Singapore Morning News For January 5

SIA makes U-turn on credit card fee for flights leaving S’pore after backlash
In a U-turn, national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has ditched its plans to levy a credit-card service fee on outgoing flights from Singapore, just a day after the news sparked a public backlash.
— Today Online

‘Indian IT experts use Singapore to venture into ASEAN’
INGAPORE: More and more Indian IT companies are using Singapore’s financial ecosystem to launch their products and services into ASEAN markets, according to an industry expert.
— Gadgets Now

Singapore’s oBike reaches 10m rides but lags far behind rivals
OBike, a bike-sharing startup founded in Singapore, has just reached 10 million rides since it was founded a year ago. However, the homegrown company is still lagging behind Ofo and Mobike, its far-larger rivals from China.
— TechInAsia

Man fined S$35,000 for running illegal remittance business at home
A man was fined S$35,000 on Thursday (Jan 4) for operating an illegal remittance business from his home for nearly four years.
— Channel NewsAsia

Tougher penalties kick in for those who flout smoking rules
The National Environment Agency took an advisory approach in the first three months after the laws kicked in on Oct 1 to allow smokers time to make the transition to the stricter regime. But that softly-softly approach changed on Jan 1, when far more severe penalties took effect.
— The New Paper

Singapore’s Vickers Venture targets $500 million fund late-2018, eyes biotech, nanotech, AI
Singapore-based Vickers Venture Partners is looking to raise its largest fund yet of up to $500 million later this year as it seeks to increase investment in biotechnology, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI), said its chairman, Finian Tan.
— Business Insider

Colonialism can work – just look at Singapore
Bombay is Mumbai, Léopoldville is Kinshasa, Cecil Rhodes has been hoisted from his plinth by a crane; but when I moved to Singapore a few years ago it quickly became clear that much of its colonial legacy had been left
— The Guardian

COE premiums close mixed in first bidding exercise of 2018
Premiums for Category A cars rose the most to S$41,400.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Major hardware flaws make computers, smartphones a security risk
Issuing the alert yesterday, the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCert) said: “The vulnerabilities enable attackers to steal any data processed by the computer.”
— The New Paper

A challenging year for Singapore foreign policy
One of the memorable moments of Singapore’s chairmanship of Asean a decade ago came soon after troops in Myanmar fired with automatic weapons on crowds of civilians who had been demonstrating in Yangon for democracy.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Fugitive Vietnamese tycoon ‘removed’ from Singapore: MHA
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has cancelled fugitive Vietnamese businessman Phan Van Anh Vu’s visit pass and removed him from Singapore, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Thursday (Jan 4).
— Channel NewsAsia

Australian chefs in Singapore: why the young and ambitious are opening restaurants in Lion City
In a recent interview in Macau, the Michelin Guide’s global head honcho Michael Ellis made a point about Australian chefs working in Singapore: “There are Australian chefs coming exclusively to Singapore because they want to be in the running to get a Michelin star.
— South China Morning Post

‘Critical’ security flaws found in CPUs: SingCERT
Two “critical vulnerabilities” dubbed Meltdown and Spectre affecting desktop computers, smartphones, tablets and cloud services have been found, said the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCERT) on Thursday (Jan 4).
— Channel NewsAsia

Train service changes: Changi Airport workers to adjust trips, businesses brace for impact on sales
Some businesses located in Changi Airport are making alternative arrangements for their employees to get to work, a spokesperson from Changi Airport Group said. This is due to the shorter operating hours of MRT trains on the East-West Line, which will take effect this weekend for the rest of the month, to facilitate maintenance and renewal works for the rail line.
— Today Online

Singapore’s younger office holders will settle on a potential leader ‘in good time’
The younger generation of Singapore leaders is “keenly aware” that leadership succession is “a pressing issue”, given that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said he intends to step down after the next General Election.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore’s 4G team to pick leader ‘in good time’
In their first joint comment on the issue of succession, the ruling People’s Action Party’s fourth-generation leadership team members said they would pick a leader among themselves “in good time”.
— The Straits Times (paywall)

Singapore’s property market on the upturn
After three years of falling prices, 2018 is looking like the year that the Singapore property market’s long-awaited turnaround finally gains traction. Analysts reckon that a trough has been reached though they are careful to tamp down excessive optimism.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Feature photo Dickson Phua

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 5 added by Leakhena Khat on January 5, 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.