Page 20 - Singapore

Indian-origin economist Shanmugaratnam sworn in as Singapore's president

Tharman, who has served Singapore all his life in public service, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the city-state's predominantly Chinese society

Singapore reaping rising investment from India, China, Southeast Asia

"The main driver for investments was actually the semiconductor super cycle," Poh said, though that sector is now facing shrinking demand

Air China jet evacuated after engine fire sends smoke in cabin in Singapore

Nine passengers were injured after an engine fire sent smoke into the cabin of an Air China jetliner landing in Singapore, prompting an evacuation of the aircraft. The Airbus A320 with 146 passengers and nine crew made an emergency landing about 4.15 pm Sunday, Changi Airport said in a statement on its Facebook page. The flight was coming from the city of Chengdu in China's Sichuan province. Nine people had minor injuries related to smoke inhalation and abrasions during the evacuation, the statement said. The pilot declared an emergency after reporting smoke in the forward cargo hold and a lavatory. Smoke blurred the lights in the cabin and flight attendants told people to remain calm and stay in their seats after some stood up, a passenger told Chinese media. The fire in the left engine was extinguished after the plane landed, Chinese media said. A preliminary investigation indicated a mechanical failure in the engine was the cause, Air China said in statement posted on social m

UK PM Rishi Sunak signs new strategic pact with Singapore in India

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has agreed a new strategic partnership with Singapore during a meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the margins of the G20 Summit in New Delhi on Saturday. Following the new UK-Singapore Strategic Partnership, Downing Street said both countries will work to conclude a "new and modern" bilateral investment treaty the first the UK has negotiated since Brexit. The pact is expected to give Singaporean companies more confidence to invest in the UK and vice-versa, creating jobs and growth for both economies. This new agreement with Singapore will take us even further in delivering our priorities and ensure that, as we map the future of the world economy, we are doing so alongside our closest partners, said Sunak in a statement from Delhi. As Prime Minister, I've put the interests of the British people front and centre of my international engagement. I am ensuring that diplomacy delivers. You have already seen that through deals that will stop

F1 show to go on in Singapore as CPIB probe into Minister Iswaran continues

The Formula One show will go on in Singapore from from September 15 to 17 despite an ongoing corruption probe into the country's Indian-origin Transport Minister S Iswaran, who promoted the Singapore Grand Prix, according to a minister. Iswaran, 61, and chairman of Singapore Grand Prix (GP) Ong Beng Seng are being investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in connection with Formula One (F1) racing. Ong and Iswaran were arrested in July and subsequently released on bail as part of a CPIB probe. Both are key figures in making Singapore's pitch to become a part of the Formula One circuit, with the tycoon owning the rights to the Singapore GP. Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said, The show goes on. And I can tell you that if you look at all of the events, everything is moving at full speed. Based on our ticket sales, it is very promising. I think this is going to be an exciting event moving forward, Channel News Asia quo

Surprised by 'high degree of endorsement': Singapore's president-elect

Amid pouring congratulatory messages, Singapore's President-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Saturday said he was surprised by such a high degree of endorsement, and that he was very serious about wanting to fulfil the mandate given by the people. Singapore-born Indian-origin candidate in a predominantly Chinese multi-racial Singapore, 66-year-old Tharman won the presidential election with a massive vote share of 70.4 per cent in the early hours of Saturday. This is the first contested presidential election since 2011. Speaking to journalists at his first doorstop interview since the official result was declared, Tharman said, I did not expect such a high degree of endorsement, which also means there was a fair number of people who would normally not vote in favour of the ruling party, who decided that this was not a political election, this is not a General Election. And they decided to vote for me, and I think that's also very encouraging. Describing the result as remarkable unity

PM Modi congratulates Tharman on his election as Singapore president

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Tharman Shanmugaratnam on his election as president of Singapore. He said on X, "I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership. Tharman scored a landslide victory in the presidential election held on Friday. The 66-year-old Singaporean economist, who is of Indian origin economist, will be Singapore's ninth president. He won the election with a vote share of 70.4 per cent.

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