Singapore Buyers Desert London as Mortgage Rules Hit Home

Singapore investors are buying fewer mansions in London after mortgage changes in the island nation limit their ability to borrow.

IMF says Singapore's foreign worker curbs could hurt competitiveness, growth

(Reuters) - Singapore's plans to cut reliance on foreign workers could reduce its competitiveness and growth potential while keeping core inflation elevated, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Saturday.

Singapore’s Lee Doesn’t Expect More Curbs on Foreign Workforce

Singapore probably won’t need more measures to restrain the inflow of foreign workers as a further tightening could deter overseas companies from setting up business in the city, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

Singapore Bears Retreat as ETFs Win Flow: Southeast Asia

Money managers are turning bullish on Singapore after shunning it for more than a year as political stability and cheap equity valuations push the city-state to the top of a Morgan Stanley market ranking.

Singapore finance minister accepts slower growth as trade-off for social stability

(Reuters) - Singapore is willing to accept slower growth as a trade-off for social stability as it aims to keep down the number of foreigners working in the city-state, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told Reuters.

US-led Pacific trade pact under discussion in Singapore

Singapore (AFP) - Asia Pacific trade ministers began a fresh round of talks in Singapore on Saturday for a huge US-led Pacific free trade area, hoping to conclude a deal this year after missing a deadline in 2013.

Singapore Riot Damages More Than S$650,000 of Government Assets

A Dec. 8 riot in Singapore’s Little India district, the city’s worst violence in more than four decades, damaged at least S$650,000 ($515,000) of government property, a public inquiry was told.

Singapore, China strengthen cooperation in financial sector

SINGAPORE: Singapore and China today agreed on new initiatives to strengthen cooperation in financial sector development and regulation.

Singapore unlikely to overtake Switzerland in wealth management

SINGAPORE: Singapore is unlikely to overtake Switzerland as the biggest wealth centre in the world any time soon, but it should strive to play to its strength in world of global finance, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said.

Singapore raps banks in rate-rigging probe

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Friday censured 20 banks, including top global lenders, over attempts to manipulate local benchmark rates -- part of a widening rate-rigging scandal being investigated by financial regulators worldwide.

Singapore PMI contracts for second month in August on lower orders

SINGAPORE: Manufacturing activity in Singapore contracted for a second consecutive month in August as new orders declined further, in line with slowing output across Asia as demand weakens in Europe, United States and China.

Singapore PM urges India to push reforms

Singapore's prime minister on Wednesday urged India to press ahead with economic reforms and added that foreign investors need a "predictable" environment in which to invest their money.

Shell refinery fire in Singapore contained

Royal Dutch Shell said a fire that broke out at a refinery in Singapore - its biggest globally - has been contained.

The fire started on the plant on Bukom island, five kilometres off Singapore, on Wednesday and affected a unit that helps make diesel fuel.

Asian Currencies Have Weekly Gain on Economic Growth, Rate-Rise Prospects

Asian currencies had their biggest weekly gain of the year, led by the Philippine peso and Thailand’s baht, as upbeat economic data fanned speculation interest rates will be raised to counter inflation.

The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index climbed after the Philippines and Taiwan announced faster economic growth than economists forecast this week, with the Southeast Asian nation also reporting a higher-than-expected inflation rate. Exports and consumer prices gained more than forecast in South Korea and Indonesia, while overseas sales in Malaysia also exceeded projections, separate data showed. Bank Indonesia unexpectedly raised interest rates today for the first time in two years.

“Asian economic growth is very solid and they are in an environment allowing central banks to boost rates to fight inflation,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The trend of Asian currency appreciation is still intact.”

The Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most- traded currencies excluding the yen, climbed 0.6 percent this week to 116.49 as of 4:21 p.m. in Hong Kong. The peso advanced 0.8 percent to 43.765 per dollar, the baht strengthened 0.9 percent to 30.78 and Indonesia’s rupiah rose 0.4 percent to 8,995. Financial markets in China, Taiwan and South Korea were shut most of this week for the Chinese New Year holidays.

Philippine Prices

The peso had a second weekly gain as a government report today showed consumer prices climbed 3.5 percent in January from a year earlier, the most in four months and more than the median 3.3 percent gain forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The central bank will consider the data when it reviews interest rates on Feb. 10, Governor Amando Tetangco said today. Gross domestic product rose 7.3 percent in 2010, the fastest growth since 1976, the government reported Jan. 31.

“The market is gauging how inflation threats will feed into the benchmark overnight rates,” said Bunny Bernardo-Recto, vice president for treasury at Chinatrust (Phils.) Commercial Bank Inc.

Indonesia’s rupiah reached its strongest level in four weeks after Bank Indonesia boosted its reference rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.75 percent. The move was predicted by six of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg before the announcement, with the rest having forecast no change. Inflation in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy accelerated to a 21-month high of 7.02 percent in January, official figures show.

Rupee Strengthens

India’s rupee strengthened 0.4 percent this week to 45.60 per dollar. The statistics office will predict economic growth of 8.6 percent on Monday, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of a Feb. 7 announcement. A Feb. 1 report showed exports climbed 36.4 percent in December from a year earlier, the biggest increase since March.

Consumer-price gains in South Korea accelerated to 4.1 percent in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace since October, a report showed this week. President Lee Myung Bak a month ago called for “a war on inflation” and the central bank last month boosted borrowing costs for the third time since June. The Korean won fell 0.3 percent to close at 1,116.95 per dollar on Feb. 1, the last trading day this week.

Financial markets in Singapore and Malaysia were shut for the Lunar New Year holidays on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4. The Singapore dollar strengthened 0.6 percent to S$1.2734 per dollar before the break, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Malaysia’s ringgit added 0.5 percent to 3.04 over the same period.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com

Singapore to benefit from rising optimism about business prospects in Asia

The growing optimism is because of the increasing number of MNCs setting up business operations in Asia.

A number of economic statistics and anecdotal evidence are pointing towards increased confidence over business prospects in Asia. The bullish market sentiment is likely to lead to a surge in Singapore company formation activity, predicts www.SingaporeSetup.com.

The results of the annual Asia Business Outlook Survey conducted by the Economist Corporate Network shows that most global companies expect 25% of their share of revenue to come from Asia by 2015. A separate survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals that 92% of Western European CEOs expect growth in their Asian operations, while only 48% expected growth in Europe. Even the IMF has predicted the rise of Asia as the next economic powerhouse. According to IMF Director, Asia-Pacific Department, Anoop Singh, "By 2030, Asian gross domestic product (GDP) will exceed that of the Group of Seven major industrial economies (G-7)".

The result of growing optimism about the economic and business prospects in Asia is that an increasing number of MNCs are setting up business operations in Asia and are also making large-scale investment commitments in the region. According to SingaporeSetup.com, Singapore is one such country that stands to benefit from the shift in power from West to East. Ms. Catherine Lee - a senior editorial board member of the SingaporeSetup.com site said, "Foreign firms are choosing Singapore as a springboard to enter the Asian market and are either opting to setup a Singapore branch office or a Singapore subsidiary.

Singapore company registration statistics for the 4Q 2010 shows that companies and entrepreneurs from countries such as US, UK, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands setup a Singapore company in the last three months of 2010. "

Global firms often choose Singapore as their regional base of operations as it the easiest place to do business in Asia. The ease of Singapore company formation, the system of low taxation in Singapore, the country's motivated and productive workforce, its top-notch infrastructure, political stability, efficient legal system, freedom from corruption, strong IPO regime, excellent living environment, and its strategic location in the Asian continent are the main reasons why foreign companies are expanding their presence in the city-state.

According to a recently released report by U.S. based Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI), Singapore has the best investment climate in the world, while the Heritage Foundation ranked the economy second in its '2011 Index of Economic Freedom'.

Singapore's Economic Development Board recently confirmed that a record high of S$12.9 bn investment commitments were made in 2010 while up to S$14 billion is expected to flow into the country this year. "Given the ascendancy of Asia as an economic superpower and the ease of doing business in Singapore we are expecting a surge in Singapore company incorporation activity this year," added Ms. Lee.

Targeted for global entrepreneurs and firms, SingaporeSetup.com is the leading business information portal that provides comprehensive and up-to-date information about establishing and operating business in Singapore.

Source: http://www.indiainfoline.com

Singapore Economy Probably Slowed, Reducing Scope for Faster Currency Gain

Singapore’s economy probably cooled after a record first-half expansion as manufacturing growth eased, reducing pressure on the central bank to allow a faster pace of currency appreciation.

Gross domestic product growth slowed to 10.8 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, from 18.8 percent in the second quarter, according to the median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The economy shrank an annualized 15.7 percent from the previous three months, after expanding 24 percent in the April-to-June period, the median of 19 estimates showed. The data is due at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Japan has taken steps in the past month to cool gains in the yen and China has restrained the yuan’s advance, making it harder for Singaporean exporters to compete with regional rivals. Forgoing a faster appreciation in the island’s currency may help support overseas sales by companies including Hi-P International Ltd. amid signs global growth is slowing.

“There is little impetus for the central bank to act” as Singapore’s economic momentum moderates, said Irvin Seah, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore. “Monetary tightening, capacity constraints and to a lesser degree, withdrawal of fiscal support, will soon bring growth down to a slower but more sustainable level across the region.”

The Singapore dollar has gained 7.2 percent against the U.S. currency this year, making it the third-best performer in Asia excluding Japan.

Balancing Risks

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the currency rather than a benchmark interest rate as its main tool to manage inflation, will refrain from allowing faster gains at tomorrow’s twice-yearly review, according to 13 out of 14 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

At its April monetary policy review, the central bank said it would shift the Singapore dollar to a stronger range to trade in and allow a gradual appreciation.

The Asian Development Bank said last month governments in the region should sustain their economic expansion by refraining from tightening fiscal and monetary policies “too quickly.” The Bank of Japan on Oct. 5 unexpectedly cut its benchmark rate for the first time since 2008, while Australia and Indonesia left their key rates unchanged on the same day.

Singapore’s manufacturing increased in August by less than a sixth of the pace in April, when the MAS tightened its policy. The International Monetary Fund last week lowered its 2011 forecast for world growth, citing high unemployment, public debt and fragile banking systems as risks.

Europe, U.S.

Europe’s services and manufacturing industries grew at a slower pace while the U.S. Institute for Supply Management’s factory index fell to a 10-month low in September.

Singapore’s economy is still likely to grow within the government’s forecast range of 13 percent to 15 percent this year, even after the slowdown in the third quarter, said Vishnu Varathan, an economist at Capital Economics (Asia) Pte in Singapore. That pace would put Singapore in the running to be the world’s fastest-growing nation in 2010, after a record 17.9 percent expansion in the first half.

“The economic upswing is just slowing to a pace that is more normal and can be sustained in 2011,” Varathan said. “Exports and manufacturing growth will inevitably ease further in the coming quarters but the pick-up in the services sector should stay rapid.”

Lure of Casinos

Singapore’s services industry may support the economy as the two casino resorts opened by Genting Singapore Plc and Las Vegas Sands Corp. this year attract tourists. More financial companies are also setting up offices in the city amid government efforts to make the nation a hub from which banks and asset managers can serve clients across Asia and the Middle East.

New York-based buyout and hedge-fund firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, which managed $41.7 billion as of June 30, will have an investment team of about 10 people in its new office in Singapore, according to Adam Levinson, its co-chief investment officer of global macro funds. Levinson will also move to Singapore to lead the company’s expansion in Asia.