Singapore

Fortifying web security is like running an arms race against spammers and malware authors. It needs to receive budgetary priority regardless of the prevailing economic conditions or risk losing out to the so-called shadow economy.

SingTel’s monopoly on the iPhone is finally over. iPhone fanatics can now look forward to buying the gadget from StarHub as well. In a press statement released today, mobile service provider StarHub announced its confirmation to offer the Apple iPhone later this year, along with tailored service plans to its Singaporean consumers. Information on pricing, tariffs and availability dates were yet to be released. The deal came after much haggling on the part of StarHub. After a results briefing last Wednesday, StarHub chief executive Terry Clontz had initially announced that StarHub would not be able to bring the gadget in this year, but added that the telco was still in 'dialogue with Apple', citing difficulties because Apple had its ‘priorities signing on distributors.' He added that the iPhone been the source of 'some consternation' for StarHub.

Hyflux, one of the world’s leading technology-driven environmental companies, has just signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for two seawater desalination plants in Libya and could potentially enlarge EPC order book by S$1billion and extend earnings visibility to 2013.

Jumping up 11 ranks in a listing of the world’s top country brands, Singapore now ranks 13th from last year’s of 24th in FutureBrand’s Country Brand Index (CBI). Singapore also got top spots in the categories of Best Country Brand for Shopping and Best Country Brand - Easiest to Do Business In.

Following the release of its 2009 earnings, Visa Inc. reported that the total volume generated on all Visa cards across Asia Pacific had increased by 13 percent to US$981 billion over the past 12 months.

Roche, a Swiss drug-making firm, specializes in research-focused healthcare particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The company opened its first biologics manufacturing site in the Asia Pacific region in Tuas yesterday. Its two facilities cost Roche US$500 million and will be used to produce drugs Avastin and Lucentis. Avastin is a targeted cancer therapy which treats various tumour types such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer and renal cell carcinoma, while Lucentis is used to treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over 55. On the selection of Singapore, Dr Patrick Y. Yang, Executive Vice President of Genentech Technical Operations, which is a wholly-owned member of Roche Group stated: “As we supply a global market, Singapore offers important advantages to Roche’s manufacturing network, including a skilled labor pool, nearby biotechnology expertise and a supportive business environment.” Finance Minister Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was also at the opening ceremony, said: “Singapore is proud to be Roche’s first site for biologics manufacturing in Asia. The site expresses a number of things that are making Singapore's future – cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, the commercialisation of science, a commitment to develop a top-quality workforce and the deepening partnerships that leading global players are forging with Singapore.” He added that Singapore was committed to building its biologics manufacturing sector, with six plants so far set up in the last four years. When these are fully operational, they are expected to create over 1,000 jobs for employees.

The mailman definitely delivers. Singapore Post Limited reported an increase in net profit by 8.3% to $40.5 million. The group’s mail revenue did decrease 4.4% to S$87.6 million on lower international mail contributions. So which part of Singapore Post’s business was reeling in the profits? The company’s logistics revenue increased 142.6%, benefiting from the first full quarterly contribution from Quantium Solutions, a full-service information technology consulting company, offering both consulting and technical support to middle-market businesses and government agencies. Without Quantium Solutions, it is believed that the group would have posted a 4% decline this quarter. And although revenue from Speedpost saw a decline, rental and property-related income continued to grow, rising 23.1% to S$10.1 million, with higher rental income from Singapore Post Centre and the leasing of space at the repurposed post office buildings. Group CEO of Singapore Post Limited, Wilson Tan is cautiously optimistic about the postal service industry. “Although the global economy is showing signs of recovery, the postal industry typically experiences a longer recovery runway. We are certainly not out of the woods yet and we continue to face unrelenting pressures from the operating environment.” He added: “We remain disciplined on cost management, and are focused on expanding Quantium Solutions’ business beyond cross-border mail and extending its core competencies in Asia Pacific. We will continue to reinvent ourselves and stay relevant to our customers, while actively pursuing new growth opportunities.”

To the unemployed person the unemployment rate is always 100%. And with the recent retrenchments and hiring freezes around town, the odds of finding a job are akin to winning the lottery. So despite rumours floating around town that the economy is about to pick and many firms will begin to hire once again, why is it extremely difficult for anyone to land a job? The Singapore Business Review speaks exclusively to the region’s top human resources, recruitment and consulting firms and lets you in on the truth surrounding most companies managing their headcount, the hiring trends in 2009 and where the job market intends to go this year and how you could just land that dream job.

Out of the two integrated resorts that may be opening at the end of the year, Genting Singapore’s Resort World may have the upper hand over Marina Bay Sands when i t comes to packing in the local punters. And the secret to what may be the key to Resorts World getting the upper hand could just be the Universal Studios movie theme park. Analysts from DBS Vickers Securities believe that Universal Studios may be the key to attract Singapore’s mass market, and Genting’s strength in the mass market.

The APEC CEO Summit to be held in Singapore next week has 1,500 participants confirmed to attend. This is the largest attendance in record for the event since its inception in 1996.

Keppel Land’s head honcho Kevin Wong has a good reason to smile. Not only did Keppel Land report a strong set of figures for that period, it exceeded most analysts’ expectations.

The black ink continued to flow over at SPH, albeit not as quickly as last year as the downturn in advertising bit into revenues. But at least there was no red ink for the newspaper-cum-property development group, which saw rental income from its Paragon department store help it post a respectable full year profit of $497 million, which was down just under 1% on 2008.

It is a long way down from the top of the office buildings that ring Raffles Place, and so it has been for the rents their landlords command. At the height of the property squeeze in September 2008 one tenant with impeccable timing, signed up to pay $23 psf for some space in Republic Plaza. Had he waited a year, he could have gotten the same space in the same building for $9.50 psf.

Not all the cranes dottting Singapore’s Marina Bay skyline are building the the integrated resort. Many are, in fact, building ever more grade-A office space in the financial district and beyond. So much new supply is coming online in Singapore that analysts estimate the vacancy rate could hit an historic high of 25 % by 2011. That, coupled with the current downturn and a desire to shift to cheaper localtions like Changi, has seen CBD rents fall by as much as 25 %. Tay Huey Ying, Director of Research and Advisory of Colliers International said demand for office space contracted for the third consecutive quarter in 2Q 2009 by 248,000 sq ft. “Firms battered by the financial crisis continued to downsize and give up their office space. Coupled with the large impending supply, rents continued to free-fall in 2Q 2009 to average at S$6.73 per sq ft per month for Grade A offices in the CBD. For the first half of 2009, average rents of Grade A office space in the CBD have fallen some 41.5%, bringing rents back to mid-2006’s level,” shes said. So what does this mean for CBD office rents and how should potential tenants assess the market?

Not all the cranes dottting Singapore’s Marina Bay skyline are building the the integrated resort. Many are, in fact, building ever more grade-A office space in the financial district and beyond. So much new supply is coming online in Singapore that analysts estimate the vacancy rate could hit an historic high of 25 % by 2011. That, coupled with the current downturn and a desire to shift to cheaper localtions like Changi, has seen CBD rents fall by as much as 25 %. Tay Huey Ying, Director of Research and Advisory of Colliers International said demand for office space contracted for the third consecutive quarter in 2Q 2009 by 248,000 sq ft. “Firms battered by the financial crisis continued to downsize and give up their office space. Coupled with the large impending supply, rents continued to free-fall in 2Q 2009 to average at S$6.73 per sq ft per month for Grade A offices in the CBD. For the first half of 2009, average rents of Grade A office space in the CBD have fallen some 41.5%, bringing rents back to mid-2006’s level,” shes said. So what does this mean for CBD office rents and how should potential tenants assess the market? According to a research note from Credit Suisse, CBD rents for a grade A building may fall a further 14 % to $9.20 by the end of this year and will keep falling until the bottom out at $7/sq ft in 2011.Then there is the ‘shadow space’, which is when the tenant sublets, and there is a lot of supply coming onto the market as companies downsize central business district operations. Empty offices According to research from CB Richard Ellis, the weakening of prime office demand during the last quarter could leave the new office space in the works empty for the short term at least. “Singapore is home to the Asian headquarters of a large number of MNCs and consequently saw the further weakening of prime office demand during the quarter. Prime rents have now fallen 46.6% from the peak recorded in the third quarter of 2008, and occupancy rates will continue to face pressure from substantial new supply. Singapore has some 7.98 million sf of new office space in the development pipeline between now and 2013 and it seems certain that for the short term at least, supply will continue to outstrip demand,” said a CB Richard Ellis spokesperson.

Singtel may have won the screening rights for the English Premier League soccer, but will it be worth the price? In terms of recouping the rights fees in subscription revenues, most analysts agree this is a lousy deal for SingTel. Analysts estimate the telecom company has agreed to pay around $350 million over three years, but the firm says it plans to charge subscribers just $23 a month. It would need to sell 4.2 million subscriptions to recoup its investment, which is more than there are households in Singapore. The market for cable subscriptions stands at just 630,000 as at June 2009, and of that Starhub had 530,000, of which half are reckoned to subscribe to its sports channel.