It has partnered with Nanyang Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic.

Singtel has rolled out another initiative to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore to thrive in the digital economy.

It has partnered Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) - Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (SIRS) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) to empower SMEs in the retail and food and beverage sectors to be digital-savvy.

According to the group, the partnerships augment the 99% SME initiative by training SMEs to use tools and resources to get online, establish e-commerce capabilities, and market themselves more effectively.

In this initiative, Singtel will tie up with NYP’s SIRS to help SMEs hire “digital professionals” who will guide the SMEs on adopting e-commerce and retail analytics as well as using digital marketing solutions such as Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing. These digital professionals comprise professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs) who have been re-skilled. SMEs which sign up for this scheme will enjoy government subsidies of up to 90%.

Meanwhile, SP students will advise food and beverage owners on ways to better showcase their offerings on the 99% SME website, and guide them to adopt Singtel’s Connected Restaurant solution.

Singtel managing director for group enterprise Andrew Lim said through the collaboration, SMEs will be able to improve their productivity, reduce costs, gain new revenue, and scale their businesses.

He added, "Second, PMETs are being re-skilled and re-employed whilst using their skills to help SMEs in their digital journey. Third, the students will acquire deep skills and develop entrepreneurial spirit, which prime them for their career development in the digital field."

To recall, Singtel, along with DBS and other partners, launched the inaugural 99% SME campaign in 2015 to rally all in Singapore to use products and services offered by SMEs.

Just recently, Singtel and Lazada announced the launch of 99% SME e-marketplace – a dedicated portal hosted on Lazada Singapore’s website for SMEs to advertise their offerings and tap on a wider online customer base.
 

These will boost Singapore’s efforts to stay known as a clean financial hub.

In two weeks, the amended law governing companies will come into effect, boosting Singapore's ongoing efforts of maintaining its reputation as a trusted and clean financial hub.

According to senior minister of state for law and finance Indranee Rajah, one of the key amendments is improving the transparency of companies.

"The first set of amendments seeks to make the ownership and control of business entities more transparent and thus reduce opportunities for the misuse of corporate entities for illicit purposes. This will help Singapore to better meet the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force or FATF," she said.

The two changes under this category include the registers of controllers, members, and nominee directors. The other is the requirement of locally incorporated companies and foreign companies registered in Singapore to maintain registers of their controllers at prescribed places.

Another key amendment is reducing regulatory burden and improving the ease of doing business in Singapore. Three key changes will be in effect. One will be the inward re-domiciliation regime.

"Inward re-domiciliation is akin to changing 'corporate citizenship'. Transfer of registration will thus be useful to foreign corporate entities that wish to retain their corporate history and identity. Foreign corporate entities may choose to re-domicile for various reasons, such as for a more conducive regulatory framework or to be closer to their shareholders or operational base. A foreign corporate entity that is re-domiciled to Singapore will be required to comply with the requirements of the Companies Act like any other Singapore company," she explained.

Rajah said these transparency-related amendments will enable Singapore to better mitigate the risks of money laundering and financing of terrorism. The Bill will also reduce the regulatory burden on companies and improve corporate governance in Singapore.

There will also be changes in requirements on annual general meetings and annual returns. Moreover, there will be a removal of the requirement for a common seal to execute documents such as deeds and for certain documents such as share certificates.

Rajah also stated there will be an amendment of the debt restructuring framework, citing recent high-profile cases including Hanjin Shipping’s attempted rehabilitation in Korea and ongoing efforts for Singapore-listed businesses like Swiber and Ezra.

With this, she said there will be changes in the schemes of arrangement, highlighting key provisions such as Moratorium, Rescue Financing, Cram Down Provisions, and Pre-Packs.

"The enhanced debt restructuring framework will give business entities in financial difficulties greater flexibility to restructure and survive. Together with the new inward re-domiciliation regime, these amendments will increase our competitiveness and strengthen Singapore as a leading financial centre," she concluded. 

The new telco may be launching the new service in 2H17.

Lesser telco giants StarHub and M1 are forging a win-win outcome through their network sharing.

According to UOB KayHian, StarHub and M1 intend to share radio access (base stations) and backhaul transmission network in a comprehensive manner across 3G, 4G, and 5G.

"Network sharing allows StarHub to ensure that it provides the best-in-class mobile coverage whilst simultaneously minimising capex and opex. Going forward, StarHub would compete and differentiate itself based on service quality," UOB noted.

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm noted that StarHub may be anticipating TPG's next move, which is the launching of fibre broadband services in 2H17, leveraging on its strength and expertise in fixed-line network in its home ground in Australia.

"This serves to build TPG’s branding in Singapore before it launches mobile services in 2H18," UOB said.
 

But an upward boost may be limited today.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 14.51 points or 0.47% higher to 3133.35 on Friday, taking the year-to-date performance to +8.77%.

The top active stocks were CapitaLand, which gained 3.64%; UOB, which declined 0.14%; OCBC Bank, which gained 0.84%; CityDev, which gained 5.62%; and Keppel Corp, with a 0.44% advance.

According to OCBC, this came as US stocks closed higher on a stronger-than-expected February jobs report, but major benchmarks snapped multi-week winning streaks as oil prices weighed on markets over the past five sessions.

Meanwhile, eight out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher. The best performer was utilities (0.80%) and the worst performer was real estate (-0.17%). The index was down 0.44% for the week.

Here are the implications on the Singapore market:

The continued gains on Wall Street Friday could bring some cheer to the local sentiment this morning, but further upside could be limited as investors stay cautious ahead of FOMC’s rate decision this week.

On the upside, we peg the initial hurdle at 3150, ahead of 3180; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 3100 and see the next base at 3060.

Overall volume rose 12.2% with 2.6b units traded, and total value climbed 37.8% to S$1.3b, whilst average value/unit added 22.8% to S$0.52.

Check out what market players have to say about the move.

The recent easing of the rules in seller's stamp duties (SSD) and the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) adjustments would benefit homeowners in their retirement years, according to market players.

In an unexpected move last week, the government decided to reduce the holding time of a property to three years to dodge paying for SSD. Currently, SSD is payable by those who sell a residential property within four years of purchase, at rates of between 4% and 16% of the property’s value. Meanwhile, the government said it will relax the rules and will no longer apply the TDSR framework to mortgage equity withdrawal loans with LTV ratios of 50% and below.

"We feel that changes to the TDSR framework will help homeowners to monetise their properties in their retirement years," PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor said.

For Citi Research, the adjustments ease liquidity constraints for a minority, with other potential consequences.

“This gives an additional avenue for asset-rich but cash-poor retirees to monetise their properties, apart from selling existing larger properties to downgrade, and thus should be viewed in the context of similar moves (e.g. lease buyback schemes). But rather than a sustainable boost for consumption, which fell year-on-year in 4Q16 for the first time since the GFC, relaxing asset-based lending rules could unlock a low-cost source of financing for investments, or even SME owners who face tighter credit conditions,” Citi said.

Meanwhile, Krishna Guha of Jefferies said this will give flexibility to monetise properties in the retirement years for affected households, that is to borrow against the value of their properties to obtain additional cash. However, she noted that this is not expected to have much of an impact as such new loans will still be affected by TDSR.

"It is a small tweak and should not be viewed as any change to overall TDSR measures. In addition, ABSD rates and LTV limits are unchanged," she argued.

On the other hand, Alex Toh, a finance and property lawyer at Withers LLP said most of the mortgage equity loans that are taken up by homeowners are usually for those who use the loan proceeds for investments or if they are business owners, for the working capital for their businesses.

"Hence, the lifting of the total debt servicing ratio framework in relation to mortgage equity loans may help such business owners obtain more loans to support their businesses in this current uncertain economic climate. However, business owners may reconsider doing so in light of the possibility of interest rate hikes in the near future," Toh noted.

On the SSD adjustments, ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim said it brings relief and a way out for investors and property owners who may have to dispose of the property bought in the short term without the additional burden of SSD.

However, the tweak will only be applicable to residential properties bought after the implementation of the adjustment.

"So this measure is a forward-looking measure that allows prospective residential property purchasers to recalibrate their calculations, expectations, and holding period, going forward. Whilst it may change slightly how investors and homebuyers look at the timeline on holding the properties, we do not expect this tweak to have the effect of pushing up property prices in both the primary and secondary market. This is because there is still abundant supply in the residential property market and the demand-cooling ABSD rates and LTV limits remain unchanged," he said.

He furthered, "Developers and sellers are expected to remain realistic when pricing their units for sale. Market transaction data is likely to show that attractively or reasonably priced properties will find buyers much quicker; whilst overpriced ones are likely to remain on the shelf.”
 

The first quarter isn’t over, and five firms already received takeover offers.

The wave of merger & acquisition and privatisation deals has gained momentum last year and is expected to continue this year, a report from DBS said.

Some of the factors propelling this trend are cheap valuations, low liquidity, dominant shareholder control, strong asset backing, and strong brand premiums, as private-equity funds scout for undervalued gems whilst rich shareholders and owners put up offers to privatise companies.

"Despite the Straits Times Index’s recent outperformance, valuation remains inexpensive versus regional peers. This, coupled with green shoots of recovery, has revived interest in Singapore equities, adding fuel to the M&A momentum," DBS noted.

Since 2013, more than 20 companies are taken private or bought out. Two months into 2017, there are reported buyout offers for five companies, offering premiums of between 2% and 21% over their last transaction price.

Check the table below to see the privatisation deals announced this year so far:

Asia is forecast to need US$20t of additional infrastructure investments from now till 2030.

Recognising the critical demand for infrastructure in the region, Singapore is launching itself as the infrastructure hub of Asia, senior minister of state for law and finance Indranee Rajah said.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Energy & Infrastructure Finance Forum, the minister said the country is working to develop Singapore as the go-to place where infrastructure demand and supply can connect, dubbing the city-state as Asia's Infrastructure Exchange.

"In our 50-year journey of urbanisation Singapore has accumulated expertise in planning, executing, and operating infrastructure over a wide range of sectors, including energy, water, waste management, transport, housing, and ports," she said.

From now till 2030, Asia is expected to require US$20t of additional infrastructure investments to meet this growing demand.

"This is the equivalent of developing the infrastructure needed to support the population of one Singapore every week! That’s the magnitude of the infrastructure demand in Asia," the minister said.

However, she said there is a need to bridge the bankability gap, as this caused many projects to not get off the ground even with the massive demand.

"If a project is deemed as neither bankable nor investible, it means that banks will not lend and investors will not put in the money, as they cannot get back sufficient returns within a reasonable time frame or the risks are just too high. Take for example a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project for a power plant. The project will not be bankable if the concession period is too short, or the tariffs are set too low such that the private company is unable to recover their capex cost and make a decent return on investment," she explained.

This is the rationale behind Singapore positioning itself as the infrastructure hub of Asia. Rajah said the city-state's strategic location in the region and its strong position in world capital markets make Singapore an ideal place to develop bankable projects to mobilise private sector and institutional investments.

"Moreover, Singapore-based banks have a deep understanding of Asia’s infrastructure needs and have extensive track records of working with regional governments and State Owned Enterprises on projects ranging from power to water and in the transportation sectors," she added.

Singapore is the second-poorest performer amongst surveyed countries.

The number of women in managerial positions has increased in Asia, according to global professional recruiting group Hays.

The 2017 Hays Asia Salary Guide reveals that 31% of management roles in Asia are held by women, up from 29% in last year’s Guide.

Now on its tenth year, the Hays Asia Salary Guide highlights salary and recruiting trends drawn from more than 3,000 employers across Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore representing six million employees.

Mainland China and Malaysia have the highest percentages of women in managerial positions, both registering at 35%. This figure represents a 3% increase for China and 2% decrease for Malaysia.

Hong Kong—the biggest gainer with an increase of 5%—is in third place with 33% of management positions filled by women. Singapore has 31% whilst Japan has 22%, a 3% increase from its performance last year.

“Gender diversity is still a critical issue in Asia, and our research enables us to advise employers on what measures they can take to address gender balance in their recruitment, retention, and progression strategies,” said Christine Wright, managing director of Hays in Asia.

Wright said that in line with International Women’s Day, Hays also conducted a Gender Diversity Survey to uncover attitudes and perceptions of gender equality in the workplace across the region.

“I am proud that 51% of the Hays workplace across the region is female, 44% of females make up our senior leadership teams, and 57% of people managers are female,” Wright shared, adding that Hays, as a global recruiter, has a duty to be at the forefront of global trends and issues regarding the workplace.  

It could give local tourism a boost.

Singapore Airlines is a potential beneficiary of a diversion of Chinese traffic from South Korea, according to a report from UOB KayHian.

Citing a report from Bloomberg, the UOBKayHian report said China has asked tour agencies to limit travel to South Korea, in an apparent retaliation against South Korea’s deployment of Thaad missiles.

"Whilst we are unable to verify the accuracy of the report, we think Singapore’s tourism could receive a boost if it pans out," the report said.

UOB KayHian explained that 2 million Chinese visited Singapore in 2016, a fraction of the 8 million who visited South Korea.

"Even a 5% diversion of South Korea’s Chinese traffic to Singapore would lead to a 20% rise in Singapore’s Chinese tourist arrivals, which could directly benefit SIA given that it has a 52% market share out of Changi," the report noted. 

Local bourse could be off to a positive start.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 26.45 points or 0.84% lower to 3118.84 on Thursday, taking the year-to-date performance to +8.26%.

According to SGX, the top active stocks were DBS, which declined 1.76%, YZJ Shipbldg SGD, which declined 0.89%, UOB, which declined 1.20%, Singtel, which declined 0.51%, and Keppel Corp, with a 1.73% fall.

OCBC Investment Research said this came as US stocks finished slightly higher after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi left easing measures in place but downplayed deflation concerns.

Meanwhile, five out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended higher, led by Health Care (0.60%) and Energy (0.59%) whilst Real Estate (-1.28%) led the losses.

"The mild recovery on Wall Street overnight could cue the local bourse to a positive start this morning," the brokerage firm said.

Here's more from OCBC:

Following STI’s 0.8% correction in the last session, we peg the initial hurdle at 3150, ahead of 3180 for now; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 3100 and see the next base at 3060.

Overall volume tumbled 9.9% with 2.3b units traded, and total value fell 12.1% to S$1.0b, whilst average value/unit fell 2.4% to S$0.42. 

It graduated from a previous low of 47.2% in 4Q13.

The banking industry's average property loan-to-value (LTV) ratio has been on a steady increase for the past quarters.

According to data from MAS and KnightFrank, average property LTV ratio reached 51.7% as at mid-2016, gradually escalating from the previous low of 47.2% in Q4 2013.

However, a November 2016 MAS report said that the risk profile of housing loans has improved, as most loans have LTVs of 80% or lower. Only a negligible share of housing loans is in negative equity.

More so, the debt servicing ratios of households have also improved since the introduction of the total debt servicing ratio in June 2013.
 

They will explore joint innovation projects.

To further foster and boost closer collaboration on developments and initiatives on FinTech, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) signed a Cooperation Agreement (CA).

This new partnership was the result of meaningful exchanges between the FinTech teams of MAS and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM. MAS and FSRA share the same objective to develop robust FinTech ecosystems that support the needs of the financial industry and promote innovation in their respective markets.

Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS said the CA establishes a strategic framework for both regulators to assist start-ups and innovators to better understand the regulatory regime in each jurisdiction and provide support through the application and authorisation process.

“The cooperation that is forged with ADGM marks another step towards strengthening links between regulators and fostering synergies in promoting innovation and developing capabilities through international co-operation. The Agreement will open up new avenues and create opportunities for FinTech firms in Singapore and Abu Dhabi looking to expand into each other’s markets. We look forward to greater knowledge exchange and deeper financial cooperation with the FSRA that will nurture a vibrant FinTech global ecosystem,” he said.

Both Authorities will also undertake and explore joint innovation projects on the application of key technologies including digital and mobile payments, blockchain and distributed ledgers, big data, flexible platforms (API), and other new technologies.

Meanwhile, Mr Richard Teng, CEO, FSRA of ADGM said, “We are delighted to embark on this partnership with MAS, a leading global Fintech Hub, to advance innovation and the use of technology to promote growth in the financial sector and protect the best interests of investors in our jurisdictions. Asia and the MENA regions have immense growth potential and a large underserved financial sector. We hope that through closer collaboration with like-minded FinTech hubs, we are able to leverage the strengths and expertise of our markets to more efficiently address the immediate needs of the industry in respective regions and anticipate the demands of the future.”

Biggest decline seen on HDB Executive resales.

HDB resale prices have seen a decrease in the past month, dipping 0.3% in HDB resale prices compared to that of January.

According to SRX Property, the resale prices of HDB 4 Rooms, 5 Rooms and HDB Executive decreased by 0.2%, 0.5% and 1.7% respectively, while HDB 3 Rooms increased by 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, prices decreased 0.6%. Prices for the said period are 11.5% lower that the peak in April 2013.

Meanwhile, resale volumes also recorded a decline in February. According to the HDB resale data compiled by SRX, 1,074 HDB resale flats were sold in the past month, an 8.5% decrease from 1,174 transacted units in January.

On a yearly basis, resale volumes were down 10.9% compared to 1,205 units resold last year.  

They are finally shattering the glass ceiling.

Women working in Singapore’s IT sector are facing bright career prospects, with many chief information officers (CIOs) in the country projecting that women will take more staff and leadership roles in the industry.

Research by specialist recruiter Robert Half reveals that Singaporean sentiment is shifting more favourably towards women in technology, which has traditionally been a male-dominated sector. More than one in four (25%) Singaporean CIOs forecast that the number of women in IT staff and leadership roles will be on par with men.

Conducted in conjunction with the International Women’s Day, the research also shows that more than half (52%) of CIOs see women gaining equal ground with men for staff-level roles but predict men to retain the majority of leadership roles.

“The IT sector is being confronted with severe skills shortages, making it more pertinent to promote it as an attractive career choice particularly among women, who are still underrepresented in the sector,” said Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore.

Robert Half’s findings highlight that majority of Singaporean CIOs find it difficult to find skilled talent, with demand outweighing supply and employers scrambling to attract qualified professionals. The Singaporean government projects that in 2017, the IT industry will require a further 15,000 jobs—a figure that will double by 2020.

Imbert-Bouchard said this means Singaporean companies must encourage more workplace diversity in order to address the skills gap. “Attaining gender diversity within the IT sector will result in more diverse skillsets and a wider IT talent pool, which in turn will benefit the business,” he added.

1 in 2 companies reflected an increase in the number of female job applicants.

Singapore firms are starting to take a step further to embed a diverse and inclusive culture in their workplaces, as revealed by the latest study by the PwC.

In the study, Singapore firms enumerated three ways they have introduced diversity and inclusion practices. 3 in 5 employers said they ensure diversity in the interviewing panel, while 1 in 2 trains recruitment professionals to focus on driving more inclusive recruitment efforts and managing diverse candidate pipeline of potential hires.

The study said these strategies are paying off, as 57% of the employers said they reflected an increase in the number of female applicants, while 1 in 3 firms said they have increased levels of external female leadership appointments.

Meanwhile, when asked whether employees are doing enough to treat females equally to males in terms of recruiting employees, 48% of the women surveyed still believe that an employee’s diversity can be a barrier to employee progression at their organisation.

In terms of can be a barrier to employee progression at their organisation, the respondents were also divided. Only 54% of women agreed that female experienced hire job applicants have equal hiring opportunities as male experienced hire job applicants. They cited the impact of gender stereotypes/assumptions in the recruitment process as the most significant barrier to increased levels of female experienced hires in the job market today.

This divide shows that organisations are starting to do more, but it might not yet be enough. Employees don’t just look at the nature of the business, but now place increasing value in the way they are treated as individuals and the role organisations play in the wider community. How organisations engage with prospective hires has never been more important and diversity is one of the drivers that draws talent to an organisation,” PwC Singapore Diversity Leader Karen Loon explained.

The study also pointed out what women want from their employers. The competitive wages and other financial incentives came out top (49%) followed by flexible working arrangements and a culture of work-life balance (45%), and career progression (43%). 

1 in 2 manufacturing firms expected to hire less this quarter.

Singapore manufacturers are expecting to hire fewer workers this quarter amidst the tight labour market, with 16% of firms saying so.

According to EDB Singapore, nearly half of transport engineering firms are not expecting to hire people to join their workforce. General manufacturing and precision engineering firms also posted a negative outlook at -16%, and -5%, respectively.

Meanwhile, biomedical manufacturing firms are the most optimistic at 10%, followed by electronics (3%) and chemicals (1%). 

The two recently collaborated on a network-sharing scheme.

The four telcos are expected to wage war in the upcoming spectrum auction. According to UOB KayHian, all four telcos have submitted their expression of interest to participate. Ahead of this, M1 and StarHub recently announced their collaboration on intensified network sharing. 

"M1's Management reiterated that the intent stated in its MOU with StarHub was to share both radio access (base stations) and backhaul transmission network. Both companies need to open their books and also iron out the mechanism and framework for sharing. The sharing involves both existing 3G and 4G networks and also a new shared 5G network to be rolled out over the next 18-24 months. Management anticipates a definitive deal could be signed in 4Q17," UOB said.

With this, UOB said the combined demand for spectrum from both M1 and StarHub would be reduced given that both companies are working on sharing of network infrastructure.

"However, management cautioned that each has to bid based on their independent requirements as the network sharing deal has not been concluded yet," the research firm said.

Meanwhile, the new entrant TPG would be imposed with spectrum caps including 40MHz for 700MHz, 20MHz for 900MHz, and a total of 75MHz (global cap for both new entrant spectrum auction and general spectrum auction). UOB said this would mean TPG could bid for another 15MHz of spectrum from the 700MHz and 2500MHz frequency bands.