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Using high pay to ensure honest, clean govt won't work
IS IT possible to ensure an honest and clean government by paying high salaries? The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) asserted that a number of elected representatives were involved in taking bribes and commissions as well as misappropriating funds because their salaries and allowances were inadequate to meet their needs.
 
 
Getting the coffee culture right
THERE'S always been a disconnect between the two parallel tracks within Singapore's coffee industry - traditional local coffee brewed by the likes of Killiney Kopitiam, and Western-style coffee that ranges from ice-blended lattes to purist espressos.
CapitaMalls Asia: some pointers
CAPITALAND'S initial public offering (IPO) of its retail arm CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) to raise up to $2.8 billion is Singapore's second-biggest IPO since Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) raised more than $4 billion in 1993.
Gradual scale-back of stimulus
Jobs Credit not likely to be extended beyond June; inflation forecast raised due to property-tax hike. -myp
Construction of new homes down 10.6% in Oct
(WASHINGTON) Construction of new homes unexpectedly plunged in the United States last month, as builders waited to see whether lawmakers would extend a tax credit for homebuyers.
M'sian property major sharpens S'pore thrust
(SINGAPORE) YTL Corp, Malaysia's biggest property group, is restructuring its RM8 billion (S$3.3 billion) property trust and hotel portfolio, which includes the Singapore-listed trust Starhill Global Reit.
GIC buys 5.4% stake in China gaming firm
(SINGAPORE) GIC, Singapore's biggest sovereign wealth fund, has bought a 5.4 per cent stake in Chinese videogames company Shanda Games, its second recent investment in a newly listed firm in the United States.
Burst of hope after six quarters of business gloom
(SINGAPORE) With optimism finally surfacing among businesses here after six quarters of gloom, the latest BT-UniSIM Business Climate Survey now predicts that Singapore's economy will grow by up to 5 per cent in the present quarter.
48 SMEs scoop awards for brand building
LOCAL companies that have invested time and effort in branding were rewarded for their efforts at the Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) yesterday.
SPH explains thinking behind mall bid
(SINGAPORE) Even as the Housing & Development Board yesterday awarded Clementi Mall to a Singapore Press Holdings-led consortium, members of SPH's top management sought to explain the rationale for the bid price, which stockbroking analysts and market watchers have said was too high.
Top bankers adapting to shifts in industry
(SINGAPORE) As the economy recovers, top bankers here are busy adapting to the significant shifts in the Singapore banking industry over the past year, bracing themselves for tighter regulation and positioning themselves to benefit from new trends that are most likely to affect the way that they do business.
Foreign buyer's Sentosa Cove deal falls short
A FOREIGN investor who bought two adjoining bungalow plots on Sentosa Cove in 2008 did not complete the transactions, it has emerged.
Local unis see endowment funds bruised during crisis
(SINGAPORE) Singapore's three publicly funded universities may have lost hundreds of millions of dollars from their endowment funds in the year to March from the vicious downturn in financial markets.
HK, S'pore chalking out exit strategy
(SINGAPORE) Hong Kong and Singapore ministers say they will work together to coordinate the exit strategy on measures put in place during the financial crisis.
Business will be a breeze, if Apec meets its targets
WITHIN six years, companies can look forward to saving up to US$450 when importing or exporting a container of goods.
Rocking the music scene
ORGANISERS of music festivals here are taking what they've learned from a year of ups and downs, and looking to make next year's calendar impress.
Rare cognac is here, anyone?
It is one of the most expensive and rare cognacs in the world, retailing at $20,000 a bottle. -BT
Innovative financing for urban strategy: Zoellick
(SINGAPORE) The accelerating pace of urbanisation, its special challenges and the huge appetite for urban projects was what prompted the World Bank to launch an urban strategy, according to Bank president Robert Zoellick.
Asia 'is the place to be' for hotel groups
THE global hotel business is in a deep funk, but that has not kept the industry from betting on the one region of the world where growth is strongest: Asia.
What's an SME? Can its funding woes ease?
(SINGAPORE) Challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises dominated discussion at the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) Industry Forum yesterday.
Restaurants drop in overall satisfaction rating
SINGAPORE'S restaurants did not lose their crowds and queues this downturn, but their customers were less satisfied this year than they were a year back.
How to make a business sustainable
COMPANIES around the world are wrestling with the issue of how to make their businesses more sustainable - using less energy and water, reducing their waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and improving their impact on society for everything from labour standards to community involvement to product safety.
More action may be needed if recent property measures inadequate: MAS
(SINGAPORE) Further action to cool the Singapore property market may be needed if recent measures to dampen speculation prove insufficient, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said yesterday.
Wages rise, debts slow and S'poreans get richer
(SINGAPORE) Singaporeans are getting richer as household debt has risen slower than wage growth, financial crisis notwithstanding. Add high property prices and the reluctance to spend freely and you have household assets standing at more than six times the household debts.
New scheme to make exports simpler, easier
(SINGAPORE) From next year, Singapore and five other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping will start a new self-assessment scheme that will make it easier for traders to export their goods to other countries.
Course to encourage Asian focus on HR strategy
CONVERSATION about management practice has in the past been dominated by Western companies, but this is changing as more and more Asian companies have emerged on the world stage, says Lynda Gratton of the London Business School (LBS).
CapitaLand sees upswing in China business
CAPITALAND, which is seeking to grow its presence in China, is riding on improved market sentiment in the country, say top executives in an update.
Two SGX hot spots pass regulatory muster
(SINGAPORE) How the Singapore Exchange (SGX) handled the recent lapses at S-chips here and the potential for conflict in terms of its commercial interests and regulatory responsibilities was an issue that came under close scrutiny by the exchange's Regulatory Conflicts Committee (RCC).
Syndicated loans shrink as landscape changes
(SINGAPORE) It is far from business as usual for Asia-Pacific's syndicated loan market - notwithstanding last month's mega US$2.4 billion Noble deal.
Resorts World Sentosa places $21m bet on SingTel
SINGAPORE Telecom's corporate pay-TV ambitions got a boost yesterday from a $21 million deal to provide a multimedia entertainment system and other technology services to Genting Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
Firm's bid for Upper Thomson plot puts others in the shade
A COMPANY unknown in local developer circles has placed the top bid for a plum 99-year leasehold condo plot at Upper Thomson Road. Treasure Well Investments bid about $251.3 million. This works out to $533.34 per square foot of potential gross floor area - which was above expectations and the highest unit land price seen at a state land tender this year.
 
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