Singapore Morning News For January 18

NTUC Income unveils first-in-Singapore digital portal for Integrated Shield Plans
NTUC Income has launched a portal that allows customers to digitally purchase an Integrated Shield Plan – in what is believed to be the first such portal in Singapore.
— The Business Times

Civil Disobedience: Singaporeans Defiant As Harsh eScooter Laws Come Into Play (video)
When it comes to safe, law-abiding cities it is hard to go past Singapore. In 2016 the city-state recorded 135 days on which there was no crime of any kind, while The Economist Intelligence Unit recently ranked Singapore second on its Safe Cities Index for 2017. All of which makes the recent outbreak of lawlessness on the roads there approaching the equivalent of mass civil disobedience in any other country.
— AEC News Today (video)

Singapore needs stronger anti-bribery laws
Singapore’s biggest corruption scandal, involving Keppel Offshore & Marine, has shown up areas in the country’s anti-bribery laws that could be strengthened to better deter graft offences overseas.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Johoreans welcome reduced travel time with upcoming JB-Singapore RTS Link
Johor residents told Channel NewsAsia they are looking forward to a rail project which will connect Johor Baru to Singapore in 30 minutes, although some are sceptical if the project will take off.
— Channel NewsAsia

Electronics, Singapore’s growth engine, loses steam at year end
Singapore’s electronics exports weakened considerably in December, raising concerns about the city-state’s trade performance alongside views that the decline may be an anomaly.
— Nikkei Asian Review

Singapore’s Aerospace Industry Transformation Map focuses on operational excellence, innovation in emerging tech and skill development
The Singapore Government launched its Aerospace Industry Transformation Map (ITM) today, aiming to achieve a manufacturing value-added of S$4 billion and introduce 1,000 new jobs by 2020.
— Open Gov Asia

Global venture builder Entrepreneur First unveils second Singapore cohort
Global venture builder Entrepreneur First (EF) unveiled its second cohort of startups at its bi-annual Investor Day in Singapore, with its portfolio reflecting a focus on deep technology.
— DealStreetAsia

Repeat cigarette smuggler given 40 months’ jail, $8.7m fine
The director of a logistics company was sentenced to 40 months’ jail by the State Courts on Monday and given a fine of $8.7 million for dealing with and storing contraband cigarettes.
— The New Paper

Developing, drawing unicorns to Singapore a possible growth strategy: SME panel
UNICORNS in Singapore may not be so mythical after all, if the government takes on board a recommendation from a committee led by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).
— The Business Times

Singapore-based taxi company Grab aquires Bangalore-based iKaaz
Singapore-based taxi hailing company Grab has acquired Bangalore-based payments startup iKaaz for an undisclosed amount. With this development, Grab will integrate iKaaz’ mobile payments platform to Grab’s payments platform GrabPay.
— Medianama

Monthly expat accommodation costs are now $230 cheaper
It dropped to eighth place in Asian cities’ rankings.
Singapore has continued to fall on the list of the most expensive places in Asia for expats’ rental accommodation and took the eighth spot this year, said ECA International.
— Singapore Business Review

SGInnovate-backed Morpheus Labs raises funds at $2m valuation, plans $25m ICO
Morpheus Labs, a blockchain-platform-as-a-service startup accelerated by SGInnovate, has raised an undisclosed sum in funding from a Chinese angel investor at a valuation of $2 million.
— DealStreetAsia

Singapore Exchange chief says Asia’s tech sector is big enough for more than one exchange to profit
Asia’s booming technology landscape will become large enough for more than one stock exchange to cater for future initial public offerings (IPOs), according to the chief of Singapore’s bourse.
— Business Insider

Singapore’s new two-stage scheme to resolve customer disputes with telcos
Consumers and telcos will have to go through processes of mediation and settlement.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched a public consultation for its proposed framework for the Telecommunication and Subscription TV Mediation-Adjudication Scheme.
— Singapore Business Review

PSA reaps reward of partnerships with container lines at Singapore port
Singapore terminal operator PSA saw the benefits of partnering with major shipping lines at its flagship terminals in its home port last year: throughput grew 9% to reach 33.35m teu.
— The Load Star

Singapore’s Air Force at 50
The golden jubilee for the RSAF this year puts the focus on its ongoing transformation.
— The Diplomat

2 international schools warn parents after strangers try to lure students into van
Two international schools in Singapore have warned parents after female students were approached by strangers and asked to get into a white van on separate occasions within a space of a few days.
— Channel NewsAsia

Feature photo Walter Lim

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 January 18 added by Leakhena Khat on January 18, 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.