Singapore Morning News For June 1

NUS & NTU Drive Singapore Higher Education Up in New University Ranking
The Times Higher Education (THE) 2018 World Reputation Rankings are out for another year with Singapore the only Asean member represented in the global top 100.
— AEC News Today

National Wages Council suggests S$50-S$70 pay hike, one-off bonus for low-wage workers
Amid the pick-up in economic conditions, the National Wages Council (NWC) on Thursday (May 31) recommended that low-wage workers earning a basic monthly salary of up to S$1,300 receive a pay increase of S$50 to S$70.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore is facing a tech talent shortage
Singapore has long been angling to become a leading global fintech hub, but a shortage of talent may pose a threat to those plans.
— Business Insider

Singapore’s co-working space firm JustCo plans 100 centres in Asia by 2020; eyes deals
Co-working space operator JustCo plans to set up 100 centers by 2020 in Asia and is looking to acquire firms that complement its operations, Chief Executive Kong Wan Sing said on Thursday.
— Reuters

PM Modi Launches 3 Indian Digital Payment Apps In Singapore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched three Indian mobile payment apps in Singapore at a business event aimed at internationalisation of the country’s digital payment platform.
— NDTV

KL-Singapore high-speed rail costs above S$37b with interest: Lim Guan Eng
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has accused his predecessor Najib Razak of ignoring interest charges when claiming that the high-speed rail (HSR) to Singapore would cost only RM72 billion (S$24.5 billion).
— The Straits Times

Total of S$7.8m lost from trading on unlicensed platforms in 2017: MAS and SPF
A total of 142 reports from consumers who lost S$7.8 million from trading on unlicensed platforms were received by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), the white-collar crime unit last year, the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Thursday (May 31).
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore and Nanjing agree to deepen collaboration, companies ink multimillion-dollar MOUs
Singapore and Nanjing have agreed to deepen collaboration, with seven Singapore companies and an educational institution inking deals in such areas as clean technology, logistics and innovation here on Thursday (May 31).
— The Straits Times

Startup MoU signed ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Singapore
The MoU between Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Singapore was signed yesterday, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in the country on a three-day visit.
— Money Control

Change in Malaysia, awkward questions for Singapore
In January this year, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held a joint press conference with then prime minister of neighbouring Malaysia Najib Razak.
— Lowy Institute

Singapore, Malaysia authorities agree to cooperate to recover lost 1MDB money
Several high-ranking officials from the Singapore and Malaysia task forces looking into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal met in Putrajaya on Thursday morning (May 31).
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore Airlines reveals details of world’s longest flight
TICKETS will go on sale today for what will be the world’s longest commercial flight — a whopping 18 hour, 45 minute marathon from Singapore to New York.
— News

Efforts to tackle widening class divide must continue, says Ong Ye Kung
Technology can help level the playing field for students, said Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung on Thursday (May 31), even as he stressed that more can be done to reduce the widening class divide in Singapore.
— Channel NewsAsia

Singapore: Sembcorp to buy UK Power Reserve from Inflexion, Equistone for $287m
Singapore-based energy group Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) on Thursday announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire UK Power Reserve (UKPR), the largest flexible distributed energy generator, for £216 million (approximately $287 million).
— DealStreetAsia

Nanoplastics found to accumulate in marine organisms, risk being transferred up food chain: NUS study
Plastic nanoparticles – plastic pieces smaller than 1 micrometre – have been found to accumulate in certain marine organisms and could be transferred up the food chain, according to a study by scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
— Channel NewsAsia

StarHub best for mobile data speed, while Singtel has superior 4G reach: Report
Telco StarHub has come up tops in terms of download and upload speeds in an inaugural report on mobile broadband experience in Singapore, which was conducted by United Kingdom-based wireless technology company OpenSignal.
— Today Online

Singtel security lapse leaves 1,000 Wi-Fi access points exposed
Telecommunications company Singtel had a security lapse last week that left about 1,000 Wi-Fi access points exposed to potential hackers, but the issue was resolved within hours.
— The New Paper

Singapore GrabHitch drivers to pay 10% fee to keep platform ‘sustainable’ – but many aren’t convinced
Since its launch in 2015, GrabHitch drivers have always earned the full fare for its carpooling services.
— Asia One

New Singapore luxury hotel moves into historic 1930s heritage building
The luxury hotel that has been gathering dust within the Capitol Singapore “heritage lifestyle destination” for the past few years finally has a launch date, with new operator Kempinski at the helm.
— South China Morning Post

CareShield Life streamlines process for disability assessments | Video
Disability assessments for claims under the new CareShield Life scheme will be streamlined, allowing patients to forgo additional assessments if they already have a nurse or physiotherapist monitoring their condition.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Sunpower secures M&S Contracts totaling RMB185.2 million from Xinjiang Xinte, a subsidiary of TBEA
Mainboard-listed Sunpower Group Ltd. (“Sunpower” or the “Group”), an environmental protection solutions specialist with a strong focus on expanding into anti-pollution investment projects (“Green Investments” or “GI”) which generates long-term intrinsic value in the form of recurring income and cash flows, is pleased to announce that it has signed another Manufacturing and Services (“M&S”) contract worth RMB105.2 million from Xinjiang Xinte Crystalline Silicon High-tech Co., Ltd (“Xinjiang Xinte”), which brought its total contract value from Xinjiang Xinte to RMB185.2 million within one month.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

MOH rejects Singaporean’s appeal to use medisave to pay for wife’s emergency operation at MOH-approved Malaysian hospital
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has rejected a Singaporean’s appeal to use Medisave funds to pay for his wife’s emergency operation at a Malaysian hospital, on the grounds that he and his wife reside in Malaysia despite being Singaporeans, even though the Malaysian hospital is MOH-approved.
— The Independent Singapore

Feature photo Katja Maasing

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 June 1 added by Leakhena Khat on June 1, 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.