Singapore Morning News For December 6

Amazon launches full Prime membership in Singapore after ending free US shipping
Amazon has today launched its membership-based program Amazon Prime in Singapore, marking the US giant’s latest major incursion into the Southeast Asian ecommerce market.
— Tech In Asia

Singtel signs smart nation R&D partnership
Singtel yesterday entered into a five year partnership with Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) aimed at accelerating Singapore’s transformation into a smart nation.
— Telecom Asia

Branding Singapore as a talent hotbed is a passionate goal
Singapore’s new brand platform “Passion Made Possible” is an attempt at authenticity — taking an approach that conveys a facet of the Singapore spirit that both Singaporeans and visitors admire.
— Asia Times

Reserves help Singapore weather economic storms
Singapore’s reserves deliver long-term economic stability while giving the country firepower to weather crises, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.
— The New Paper

Unlimited paid leave: Is Singapore ready for it?
An unlimited-leave policy sounds like an employee’s dream: It keeps staff happy, encourages them to take time off and minimises the risk of burnout.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore priority is halting Asean militants
Southeast Asian countries must step up their fight against religious militancy taking root in their region, including in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine State, Singapore’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.
— Bangkok Post

Committee formed to prevent flooding incidents on MRT system
Almost two months after flooding disrupted services on the North-South MRT line for 20 hours, a committee has been formed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and water agency PUB to prevent such incidents from recurring.
— The New Paper

S’pore to help Asean ride digitalisation wave: Balakrishnan
When the Republic takes on the chairmanship of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) next year, it will be looking to build a network of smart cities, and create opportunities in the digital space for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).
— Today Online

Taxes and transfers must remain fair and progressive: Heng Swee Keat
Singapore needs to “preserve fiscal sustainability”, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (Dec 5).
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Internet of Thing devices open up more weak spots for cybercriminals
Health sensors, smart home appliances and even toys that connect to the Internet – the number of such Internet of Things (IoT) devices is expected to exceed that of smartphones next year, giving hackers more ways to spread their infection.
— The New Paper

‘Good governance and leadership’ among essential ingredients for S’pore’s future
To continue to thrive, Singapore will need the “critical ingredients” of having a clarity of values, good governance and leadership, as well as high levels of social and cross-cultural capital, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.
— Today Online

SingPost raises postages for small packets
Increases will come at $2 to $3.5 per packet. Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) raised its postage rates for international small packets.
— Singapore Business Review

People will be given time to prepare for tax changes: Indranee
Singaporeans would be given “enough notice” ahead of tax hikes to make preparations of their own, Senior Minister of State (Finance and Law) Indranee Rajah said on Tuesday (Dec 5).
— Today Online

Two Airbnb hosts in Singapore charged over illegal home-sharing
TWO men in Singapore were charged on Tuesday with providing unauthorised short-term stays to tenants. The Straits Times understands they had used popular home-sharing service Airbnb.
— The Business Times

Lazada to ramp up its collection points to ease logistics pains
Business for e-commerce firm Lazada was so brisk on Nov 11 that its chief executive Alexis Lanternier pitched in to help package goods.
— The New Paper

Two in five online transactions are paid through smartphones
Two in five Singaporeans with internet access made their most recent online purchase on mobile, according to market think tank Kantar TNS.
— Singapore Business Review

Former Zouk site at Jiak Kim Street gets bid of S$955.4m for development
Tenders for two residential land parcels at Jiak Kim Street and Fourth Avenue closed on Tuesday (Dec 5), with the former receiving a top bid of S$955.4 million and the latter drawing a top bid of S$552.96 million, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Feature photo Falco Ermert

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Singapore morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Singapore news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Singapore Morning News For December 6 added by Leakhena Khat on December 6, 2017
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Leakhena Khat

Leakhena is a junior journalist at AEC News Today who is also currently studying International Relations, which she finds adds perspective to her work reporting on the Asean Community.

“I love what I am doing so much as it gives me a lot of great experience and provides challenges to my mind.