Minister Koh Poh Koon enumerates 4 key areas of transformation.

With the aim of helping Singapore farmers raise their production levels, Singapore has laid out the Farm Transformation Map which identifies four key areas for development.

In a speech by Minister Koh Poh Koon, one of the issues raised was the space constraints. The idea is to help produce food with less space using technology.

"Firstly, to overcome space constraints, we need to go upwards into the sky, downwards into the ocean and even inwards into our buildings.I have already spoken about Sky Greens and Apollo using vertical technology to grow more with less space. Even traditional farms like Kok Fah are using advanced greenhouses and irrigation systems to mitigate the effects of extreme weather changes on their crop growth," he said.

Citing another example, the minister noted how fish farms are growing seabass in deep underwater net cages and how farms are growing vegetables in climate-controlled, multi-tiered indoor spaces.

Secondly, the minister said there is a need for more innovation to optimise limited space and increase production yields.

"We need to pursue water and energy efficiency. We need to automate and integrate systems through robotics and sensors. We have to adapt our solutions to protect against climate change that affects the yields of crops. For instance, technologies like closed containment aquaculture systems can reduce the vulnerability of our coastal fish farms and their stocks to environmental risks," he explained.

Further, he noted, "Through technology, from my description, you will see that farming will begin to resemble an industrial production process, much like any other factory we have. It will also attract and excite a younger generation of tech-savvy Singaporeans to consider venturing into this industry seriously."

For this to happen, Mr Koh stated that it would require a knowledge-based workforce, wth modern farmers being appropriately called agri-technologist or agri-specialists.

"We will need a generation of “agri-specialists” with multi-disciplinary expertise. Farming will no longer just be about horticulture or aquaculture. It will no longer just be about toiling in the sun doing manual labour but also about engineering, info-comm technology, entrepreneurship and R&D. The interactions between these areas will generate ideas to transform the farming industry," he said.

And lastly, the minister said Singapore should grow its ecosystem by encouraging ancillary players, increasing demand for local produce and helping our farms to seek financing.

"In other words, it is about creating an active ecosystem, an environment where our farms can thrive. In this regard, the ICP pointed out that tight cash flows often limit the farmers from investing in more expensive technology. The current Agriculture Productivity Fund (APF) co-funds investments in technology but only on a reimbursement basis after the farmers have spent their own money. We have listened to the suggestions put forth by the ICP. Therefore, from April this year, the APF will disburse up to 30% of the approved funding quantum upfront, to facilitate the adoption of technology. This will complement our move to increase the tenure of farm lands to 20-year leases, from the previous 10 plus 10, based on industry feedback," he explained. 

It is aimed to facilitate greater retail participation.

Singapore exchange announced that it will be mandating all mainboard IPO companies to allocate at least 5% of $50m, whichever lower, to retail investors.

According to Chew Sutat, SGX's Executive Vice President and Head of Equities and Fixed Income, the introduction of the minimum IPO allocation is aimed at facilitating greater retail participation in Singapore’s equities market. The new rules on the minimum allocation are effective May 2, 2017.

"Retail investors are important participants in the Singapore markets and giving them access to at least 5% of each Mainboard IPO will encourage more to consider equity investing. If market conditions permit, we encourage companies to make available more shares than the floor to retail investors,” he said.

He added, “We recognise that market forces are dynamic and will continue to monitor the public subscription trends of IPOs to ensure that the minimum allocation amounts are appropriate for the Singapore market.”

They submitted proposals to the Public Transport Council.

Several taxi companies have sent out their proposals to the Public Transport Council (PTC), urging the authority to consider implementing dynamic pricing for taxi fares and for booked trips.

According to a Facebook post by Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng, PTC is discussing with the firms the details of their proposals.

"In general, commuters who book their taxis through mobile apps will have one more option. They can choose either the current booking method with metered fares, or a new option where fares are determined using dynamic pricing, and agreed between the taxi company and the commuter before the trip begins (much like Uber and Grab services). With this new option, the fares may sometimes be higher than metered fares, but they can also be lower. It will depend on supply and demand," the minister said in his post.

The firms have proposed these plans for their drivers to better compete with private hire cars, which have the flexibility to increase fares during peak periods to earn more.

"We understand that some commuters may be uncomfortable with the taxi companies’ plans. This initial reaction is not unexpected. However, those who prefer not to use this new option can still choose to pay for a booked taxi by the meter. Likewise for street-hail commuters, where dynamic pricing does not apply," Mr Ng noted.

With the competition from Grab and Uber, he added that this will likely keep fares reasonable. However, he urged the firms to ensure that dynamic pricing improves and not worsens the matching of supply to demand of taxi services.

Over the past 6 years, it has grown its boot campers from 10 to 10,000.

When UFIT Founder Darren Blakeley led his first fitness boot camp in Fort Canning for 10 clients in 2008, he was sure that he would not go the traditional run of the mill operation that was all about machines and monthly memberships. As he gathered a growing band of boot camp clients, who heard about his classes by word of mouth, Blakeley met Dean Ahmad, Jeff Halley, and James Forrester, who would soon be his partners in his venture.

Unlike any other startups in the digital age, what these men offer is something not really disruptive. Instead, they are going to the roots of fitness and nutrition coaching while at the same time employing a 360° approach in offering technical skills and experience for its boot campers.

“From day one the goal was to offer physiotherapy, nutrition and fitness as these in my mind are the cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle. And we recognised our target market would want proper attention to detail, for example not having to queue for showers," Blakeley said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad recalled, "Darren and I knew that quality was lacking in Singapore’s fitness industry and we wanted to change that. So I took my chances and went with it. We didn’t spend any money on marketing, the business just grew from word of mouth, and still today that’s how we get most of our business.”

After raising capital and attracting shareholders, Blakeley, Ahmad, and Forrester, with Halley as an adviser and investor, incorporated their company and opened the first UFIT gym in Amoy Street in August 2011.

Forrester said, “I didn’t have a big vision of where it would go. I recognised there was an opportunity to improve the standard of PT in Singapore. I thought we could offer it at a higher level. It was driven by a desire to do something I enjoyed more than a grand plan to grow a business”.

That philosophy was shared by Lisa Clayton, who had grown a casual outdoor fitness program for her friends into a thriving business, OZFIT Bootcamps. “For me it was something that grew from my heart, I wanted to train people well whilst making it fun and social.” In 2014, her business merged with UFIT, bringing hundreds of new clients into the UFIT community. Her exuberant leadership led to the more recently rebranded SHEFIT classes winning Shape Magazine’s 2017 “Best Outdoor Bootcamp Class” award.

In this exclusive interview with Singapore Business Review, Forrester, one of UFIT's founders and now its current CEO, shared how their vision has played out in the past six years. There is also a slideshow at the end of the article showing UFIT's milestones in their journey to making Singaporeans fit and healthy.

SBR: Since UFIT’s foundation, what has changed in the way you operate your business?

Forrester: We started with a single boot camp in 2008, and since then over 10,000 clients have used our services, so inevitably we’ve made some key changes to facilitate that growth.
Firstly we’ve adopted a franchise-type model, where exceptional staff are promoted to develop and independently manage new business lines. These employees are our star performers who have demonstrated great vision and client focus and are offered equity in their businesses to incentivise successful leadership. That approach has paid off with the success of the one-north gym which opened in 2015 under Stephen Greenan, followed by the UFIT Clinic under Declan Halpin, CrossFit Tanjong Pagar with Dylan Goddard, and UFIT Orchard under Nathan Williams, Glenn van der Veen and Tsvety Ivanova.The UFIT Nutrition group has similarly seen huge success, led by Wendy Riddell, also Director of Bootcamps.

Over the last few years, we’ve also encouraged our staff to follow their entrepreneurial instincts which is how the specialist UFIT Education group (Frazer McArdell), UFIT Youth Academy (Joe Williams and Tom Clarke), and the UFIT Clean & Lean Challenge came about. We have so much talent and passion across UFIT and really support our employees’ creativity and lateral thinking when it comes to business development.

And to become accessible to new markets we’ve developed online nutrition and fitness services for clients overseas, and our corporate business for companies wanting to offer a healthy lifestyle element to their employees - so our business model has progressed from traditional fitness into broader but related areas - both person-to-person and online. Not only has all this innovation resulted in our business growing but enables career progression for talented staff, leading to excellent staff retention.

As our team has grown we’ve used a collaborative approach to define and uphold our corporate culture - Passion, Excellence and Work Ethic - which has infiltrated all of the UFIT.

Importantly, we've enhanced our systems and processes to sustain our growing client base and demands of running a larger business, and now have in place a support team of accountants, marketers and administrators. As our business is centred around client relationships, we’ve developed a more sophisticated communications strategy to “value add” and update our clients frequently on the latest industry thinking, training tips, success stories and promotions. In addition to that we’ve aligned ourselves with respected wellness and lifestyle partners to enhance and broaden our clients’ overall experience with UFIT.

While we have grown from being a small business to a more “corporate” one, some things remain unchanged at UFIT - the provision of the highest quality training and advice to our clients, by a carefully selected team of professionals, whilst maintaining strong personal connections with our close-knit community. Essentially, the culture, core values and principles of UFIT will always remain. No matter how big we grow we’ll ensure we always feel like UFIT.

SBR: What are the major milestones UFIT has achieved in the past years? How wide is your customer base currently?

Forrester: UFIT has experienced outstanding growth since we opened our first gym in Amoy Street in 2011. We are now Singapore’s largest boutique fitness company, with over 80 outdoor weekly boot camps, a rehab clinic, and five gyms, the most recent one opening on Orchard Road in January 2017. 

In Singapore’s competitive fitness market, we had our biggest year ever in 2016 and our client base of over 10,000 keeps growing within and beyond Singapore, serviced by over 80 employees. 

Over that time we’ve become a complete fitness, rehab and nutrition service across every stage of the life-cycle and for all fitness levels. We call that our 360° approach.

SBR: What makes UFIT different from other fitness organisations in Singapore?

Forrester: We offer a complete wellness service which has the highest of standards, delivered by a hand-picked team of highly-qualified professionals who listen and are accountable to their clients. Our service can’t really be matched in Singapore in terms of quality. Many clients go to our competitors for their facilities or to balance out their training, but they keep coming back to us for the quality of coaching, holistic approach and the community.

The fostering of our close-knit community is a huge part of our success. On any day of the week, you can see large numbers of UFIT clients sprinting up and dominating the hills of Fort Canning at 6.30am, planking on the grass by the lake in the Botanic Gardens as the sun rises, and grunting, straining, laughing and chatting in any of the gyms. They train and compete together in Spartan races, running events, CrossFit championships and triathlons. In small groups, they travel to Bali for fitness retreats where they sweat it out in a tropical paradise. Bonds are formed – friendships begin and social events are arranged and well attended by glowing, fabulous looking friends. “My closest friends in Singapore are those I met at UFIT” is a common sentiment across the community.

Our coaches are well known to SMS their clients after sessions to see how they found them. Our gyms and clinic have a vibrant and inclusive environment. Several parents collecting their kids from the UFIT Youth Academy classes are active PT clients or boot camp participants, so entire families are well-known right across the business. Our coaches push our clients through their third round of jump lunges by reminding them, for example, “this is when the magic’s done”, or finishing with a little ritual at the end like “thank your body for all it’s done today”.

This has been backed up by testimonials from grateful clients who have won races after personal training, recovered from injuries at the clinic, enjoyed the team building at corporate boot camps, or lost weight at the UFIT Clean & Lean Challenge - in many instances their UFIT experience has been life-changing.

Our extensive network and partnerships have also unleashed many associated lifestyle benefits to clients. It’s a combination of tangibles and intangibles that make UFIT so unique.

SBR: What are your business philosophies? How do these philosophies help in running the business?

a. Quality training and consulting
We have very high standards and don’t believe in a set formula or one-size-fits-all approach. With the depth of knowledge and variety of coaches we have, the training our clients get is geared towards them as individuals and hugely about trust and partnerships. We’re also particular about form and physical correctness. It helps make the training more effective and minimises the chance of injury. And we don’t believe in fads, we follow fundamental philosophies which are honest and effective, all based on science. Our approach to fitness and nutrition outlasts fads.

b. Team culture
We’re well known for our quality hires, and have great coaches from a huge diversity of backgrounds. But what is really important to us is staff with an amazing work ethic and good listening skills, and we educate and upskill them, as appropriate. Being a great team player is also important.

From James' perspective, “Rugby taught me a lot. It’s well documented it’s massively a team game. Unlike cricket where one man’s performance can win a game, in rugby, you are relying on all the people around you. That’s the same with this business. It’s what we have tried to make UFIT all about”.

c. Just do it approach
We’re quite a modern company and very much in touch with our clients, so when something feels right, we follow our gut, and when backed up with an analysis we just go for it and do it. We’re big enough to have the internal intelligence and experience to know when something will work, whilst small enough to not be hindered by committees. We encourage entrepreneurship and always try to look at ways to offer our clients a complete service with the latest thinking.

d. We are here for our clients
Our clients appreciate that we don’t take anything for granted, and we want every single client to feel they are special. Most are here by referral and we strive to make a positive difference in all our clients’ lives.

e. A passion for fitness and good nutrition
All our employees actively train or engage in sport very frequently, so not only look the part but understand the mindset and challenges of the clients they train. Many are winners of races and championships they’ve competed in. Right across the business, we have staff who are really dedicated. They love to come to work and love what they do. They want to do it well, it’s their passion.

This is in line with our corporate mission statement: ‘At UFIT, we exist to inspire and guide our community of members to realise levels of fitness and confidence beyond what could be possible by themselves. Fitness isn’t our job, it is our way of life’. In doing so we strive to make our clients Fitter, Leaner, Stronger by employing our cultural values of Passion, Excellence and Work Ethic.

f. Aspiration
We have very high benchmarks. We have huge aspirations and a desire to inspire our staff, retain great talent and give all our clients 100% in everything we do, from the service they receive from our staff to the quality of the expertise they are paying for.

It still hovers in the expansion territory.

Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) recorded a marginal dip in February, easing to 50.9 with the slower rate of expansion in factory output, new orders, new exports, and lower imports.

This came as the electronics PMI decline by 0.4 to 51.4 in the said month, attributed to a drop of 0.6 point in factory output, as well as slower expansion in new orders, new exports, imports, and employment.

According to DBS, this pullback was imminent, noting that although PMI has eased, it is still on the expansionary side.

"Our view is that a pullback was imminent. The rapid pace of expansion in the 2016 fourth quarter was not sustainable partly due to the capacity constraint in some industries, the Lunar New Year effect (the festive season lull in China stretches to early-February) and industry specific cycles (i.e., pharmaceutical). Hence, the moderation doesn’t come as a surprise at all," DBS noted.

More so, Singapore is not the only one seeing such trend. DBS noted that the easing in PMI is also being observed in key markets such as China, US, and the Eurozone, which bodes well for the outlook of the sector in the near-term. 

1 in 2 firms plan on raising salaries this year.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Singaporean managers and senior staff can prepare for 5 percent pay increases at most this year as the labor market stabilises. About 93 percent of companies in Singapore say they will keep or raise headcount this year, according to a survey by recruitment consultancy Michael Page of almost 450 businesses in the city state. Only 36 percent said they will recruit new hires.

Singapore's unemployment rate recently hit a six-year high of 2.2 percent, though the country still remains one of the easiest places in the world to find work.

Read more here. 

It eyes using its cash flow to reduce bank borrowings first.

Bumitama Agri's CEO Pak Gunawan Lim is keen to engaging the investment community more to address investors’ concerns and the company’s outlook, RHB said in its latest report.

According to the brokerage firm, Bumitama's focus will be on the upstream operation. "Biodiesel is just a small business and is not expected to grow aggressively. Any expansion on biodiesel will only come if there is a firm buyer for the additional volume. Management will not consider a big capex to build downstream capability even via a joint venture. At most, it will consider forming alliances with downstream players in terms of CPO supply," RHB said.

Meanwhile, the report also noted that the group's cash flow is expected to improve over the next few years. This will be on the back of good production growth, low capex as new planting slows down significantly and on the back of good selling prices for palm products.

"BAL will use the cash flow to reduce bank borrowings and build up its war chest for any good upstream M&A, and for any potential higher dividend payouts in the future," RHB said. 

Largest gaps were seen amongst firms with a market cap of $1b.

Who runs the world? Certainly, not the girls, as revealed in the latest business school study by the National University of Singapore released ahead of the International Women's Day on March 8.

According to the study, the salaries of female directors in SGX-listed companies trails far behind their male counterparts, earning just 56.8% of male directors’ remuneration on average. This indicates a gender pay gap of 43.2%. The largest gaps were found among large firms with a market capitalisation over $1b (45.5%) and among executive directors (43.9%).

Executive Directors showed the greatest differences with average annual salaries of $1.12b for men and only $628,024 for women. If one excludes CEOs (of which just 3.6% were women) and executive Chairs (of which just 1.2% were women) female executive directors still earn only 86.1% of male directors in the same role.

Independent Directors, who are often paid a fixed fee, had the smallest gender pay gap: female independent directors earned 83.0% of male Independent Directors (i.e. a 17.0% gender pay gap).This can partially be explained by the fact that women are less likely to serve on board committees, be appointed committee chairs, or act as lead Independent Directors; roles that come with greater responsibilities and higher fees.

But in other director categories where there is greater discretion, such as Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors, women earned just 56.1% and 70.4% of their male counterparts respectively.

The gender pay gap in small listed firms was 44.9%, in mid-caps it was 39.9%, and for large caps the gender pay gap was 45.5%.

“These results are disappointing and show that gender inequality in SGX-listed company boards deserves greater attention. The discussion on board diversity in Singapore should move beyond merely increasing the percentage of female directors to also address deep-seated inequalities including remuneration and women’s share of board leadership roles,” said Marleen Dieleman, Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy at NUS Business School.

The study was based on data from 199 firms listed on the Singapore Exchange that disclosed exact director remuneration for Financial Year 2015 - 2016. However, the vast majority of firms opted to explain rather than comply with the Code of Corporate Governance’s requirement to disclose exact director remuneration on a named basis. Overall, the percentage of female directors stood at 9.7% in all listed firms and 8.0% among those firms that disclosed director salaries.
 

Buyers allowed to purchase individually or as a bundle.

Global real estate company CBRE has announced the Public Tender sale of a portfolio comprising three commercial shophouses in Holland Village, Chinatown, and Kampong Glam.

The property in Holland Village is a two-storey commercial building with a corner site of approximately 1,976 feet and a total built-up area of approximately 3,354 feet, located within an affluent residential enclave. The premises are fully tenanted and feature a restaurant on the ground floor and a gym on the upper floor.

The Chinatown property, meanwhile, includes prime three-storey shophouses with an attic level located along Pagoda Street. The shophouses sit on two contiguous lots with a total area of approximately 3,010 square feet and total built-up of approximately 9,226 square feet. The ground floors are tenanted to two retail shops, and enjoy a large catchment of tourists due to the site’s proximity to key attractions.

Sitting on a 1,260-square feet site, the fully tenanted Kampong Glam property is a conservation building that comes with a freehold tenure. Located along North Bridge Road, the area is close to integrated developments including South Beach and the upcoming DUO and City Gate.

All properties are zoned as “Commercial”, and purchase is open to both local and foreign buyers with no Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Sellers’ Stamp Duty (SSD) imposed on the purchase of the site.

The Public Tender exercise will close on April 28, 2017. 

While the sentiments for the construction sector deteriorated.

Business sentiments have rebounded into optimism for the second quarter of the year, following a gloomy outlook in the preceding quarter.

According to Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB)’s latest quarterly Business Optimism Index (BOI) study, BOI rose slightly from -1.22 percentage points in Q1 2017 to +2.66 percentage points in Q2 2017. On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, BOI has increased marginally from +0.89 percentage points in Q2 2016 to +2.66 percentage points in Q2 2017.

Both services and wholesale trade sectors have emerged as the most optimistic sectors for Q2 2017 with 5 business indicators in the expansionary zone. Meanwhile, sentiments within the manufacturing sector have improved significantly with visible increases seen in 5 indicators. The outlook for the construction sector has deteriorated in Q2 2017 with all six business indicators moderating downwards.

“The uptick in business sentiments was led mainly by a surge in both wholesale trade and manufacturing activities in the recent months. The unprecedented surge in optimism within the wholesale trade sector reflects a recovering overall global demand which is expected to provide growth support to our local economy in the coming months. For the second quarter of 2017, optimism levels for the majority of indicators for the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors have displayed the most significant improvements.” commented Audrey Chia, SCCB’s Chief Executive Officer. 

Here's more from SCCB:

Services

As with Q1 2017, the services sector emerged as the most optimistic sectors with 5 indicators in the expansionary region for Q2 2017. This was largely attributed to growth within the information and communications, education, health and social services segments. Following a moderation in the preceding quarter, SCCB notes that 5 of six indicators have improved visibly for Q2 2017.

Wholesale Trade

The wholesale trade sector has also emerged as one of the most optimistic sectors for Q2 2017 with 5 indicators in the positive territory owing to a pick-up in both electronic and non-electronic export segments.

Manufacturing

Sentiments within the manufacturing sector have improved significantly for Q2 2017 with visible increases seen in 5 indicators. This is due to a strong rebound in overall industrial output in the recent months.

Construction
The outlook for the construction sector has deteriorated in Q2 2017 with all six indicators moderating downwards. SCCB notes that 3 indicators were in the contractionary region as opposed to 2 indicators in Q1 2017. This was largely attributed to a decline in private building projects.

Financial
Owing to an uptick in forex trading and security trading activities, sentiments within the financial sector have made slight improvements from the preceding quarter. According to SCCB, 5 of six indicators have moderated upwards with only 2 of the indicators remaining in negative territory as compared to 5 contractionary indicators in Q1 2017.

The deal presents new business opportunities for Olam.

Japan firm Mitsubishi Corporation recently snap up 20% stake in Olam at $2.75 per share. Aside from Olam raising $915m through a share placement, what else can it reap from the partnership?

According to DBS Vickers Securities, beyond strengthening Olam’s balance sheet and providing firepower for additional acquisitions, the new strategic partnership presents new business opportunities.

" It can tap on MC’s global distribution network, expertise in areas such as rice farming and milling, as well as potentially distributing MC’s packaged food brands in Africa," DBS said.

The research house noted that in the near term, a joint venture will also be established in Japan to act as an
importer and marketer of various agricultural products. 

The latest was the bulk sale of the remaining units in The Nassim.

With the property sector's challenging environment, property developer CapitaLand is doing all it can to remain unflinching.

According to RHB, it has been trimming its inventory with the latest bulk sale of the remaining 45 units in The Nassim, reaping a gain of $161m from sales.

More so, it launched its Stay-Then-Pay programme to move sales at D’Leedon, The Interlace and Sky Habitat.

"Overall, it has been cautious in replenishing its depleting Singapore land bank and has been deploying capital mainly in overseas markets," RHB noted.

Meanwhile, CapitaLand has been pursuing an asset-light strategy of building up private real estate funds, expanding its serviced residence and retail portfolio through management contracts and acquiring accretive income-producing assets.

"While the moves are a step in the right direction, we believe CapitaLand would need a few more years before it can achieve its sustainable ROE target of 8-12%," RHB stated. 

Minister S Iswaran cited gov't policies for SMEs.

The Singapore government is steadfast in helping short and medium enterprises overcome short-term difficulties,
Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said.

Speaking at the Budget Debate 2017, Mr Iswaran said the government recognises the immediate challenges SMEs are facing.

"We will continue to provide short-term relief where necessary through the system of broad-based support we have built up over the years," he said.

One relief he cited is to help SMEs with wage cost.

"We had introduced the Wage Credit Scheme and the Special Employment Credit (SEC) scheme. We also extended the additional SEC at this Budget until end-2019. Together, these amount to about $1 billion in cash payouts to businesses in March 2017," the minister noted.

Further, the minister noted that the government had introduced the SME Working Capital Loan in 2016, which has catalysed more than $700 million dollars in loans to about 4,300 SMEs. This is part of helping SMEs with their liquidity. Corporate tax rebates were also extended, raising the rebate cap to $25,000 at 50% of tax payable for year assessment 2017.

"We also closely monitor rental and other business costs. In 2016, industrial, retail and office rentals all fell in 2016. We will continue to maintain a steady pipeline of industrial land and space to ensure that there is competitive pressure in the market and rents remain affordable," Mr Iswaran stated.

And although he said the government has not introduced further broad-based measures, it has instead put in place customised support for specific industries due to their varied circumstances.

"For example, for the Marine and Offshore Engineering sector, we introduced the M&OE Engineering Bridging Loan and the M&OE Internationalisation Finance Scheme in November last year. Not a panacea, some consolidation is inevitable. But the aim is to preserve the core capabilities that we have built up over the years by helping some M&OE companies to meet short-term cash flow needs, and secure new loans to continue to take up projects. We expect these two schemes to catalyse approximately $1.6 billion in loans over one year," Mr Iswaran cited, noting that levy hikes for work permit holders were deferred.

He also took note of the support to the construction sector, which has been weighed down by the property market slowdown and economic uncertainties.

"We are bringing forward $700million of public sector infrastructure projects to start in FY17 and FY18," he said.

Participating start-ups may win equity-free funding of US$50,000.

Consulting, technology, and outsourcing services provider Capgemini has launched its newest Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE) in Singapore, which aims to boost the country’s position as a regional innovation hub.

The AIE is a global platform that seeks to enable enterprises to discover industry-relevant innovations and serves as a gateway between multinational clients and the global ecosystem. The AIE framework helps organisations foster a structured approach to drive the innovation process across four phases—Discover, Devise, Deploy, and Sustain.

Through the AIE, organisations are provided access to Capgemini’s unique network of start-ups, accelerators, incubators, strategic technology and business partners to enable them to proactively plan for and respond to various technology and business shifts.

“Businesses are now focused on how to embrace and apply innovation with speed and scale in a secure and sustainable way, requiring a new way of thinking to drive corporate innovation,” said Lanny Cohen, Global Chief Technology Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee at Capgemini. Cohen added that they decided to put up an AIE in Singapore owing to its vibrant start-up scene and growing role as a FinTech hub.

Capgemini is working closely with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) for various initiatives aimed at providing training and employment for local talent. Capgemini offers a 12-month graduate program for professionals in the technology sector. It has hired 35 graduates in the country over the past six months, and plans to hire 50 more to further boost talent development.

Capgemini has also launched the 50th Anniversary edition of its annual Innovators Race, which provides start-ups with an international platform to showcase products, services, and innovative uses of technology. Five winners will win equity-free funding of US$50,000, as well as the opportunity to become a Capgemini partner.
 

Check out which stocks were the most active.

The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 12.01 points or 0.39% lower to 3096.61, taking the year-to-date performance to +7.49%.

The top active stocks today were JSH USD, which gained 0.13%, Global Logistic, which declined 2.92%, Singtel, which declined 1.01%, DBS, which declined 0.43% and UOB, with a 0.51% fall.

This came as the Dow on Tuesday halted its record-setting streak as investors remained cautious ahead of a speech by President Donald Trump that could determine whether the market’s recent surge will be justified by government policy.

Meanwhile, eight out of eleven S&P 500 industries ended lower, led by Consumer Discretionary (-0.65%) and Industrials (-0.48%) while Utilities (0.94%) led the gains.

Here's more from OCBC:

The local sentiment is likely to remain fairly cautious this morning as investors await Trump speech.

We peg the initial hurdle at 3125, ahead of 3165; on the downside, we peg the immediate support at 3080, ahead of 3060.

Overall volume rose 19.9% with 2.7b units traded, and total value surged 112.7% to S$2.4b, while average value/unit jumped 77.3% to S$0.88.
 

Overall business receipts grew 0.5%.

According to the latest figures from the Department of Statistics, Singapore industries reported mixed performances in the last quarter of 2016.

On a year-on-year basis, business receipts from the education industry grew the most at 7.1%, followed closely by the health and social services at 7%.

Information & communication were in third, recording a growth in business receipts of 2.6%. Financial and insurance reflected a 0.1% increase in the said quarter.

On the other hand, business services, transport & storage, and recreation & personal services reported declines of 0.1%, 1.8%. and 3.7%, respectively.

Singapore will be the first in Asia to have such system.

With the aim of making transportation even more convenient for Singaporeans, the Land Transport Authority and Mastercard will be launching a pilot of Account-Based Ticketing system for public transport, allowing the usage of contactless credit and debit cards for fare payments.

The pilot will be launched on March 20 and will be available for all public bus and train rides. Interested commuters holding Singapore-issued Mastercard contactless credit or debit cards can register on the TransitLink ABT Portal if they have not been pre-registered by their banks. Overall, LTA and Mastercard is expecting to attract 100,000 commuters to participate in the pilot. The usage of contactless credit and debit card will allow commuters to travel without a separate fare card. Through the portal and a mobile service app, passengers will be able to track their journey and fare payment history. 

LTA Chief Executive Ngien Hoon Ping said this partnership goes towards furthering Smart Mobility efforts, one of the key pillars of Singapore’s Smart Nation vision.

“We are pleased to partner Mastercard in this pilot. Singapore is one of the first few cities in the world to test this fare payment system for public transport. LTA is committed to leveraging technology advancements to provide more convenience to commuters. Account-Based Ticketing using contactless credit or debit cards will add another option to how commuters can pay for their public transport rides," he said.

Meanwhile, Mastercard Singapore Country Manager Deborah Heng said are considering developing contactless payments using wearable devices in the future.

"Apart from use on public transport, Mastercard contactless payments are already available in many popular retail and F&B merchants, as well as a large number of taxis. The introduction of AccountBased Ticketing in Singapore’s public transportation system is the latest in Mastercard’s commitment to deliver smart city solutions to Singapore. In the near future, we expect to broaden contactless access by enabling mobile and wearable devices for cashless use," she said. 

(Photo from LTA)