Singapore morning news for November 9

Singaporeans are less satisfied with their credit cards in 2018
Singaporeans have expressed growing discontent over their existing credit cards with overall satisfaction falling 9 points to 718, according to a yearly study conducted by market research firm J.D. Power.
— Singapore Business Review

Defeated: Singapore, Brunei wipe out measles, rubella
As authorities in Thailand battle a measles outbreak in the country’s south the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Singapore the latest Asean member state to eliminate the infectious disease, while Brunei has eliminated rubella.
— AEC News Today

Singtel’s Q2 profits plummeted 77% to $667m
It blamed a $48m exceptional loss mainly consisting of staff restructuring costs.
— Singapore Business Review

Thailand’s Kasikornbank invests $50 million in ride-hailing firm Grab
Thailand’s Kasikornbank PCL (KBANK.BK) on Thursday said it has invested $50 million in Singapore’s Grab, forming a partnership that will help launch the GrabPay electronic wallet in its sixth Southeast Asian market in 2019.
— Reuters

NUS, NTU will no longer assess polytechnic students’ overall O-Level results from 2020, will rely on GPA scores for admission
From 2020, polytechnic students seeking admission to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will no longer be assessed on their overall GCE O-Level results.
— Today Singapore

ST snags 9 prizes in Asian digital contest
The Straits Times’ efforts to engage its young audience online and explore innovative ways of telling a story were recognised yesterday when it emerged the biggest winner at the Asian Digital Media Awards.
— Straits Times

Trade tensions ‘may impact debt payments among SMEs’
THE ongoing Sino-US trade conflict may be making its impact felt on Singapore small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are most exposed to global trade, according to a study of payment data from more than 120,000 firms in Singapore.
— The Business Times

How Singapore is shaking up its energy market
“If we stay the same way, there will be no more SP,” the CEO of Singapore’s government-owned utility company, SP Group, recently said.
— Gov Insider

Teachers in Singapore command high pay but work long hours, says international survey
Teachers in the Republic have the second longest working hours — topped only by New Zealand — a global survey of 35 countries has found. But they are also paid almost twice as much as the public think.
— Today Singapore

SCDF to introduce stricter rules on building cladding, including compulsory factory checks
Mandatory factory inspections as well as stricter testing requirements are among measures to be rolled out to ensure the safe use of cladding on building facades here.
— Straits Times

Singapore Airlines to boost corporate travel visibility
It will allow businesses to quickly locate and communicate with employees in case of emergency.
— Singapore Business Review

SBS Transit’s Q3 earnings surge 77%
TRANSPORT operator SBS Transit posted a strong surge in earnings for the third quarter ended Sept 30.
— The Business Times

Breast milk bank helps over 600 vulnerable babies
A breast milk donation bank at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), which has recruited more than 400 donors since its launch in August last year, has helped more than 600 vulnerable babies whose mothers cannot produce enough milk for them.
— Straits Times

DBS MAX gives SMEs a new e-payment solution
SMALL and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now have a wider choice in e-payment solutions with Thursday’s launch of DBS MAX by DBS Bank.
— The Business Times

SIA Engineering’s Q2 profit slips on challenging environment
A CHALLENGING operating environment continued to dog aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services company SIA Engineering.
— The Business Times

KF Seetoh calls out man who found no wrong in tying dog to halal tray return rack
On Nov. 5, hawker food guru and advocate KF Seetoh put up a Facebook post decrying a man for tying a dog to a halal tray return rack.
— Mothership

Millennium Hotels roll out egg-cooking robots
Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) is deploying AUSCA (Autonomous Service Chef Associate) to five more of its Singapore properties after first launching the robot at M Social Singapore in 2017.
— Singapore Business Review

SGX, Heliconia invest in blockchain-based capital markets platform iSTOX
iSTOX, a blockchain-based capital markets platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of investment from Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Temasek-subsidiary Heliconia Capital Management, the company announced today.
— Dealstreet Asia (paywall)

Reef structure to promote coral growth installed off Sisters’ Islands
The Republic’s largest man-made reef structure to date was installed on Thursday (Nov 8) in the waters off the 3ha Small Sister’s Island, which is south of Sentosa and about a 45-minute boat ride from Marina South Pier.
— Straits Times

Book review – Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story
Some 28 years on, it is easy to forget the size of the task that Goh Chok Tong was given when he succeeded Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore’s prime minister in 1990.
– Yahoo News

Pack of 9 stray dogs roaming around Tampines might have attacked & killed community cats
This is according to Liz Hamid who posted photos to Facebook on Nov. 8 showing the canines roaming around the estate.
— Mothership

Feature photo Yudi Setiawan

This week’s Singapore morning news feature photo acknowledges World Science Day for Peace and Development, November 10.

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 November 9 added by John Le Fevre on November 9, 2018
View all posts by John Le Fevre →

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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.