Page 20 - Singapore

Shanmugaratnam joins list of Indian-origin leaders dominating politics

With Tharman Shanmugaratnam winning Singapore's presidential election, he joins a long list of Indian-origin leaders who are dominating politics at important world capitals. Shanmugaratnam, 66, received 70.4 per cent of the votes in the presidential election held on Friday. "Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said as he congratulated Tharman on Saturday. He is among several leaders of Indian heritage who have ascended to the highest echelon of public service globally. His victory signifies the rising influence of Indians across the globe. In the US, the growing influence of the Indian-American community can be seen in the success of Kamala Harris, who became the first woman and the first coloured Vice President of the country. She was a senator for California from 2017 to 2021. Harris, a Democrat, also served as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. She was born to India

Gesture of friendship appreciated: S'pore on India exempting from rice ban

India recently decided to allow the export of rice to Singapore to "meet the food security requirements" of the southeast nation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said

Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam becomes president of Singapore

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, an Indian-origin Singapore-born economist, won Singapore's presidential election on Friday, defeating two other Chinese-origin contenders in the country's first contested presidential polls since 2011. Shanmugaratnam, 66, who served as Singapore's Deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2019, got 70.4 per cent votes while his rivals Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian bagged 15.7 per cent and 13.88 per cent respectively, the Elections Department spokesman said. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Tharman on winning the presidential election. "Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin. As head of state, he will represent us at home and abroad, and exercise custodial powers, including over the reserves and key appointments," he said. "I thank the three candidates for putting themselves forward in this presidential election. I am happy that Singaporeans have been able to exercise the right to vote for our next

India allots rice export quotas to Bhutan, Singapore, and Mauritius

Last month, India surprised buyers by imposing a ban on exports of widely consumed non-basmati white rice, following a ban on broken rice exports last year

India decides to allow export of rice to Singapore for special relationship

India on Tuesday said it has decided to allow export of rice to Singapore in view of the special relationship between the two countries. Last month, India announced a ban on export of all non-basmati white rice that resulted in sharp increase in global rice prices. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said formal orders allowing export of rice to Singapore will be issued shortly. "India and Singapore enjoy a very close strategic partnership, characterised by shared interests, close economic ties and strong people to people connect," he said. "In view of this special relationship, India has decided to allow export of rice to meet the food security requirements of Singapore," Bagchi said. The MEA spokesperson said this while responding to media queries on export of rice to Singapore. "Formal orders in this regard will be issued shortly," he said.

Direct export of fruits from Assam to Singapore successful: Officials

The trial exercise of directly exporting fresh fruits and vegetables from Assam to Singapore under the supervision of the island country's Ministry of Trade and Industry was successful, officials said on Saturday. The cargo included coffee plum, star fruit, jackfruit, Assam lemon, and pineapple, the exporter Achintya Kumar Das, the Founder of KADlien Innovations and Export Centre, told PTI. The 24-kilogram cargo was carried by Druk Air on August 23. The project is a collaborative effort of Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry and India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with support from the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO), APEDA, and KADlien, he said. "Singaporean authorities have expressed satisfaction after visiting and witnessing the fruits at the importer's site," Das stated. Singapore High Commissioner to India Simon Wong also took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the team behind the project. "I am happy to announce the first air cargo shipmen

Diesel exports to Singapore set for highs in Aug, drop for Europe: Trade

India is on track to ship between 330,000 and 439,000 tons of diesel in August to Singapore, shiptracking data from Refinitiv, Vortexa and Kpler showed

Singapore-based startup Ampverse to set up gaming studio in India

Singapore-based gaming startup Ampverse plans to set up a gaming studio in India and scale up its local team, a senior company official said. Ampverse Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Charlie Baillie told PTI that the company will operate through a joint venture formed with DMI Finance. "Content is a big part of our business. We will be investing in the studio and other capabilities as the month goes by. It will be set-up before the end of season 1 (of College Rivals esports tournament) which is in February. College Rival is the first IP. Beyond that we are looking at original content IPs and other esports format IPs while we will continue to grow College Rival," Baillie said. He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of esports tournament College Rivals. "We expect over 80,000 students to participate in season 1 of College Rival. The platform will also work as a talent search platform. It will help us screen the best gamers," Baillie said. Ampverse DMI will have a gamin

Singapore's BOC signs financing pact for 10 Airbus aircraft with IndiGo

All 10 aircraft powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines are scheduled for delivery in 2023, said BOC Aviation

Indian-origin ex-minister Tharman qualified to run in S'pore prez election

Singapore-born Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam and two Chinese-origin former executives of government-linked companies have qualified to run for the city-state's presidential election on September 1, it was announced on Friday. The Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) received a total of six applications for the Certificate of Eligibility by Thursday's deadline, the Elections Department (ELD) said. Singapore had earlier said it would hold the presidential election on September 1 if more than one person qualifies for the presidential run. Incumbent President Halimah Yacob's six-year term will end on September 13. The two Chinese origin who have qualified as candidates for the presidential election are Chief Investment Officer Ng Kok Song and former NTUC Income Chief Executive Tan Kin Lian. The department noted that Tharman submitted his bid under the public sector service track while Ng applied under the public sector deliberative track, and Tan under the private sector ...

Talks on to set up grid interconnection with Singapore, UAE: Power Minister

Union Power Minister R K Singh on Wednesday said that the discussions are underway to establish grid interconnection with Singapore and United Arab Emirates (UAE) for cross border electricity transmission. The discussions come on the back of India's initiative 'One Sun, One World, One Grid' or global solar grid for transmission of electricity across the globe for mitigating emission challenges. Singh said that India is also working on strengthening its power trade infrastructure with neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Furthermore, plans are underway to establish infrastructure connectivity with Sri Lanka for power trade. "Discussions are ongoing with Singapore for grid connectivity, and similar discussions are taking place with UAE for grid interconnection," he said. An MoU has been signed between India and Sri Lanka to enhance electric connectivity and promote the use of renewables, especially wind energy. "Nepal is seeking investments from Ind

Singapore allows hiring cooks from India to combat manpower shortage

In a move to address workforce shortages in its hotel industry, Singapore has added cooks from India to its list of permissible hires, widening its recruitment pool for certain job positions in the services and manufacturing sectors. Traditionally, employers in Singapore's services and manufacturing sectors have primarily sourced work permit holders from China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Taiwan. The Ministry of Manpower has recently unveiled the application process for cooks in Indian restaurants in the city-state. Establishments desiring to employ Non-Traditional Sources (NTS) work permit holders can submit applications on the ministry's website, starting from September 1. Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand constitute NTS countries. With this move, cooks from India have joined the ranks of housekeepers and porters to be included in the list of permissible hires for work permit holders. The ministry has outlined that the applicati

CapitaLand launches new India fund, sees $520 million addition to total FUM

Additionally, the company said it had secured a S$263 million funding from a global institution for a 50% stake in the fund's first closing

CAs from India, Singapore discuss way forward for dispute resolutions

Chartered accountants, financial experts, legal and corporate affairs professionals from India and Singapore on Friday exchanged ideas on managing issues related to dispute resolutions, global debt, insolvency and funding at a meeting here. RESOLVE-2023 is the inaugural international convention by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (ICAI) held in Singapore in its 75 years of existence. "The convention shows professionals from India are interested in establishing a network with their Singapore counterparts in the corporate world," said Vikram Nair, a Singaporean Member of Parliament and legal expert who was the guest of honour at the event. Noting the interaction of 120 Singapore professionals at the convention with their counterparts from India, Nair said that such knowledge sharing can create more opportunities for experts from the two countries as well as others. Overall, more than 300 delegates on Friday started discussions that would also look for opportunities f

Singapore's Indian origin investment guru Narayana Iyer Narayanan dies

Singapore's investment guru Narayana Iyer Narayanan, who represented the interests of minority stakeholders in major corporations, has passed away. He was 95. Narayanan, who had deep knowledge of the stock and share market dating back to the 1960s, died after suffering a heart attack on June 23, reported The Straits Times. Even at 95, dad was still very keen on financial news. He would check the Dow Jones index, the stock price of Sats, the British pound and Malaysian ringgit daily, the broadsheet quoted his daughter Rema as saying. Her sister Radhika added, He was a champion of small shareholders. He believed they have the right to understand what is happening in companies they invested in. Armed with a degree in mathematics, Narayanan started his career as a stockbroker in the 1950s. In 1968, he became the first Indian director of a stockbroker, Ong & Co. Later, he joined Alliance Securities as a director. He retired in 1999 at the age of 72. The active retail investor was ofte

Countdown commences for launch of PSLV-C56 carrying Singapore satellite

The countdown for the launch of Singapore's DS-SAR satellite and six co-passenger satellites on board a PSLV rocket began at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation said. Tomorrow's mission follows the PSLV-C55/TeLEOS-2 mission, which was successfully launched in April to cater to the customers in Singapore by the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency. PSLV-C56 will carry DS-SAR, a Radar Imaging Earth Observation Satellite, which is the primary satellite along with six co-passenger satellites in a dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Ltd. NewSpace India Ltd is the commercial arm of ISRO and the satellites would be launched to serve the customers in Singapore. The lift-off is scheduled at 06.30 am on July 30 from the first launch pad at this spaceport with the satellites expected to be injected into a Near-equatorial Orbit (NEO) at an altitude of 535 kms. "PSLV-C56/DS-SAR Mission: The countdown leading to the launch on July 3

Singapore hangs first woman in 19 years for drug trafficking, says report

Singapore executed its first woman in quite a while for drug trafficking, amid calls to nullify the death penalty for drug-related crimes. One more execution is set for the next week

Singapore in talks with India to seek non-basmati rice export ban exemption

Singapore is in close contact with Indian authorities to seek exemption from the country's ban on export of non-basmati rice, the city state's food agency said on Friday. Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is working closely with importers to increase the import of different varieties of rice from various sources. Singapore is also in close contact with the Indian authorities to seek exemption from the ban, said a statement from SFA. On July 20, the Indian government banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. Non-basmati white rice constitutes about 25 per cent of total rice exported from the country. In 2022, India accounted for about 40 per cent of Singapore's imported rice, said the agency. Singapore imports rice from more than 30 countries. Under Singapore's Rice Stockpile Scheme, rice importers must hold a buffer inventory equivalent to twice of their monthly imports. This helps ensure an .

Poonawalla Fincorp sells controlling stake in housing fin arm for Rs 3K cr

Poonawalla Fincorp Wednesday said it has completed the sale of a controlling stake in its housing finance arm Poonawalla Housing Finance to Perseus, a Singapore-based entity affiliated to private equity major TPG Global, for Rs 3,004 crore. The Cyrus Poonawalla Group, more known for its vaccine-making business under the Serum Institute, in a statement said the financial consideration of Rs 3,004 crore is excluding the tax outgoes. With this sale, Poonawalla Housing Finance will cease to be a subsidiary of Poonawalla Fincorp, and Perseus will be holding a controlling stake. Poonawalla Fincorp did not quantify how much remaining holding it will be having. Poonawallah Fincorp managing director Abhay Bhutada said the sale gives them ample growth capital that will help it remain focused on growth-focused consumer and MSME finance.

Cost of expat pay packages jumps in Singapore, drops in Hong Kong

Total pay and benefits packages for average expat middle managers in Singapore rose to $258,762, mainly due to higher rental costs