Singapore Morning News For April 4

Singapore Court Imposes Hefty Fines for Airbnb Rentals
A court in Singapore on Tuesday fined two men 60,000 Singapore dollars ($45,800) each for breaching laws banning short-term rentals by renting out condominium units through online services such as Airbnb, Craigslist and HomeAway.
— Bloomberg

52 staff accounts at four Singapore universities breached by Iranian hackers
Four Singapore universities have come under attack from an Iranian hacking syndicate which is believed to have pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from varsities all over the world.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Corporate governance progress flatlines for Singapore companies
The country report for Singapore, part of the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard 2018, indicated that the development of CG practices here has essentially flatlined, and that the gap in standards between the large-capitalisation (large-cap) companies and the rest of the field is continuing to widen.
— The Business Times

Accuron MedTech Announces Divestment of Shares in Veredus Laboratories to SEKISUI CHEMICAL
Accuron MedTech Group (Accuron MedTech), Southeast Asia’s largest medical device company, today announced the completion of the divestment of its shares in Veredus Laboratories (Veredus) to SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO.,LTD, a Japanese public company and owner of SEKISUI MEDICAL CO.,LTD, a global diagnostics company.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

NUS develops cancer cell culture test kit for personalised, precise cancer therapy
The National University of Singapore (NUS) today announced that its team of scientists has developed a novel and robust cancer cell-based assay that could help diagnose cancer, monitor the disease state and customise drug therapies for individual patients.
— Open Gov Asia

Uber fares surge islandwide following Grab app outage
Uber fares surged islandwide on Tuesday evening (Apr 3), following the outage of rival Grab’s ride-hailing app, with the price of rides spiking by as much as four times in some areas.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singaporeans interested in biometric authentication
Singaporeans are interested the use of biometric methods to verify identity (97%) and make payments (96%), while recognizing that biometrics are faster, easier and more secure than traditional passwords, according to a recent Visa survey on biometric authentication for payments.
— TelecomAsia

AxiomSL’s regulatory reporting solution for Singapore is fully compliant with the revised MAS 610/1003 reporting forms
AxiomSL, the global leader in regulatory reporting, data and risk management solutions, announced that its regulatory reporting solution for Singapore is fully compliant with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) 610 and 1003[1] reporting forms. Building on the comments from the last industry consultation exercise, the MAS circulated the finalised reporting forms (except for Appendix I) and implementation timeframe to Financial Institutions (FIs) in Singapore on 29 March 2018.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

New Brunei Military Chief Makes First Singapore Visit
The trip provided both sides with an opportunity to reinforce bilateral defense ties.
— The Diplomat

Qoo10 Is Ahead In Its Game, Rising 70% To Hit Average Of 14.4 Million Traffic In Q4 2017
Announced by iprice recently, Qoo10 leads the pack when it rose 70% to hit an average of 14.4 million traffic in Q4 2017. Qoo10 currently has approximately 3 million registered members and offers a one-stop shopping paradise from products ranging from Women’s Fashion to groceries and services that include credit card subscription and insurance policy subscription. While shopping online at Qoo10.sg is one of the attractive advantages offered by Qoo10, users can have access to daily deals, Time sales and other coupons to maximise savings.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

Singaporean academic to take the helm at SMU
Geographer Lily Kong, 53, who made history three years ago as the first woman provost of a publicly funded university here, is scoring another first.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

‘Good politics’ helps civil servants stay non-partisan, work with integrity: Heng Swee Keat
Civil servants are able to work fairly, with integrity and remain non-partisan because “good politics” has created the space for them to do so, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (Mar 03).
— Today Online

Singtel bags corporate governance award for 4th time
Singtel received the top award for corporate governance in Singapore on Tuesday (Apr 3), topping a list of 100 Singapore publicly listed companies.
— Channel NewsAsia

Ministerial Committee says it has “already weighed” views from Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Wei Ling
In a quick turnaround, the committee of ministers convened to look into the tricky issue of the fate of the late Lee Kuan Yew’s house on 38 Oxley Road has responded to sharp criticism of its report by Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling.
— Mothership

Scoot Increases Singapore – Gold Coast Flights
Scoot has increased the number of flights it operates between Singapore and the Gold Coast of Australia.
— Asia Travel Tips

SGH expanding A&E facilities to meet demand
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is expanding its accident and emergency (A&E) facilities to meet demand.
— The New Paper

Parliament takes a mid-term break, to reconvene on May 7
This break, known as a prorogue, marks the mid-point of the Government’s term. Singapore’s 13th Parliament began on Jan 15, 2016 after the 2015 General Election.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Singapore Airlines Enhances HighFlyer Programme to Include Partner Airlines
Businesses that are members of the Singapore Airlines HighFlyer programme in Singapore and Australia can now earn HighFlyer points when flying on Lufthansa and SWISS operated flights ticketed by Singapore Airlines on eligible sectors.
— Asia Travel Tips

Sharp dip in private school grads who found full-time jobs 6 months after graduation
Only one in two private school fresh graduates secured full-time jobs six months after graduation, a sharp decline from the six in 10 figure achieved by the previous batch, the latest graduate employment survey has found.
— Today Online

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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 April 4 added by Leakhena Khat on April 4, 2018
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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.