around, Singaporeans are determined to get out of the country, no matter how much it costs them. Those air tickets to Bali or Bangkok might cost 8 times more than they usually do, but when faced with the prospect of being the only loser at the office to have spent the long weekend at home, everyone panics and clicks the “buy” button. Read more here.