Singapore Morning News For January 26

PM Lee calls for greater connectivity, economic integration between ASEAN and India
Urging leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India to renew discussions on an air transport agreement, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday (Jan 25) that both sides stand to benefit from greater connectivity.
— Channel NewsAsia

StarHub Latest Singapore Telco With Chinese New Year Sadvertisement (HD video)
We don’t know where Singapore telcos got the idea of turning traditionally festive occasions into subdued, tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, emotional rollercoaster sadvertisements from, but hot on the heals of Singtel’s ‘Mr Lim’s Reunion Dinner‘ comes a similar themed Chinese New Year 2018 social commentary production from rival Singapore telco StarHub.
— AEC News Today

Singapore joins new regional counter-terror pact
Six South-east Asian nations launched an intelligence pact yesterday aimed at combating Islamist militants and improving co-operation on security threats, overcoming what analysts described as a high level of distrust.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Singapore food SMEs unite to secure shelf space in major Indonesian supermarkets
More than 100 Singapore SME food firms – from manufacturers of fish balls to rice vermicelli – now have their products stocked in major Indonesia supermarkets.
— FoodNavigator-Asia

Interoperable QR payments in Singapore for consumers and merchants
SEVEN mobile wallets, acquirers and payment networks, including Diners Club, EZi Wallet, EZ-Link, Liquid Pay, Mastercard, UnionPay International and Wirecard, have formed a consortium to enable interoperable QR payments in Singapore for consumers and merchants.
— Digital News Asia

ICA warns of fake website; files police report
The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has warned the public about a fake website operating under its name and has filed a police report.
— Today Online

Singapore Students Place Second in Worldwide Literacy Study
Out of 58 territories, Singaporean students in Primary 4 ranked second overall in a study that shows how well children read. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results were published a month ago, and it also showed that Singaporean children are number one in the world when it comes to reading and understanding texts online.
— The Independent Singapore

More than half of Singapore professionals are open to contract jobs if they can’t land the full-time positions they want: Report
More than half (60%) of the professionals in Singapore said they are open to accepting a contract position if they cannot find a suitable permanent job role or if they are unemployed for a extended period of time.
— Business Insider

Public Transport Council confirms 10 per cent dip in public satisfaction with public transport
The Public Transport Council (PTC) revealed today that public satisfaction with public transport has dipped by about 10 percentage points, following mounting frustrations over persistent train issues in recent years.
— The Independent Singapore

‘Enough time’ to adjust to any impending tax hike
COMPANIES and citizens will be given “enough time” to adjust to any impending tax hike, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah stressed yesterday, without giving further details.
— The Business Times

ADM opens customer innovation center in Singapore
The new innovation center features a wide range of capabilities, including a food and flavor analytic lab; a beverage and dairy applications lab and pilot plant; a bakery and confectionery lab; a meat and savory lab; a sweet and savory creation lab; sensory evaluation facilities; and a customer innovation center.
— Farm Futures

Healthcare on seniors a ‘big item’ in Budget: Indranee
Spending on services for seniors will be a “big item” in the upcoming Budget, said Senior Minister of State for Finance Indranee Rajah yesterday when she underlined the growing challenge of addressing the needs of Singapore’s rapidly ageing population.
— The New Paper

Shell oil heist: 20 arrests over £6.4m raid in Singapore
Authorities have so far charged 14 of those arrested after uncovering a complex, cross-border plot to steal the oil.
— Sky

SMRT CEO Desmond Kuek dismisses reports of his potential resignation
SMRT CEO Desmond Kuek on Thursday (Jan 25) brushed aside talk that he is expected to step down, calling those reports “purely speculative”.
— Channel NewsAsia

Graft penalty pushes Keppel into quarterly loss; full-year gain down 72%
THE one-off financial penalty and related costs arising from the global resolution of the Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) corruption scandal in Brazil has pushed the larger Keppel group into its first quarterly loss since 2003 when it first started quarterly reporting of its results.
— The Business Times

In Singapore, academics leave little time for sports, so this swim star came to America
On the way to an early-morning swim practice in Singapore five years ago, Jing-E Tan’s father, Ken, turned to his sleep-deprived daughter sitting in the passenger seat and voiced his concern.
— Washington Post

SPH inks deal with Samsung to push digital frontiers
Users of new Samsung smartphones, tablets and television sets will soon be able to read digital newspapers on The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao apps already downloaded on their devices when they get them.
— The New Paper

Feature photo Mark爱生活

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 26 added by Leakhena Khat on January 26, 2018
View all posts by Leakhena Khat →

Bio
Latest Posts

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.