Singapore Home Prices Slide for Second Straight Quarter

Singapore’s first-quarter home prices slid for a second consecutive quarter as tighter mortgages cooled demand in Asia’s second-most expensive housing market.

An index tracking private residential prices fell 1.3 percent to 211.6 points in the three months ended March 31 following a 0.9 percent decline in the previous three-month period, according to preliminary data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority today. The latest drop is the largest since June 2009.

The latest price drop “will set the tone for 2014,” said Donald Han, managing director of Chesterton Singapore Pte. “Prices in prime areas could fall more than suburban areas as prime districts are primarily resale apartments so there is no control over pricing whereas the suburbs have new projects where prices can be controlled by developers.”

Record home prices amid low interest rates raised concerns of a housing bubble and prompted the government to widen a campaign that started in 2009 to rein in speculation in the property market. Singapore unveiled rules in June governing how financial institutions grant property loans to individuals, in addition to previous measures including new taxes and higher down-payments.

Under the new loan framework lenders must consider a borrower’s debt when granting mortgages, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said June 28. Home loans should not lead to a borrower’s total debt-servicing ratio rising above 60 percent and those that do will be considered imprudent, it said.

Home prices increased by 1.1 percent in 2013, lower than the 2.8 percent gain in 2012 and the smallest annual increase since 2008 when prices slid 4.7 percent.

Loan Growth

Mortgage loan growth at 8.4 percent in February was the slowest pace since July 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg based on MAS figures showed.

Apartment prices fell 1.3 percent in prime districts in the first quarter after sliding 2.1 percent in the previous three months, the URA data showed. Those in the suburbs slid 0.3 percent, compared with a 1 percent decline in the previous quarter, according to the data. Prices in areas near prime districts fell 2.8 percent, compared with the 0.4 percent increase in the previous quarter, the data showed.

Home sales rose 1.7 percent in February from a year earlier as developers marketed new projects. Sales rose to 724 units compared with 712 in February 2013, according to URA data last month.

Sales of new private homes could drop to between 11,000 and 13,000 units this year from 14,948 in 2013, according to Nicholas Mak, executive director and head of research at SLP International Property Consultants in Singapore.

Singapore was the most-expensive city to buy a luxury home in Asia after Hong Kong, property broker Knight Frank LLP said in a wealth report last month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pooja Thakur in Singapore at pthakur@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net Iain McDonald, Linus Chua

Singapore Home Prices Slide for Second Straight Quarter

Read More

How Singapore Got Hooked on the Internet of Public Shame

On the online portal STOMP, owned by Singapore’s top newspaper, The Straits Times, Singaporeans upload photos and videos of each other indulging in behaviors that, anywhere else in the world, might be considered mundane. Typical entries include images of people eating on the subway, or making out in a public park. 

Of course, Singapore’s government has a well-earned reputation as a killjoy. This is a city-state, after all, perhaps best known for its attempts to control behavior by caning people for vandalism or imposing the death penalty for some drug offenses. Singaporean STOMPers—those who tattle on their peers—in this way join rather than challenge their government in monitoring the public.

Certain themes particularly resonate on STOMP, such as ‘bad’ behavior on public transportation, substandard hygiene, and ill-mannered foreigners. In one recent post, STOMP contributor “mav” calls out a man for taking several seats on a bus and putting his feet up:

“Not only has he taken three extra seats, his slippers are dirtying one of them.”

A more extreme example comes courtesy of a group of STOMPers calling themselves the “Kampong Boys,” who posted a photo of South Asian workers passed out from drinking in a subway station on New Year’s Eve. Comments on that post ranged from xenophobic vitriol (“So many garbage all around this once clean country…sigh!”) to more reasoned sentiments (“not all foreign workers are in this sorry state .. majority are doing fine earning a decent living”).

Just how big of an influence does STOMP have? According to the site’s editors, last year STOMP had a total of 1.2 billion pageviews and 18 million unique visitors. Singaporean journalist Kirsten Han notes that residents often joke that they are afraid to sit down in a reserved seat on mass transit for fear that they will “kena STOMP,” meaning get posted on STOMP, for taking a space designated for the disabled, pregnant, or elderly (even if the train is half empty and no one on board needs those seats)

Alex Coulston, a 26-year-old American living in Singapore, says he and his friends “half joke” that they will be “STOMP’d” if they do anything out of the ordinary in public. Coulston once participated in the Hindu celebration Holi, in which revelers throw colored dye at each other. “My friends and I were taking the [subway] home with dye all over us,” he says. “Everyone was staring, and we thought to ourselves, ‘Uh-oh, I hope we don’t get STOMP’d!’ Later, we went on the site and found photos—not of us, but of others—with the caption, ‘Why didn’t these people take a shower?’”

Han and Coulston are both critical of STOMP. Coulston describes it as “only a site for gawking and gossiping.” Han argues that while citizen journalism is important in a place like Singapore, where the mainstream media “isn’t free,” STOMP panders to small-mindedness. “The problem is that a lot of people are still drawn to it,” she says. STOMP editor Azhar Kasman’s response? “What STOMP’s citizen journalists contribute are matters that are of concern and importance to them and their community.” And STOMP has indeed won accolades, such as first place for “Best in Online Media” at the 2013 Asian Digital Media Awards.

Singapore is seeing a variety of new-ish online portals grow in popularity—including ones that question the status quo. One such site is The Online Citizen, a news portal that hosts bloggers who openly criticize state policies. As Nazry Bahrawi, the Singaporean cultural critic, wrote in 2011, “Singapore’s new media landscape [such as The Online Citizen] suggests a leaning towards political activism.” Three years later, Nazry notes the rise of critical blogs, such as New Nation, a satirical site similar to The Onion. Yet despite these outlets, he feels that Singapore is still missing insightful content that might better challenge STOMP. “Some of the commentaries in these critical blogs are polemical and lack nuance,” he says.

How Singapore Got Hooked on the Internet of Public Shame

Read More

In Singapore"s Center, but a World Away

Log in to manage your products and services from The New York Times and the International New York Times.

Don’t have an account yet?
Create an account »

Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?
Learn more »

In Singapore"s Center, but a World Away

Read More

Hotel employee fined for molesting 25-year-old stepdaughter

A hotel supervisor was fined $6,000 on Wednesday for molesting his stepdaughter.

The 58-year-old admitted to placing his hand on the 25-year-old woman’s shoulder and attempting to kiss her at his Sengkang flat on Jan 16 last year.

None of the parties can be named to protect the identity of the victim.

The court heard that shortly after the victim, her mother and stepfather had returned home from shopping, the mother and daughter searched the master bedroom for a bottle of perfume they had purchased. But there was no sign of it. The mother then left the room to attend to a call.

TO READ THE FULL STORY…

Hotel employee fined for molesting 25-year-old stepdaughter

Read More

The world"s most expensive hotel breakfast? Try Singapore...

Whether with croissants, scrambled eggs or pancakes, thousands of business travellers worldwide begin their day at a hotel-owned breakfast buffet.

Despite this trend, only one third of hotels include breakfast in their basic room rates, according to a recent study by HRS Group of more than 250,000 hotels worldwide.

The remaining two thirds of hotels charge guests a premium for their morning meal, with the price reaching upwards of A$47 in Switzerland’s five star hotels.

Of the surveyed cities, Singapore was the most expensive overall with an average hotel breakfast price of A$25.85, with Switzerland and Belgium close in tow – coming in at A$24.60 and A$23.07, respectively.

Closer to home saw prices varying greatly across Asia – while Japan (A$21.66) and Hong Kong (A$21.30) weren’t far behind Singapore, China had a much more reasonable average of A$13.54, with South Korea a trifle more expensive at A$15.01.

If your business is picking up the breakfast tab for a conference, look towards India – hotel breakfasts can be had for A$6.35 in Mumbai, while the Czech Republic and Germany were the next cheapest with average respective breakfast costs of A$12.69 and A$12.52.

At the upper end of the scale, five star hotels in Belgium averaged A$42.20, while those in Germany begin to rival those of Switzerland, with average costs of A$42.52.

Interestingly, one in seven business travellers opt for an ‘early bird breakfast service’ where available, with breakfast offered prior to the regular service hours at an extra charge.

The study did not include results for Australian hotels.

Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter: we’re @AusBT

Free weekly business travel newsletter

Get the latest news from Australian Business Traveller delivered straight to your inbox.

About Chris Chamberlin

Chris lives by the motto that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, a great latte, an opera ticket and a glass of wine!

Follow @ausbt on

The world"s most expensive hotel breakfast? Try Singapore...

Read More

Singapore students top PISA problem-solving test

SINGAPORE: Singapore students have topped an international assessment on problem solving.

This is based on results for the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

85,000 students worldwide took part in a computer-based problem-solving test.

And Singapore students beat other 15-year-olds from countries such as Japan, China and Finland.

Using a fictitious subway map, how do you get from “Diamond” to “Einstein” in the quickest way possible?

Or, plan how guests at a birthday party should be seated, based on a set of requirements.

These were some of the types of questions that students had to answer at the PISA problem-solving test.

Nearly three in 10 students from Singapore were top performers – which means Singapore has the highest proportion of top performers in problem solving.

The 1,394 students from Singapore come from 172 schools, and they were randomly selected by PISA for the assessment.

Out of the 172 schools, six are private schools, such as the Singapore American School, St Joseph’s Institution International and Alsagoff Arab School.

Andreas Schleicher, OECD’s Acting Director for Education Skills, said: “This data demonstrates that Singaporean students are not just spoon-fed. They are actually quite creative thinkers. They are actually able to engage with unfamiliar problems.”

Singapore educators consider the stellar results an affirmation of what they have been doing.

Madam Low Khah Gek, Ministry of Education’s Deputy Director-General, Education (Schools), said: “There is no specific subject called problem solving.

“Across the different subjects, the teachers take an approach where active learning opportunities are provided for students.

“So they may be involved in exploring, investigating, experimenting, and teachers give them opportunities to actually develop their ideas, come up with their own hypothesis.

“They can go test it out if things don’t turn out correct or the way they intended it to be. They can then go and modify their strategies.

“At the same time when the teachers provide students with opportunities to organise an event or work with community projects or work with their friends to do something together, it is a situation where it is unstructured, it is open-ended.

“So students have to go and find out…they have to come up with their own ideas. They have to develop a plan and can actually go and execute it.”

Mrs Ong Hong Peng, Principal of Xinmin Secondary, said: “We feel very heartened, because besides teaching in the various subject disciplines, I think our teachers are also teaching other skills that may not be tested in the exam in a very direct manner.

“That’s why we’ve come up with all these alternative programmes which will stretch students’ thinking and they’re not tested in exams.

“We have tried our very best to move away from just exam-focused type of programmes into applied learning and areas, even ICT, that are not in exams.

“All this takes a lot of commitment. That’s why we’re very heartened that these are recognised.”

One way schools encourage problem-solving is to give students real-life examples which test their application skills.

For example, by getting them to design games or to plan for a person’s retirement, based on three savings plans that offer different interest rates.

D Vinod, a Secondary 4 student from Temasek Secondary, said: “I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer in this kind of situation, because what we’re looking for is just the goal at the end, and it depends on the person’s personal expenditures.

“We have to be open-minded. We did this activity in a group and naturally in a group, we have different opinions. So, one thing about group activities is that we must all agree to disagree at one point of time and then slowly think about the best solution to the answer.

“That’s why we have to be very patient and analyse the problem very carefully to see which is the best plan to get us the best solution.”

The 2012 test is the second time PISA has included
problem-solving as an assessment area, and the first time it’s computer-based with interactive elements.

In future, it hopes to also test other areas, such as collaborative problem-solving and interpersonal skills.

OECD’s Andreas Schleicher said: “The idea of PISA is to reflect the type of skills that matters for the success of people in life and at work.

“We can see the kinds of things that are easy to teach and easy to test are also the kinds of things that are easy to digitise, automate and outsource.

“And we’re seeing, actually, big losses in employment, in tasks requiring routine cognitive skills. We’re seeing increases in tasks that require non-routine analytical skills, the capacity of students to extrapolate from what they know.

“The world economy no longer pays you for what you know. Google knows everything.

“The world economy pays you for what you can do with what you know, and that makes a very big difference.

“Innovation today is no longer about you having a great idea and being able to do it. Innovation is to do with how you can connect with the ideas of others, people who share other ways of thinking, other belief systems.

“Those are the skills of increasing importance for success. It is important for us to see to what extent they are developed in school and even out of school.”

Mr Schleicher added that in a fast-changing world, the skills that are required to be successful are also changing.

“This means that the education system needs to remain very, very active, and needs to be very sensitive to the needs of individual students and the kinds of skills that are valued by society,” he said.

Mr Schleicher added: “I think the reason why Singapore is doing well is because Singapore has very close eyes and ears of what’s happening in the world and the economy, and I think maintaining that is very critical.

“But education’s got to be a lot tougher in the future than now, because the kinds of things that are easy to teach, easy to test, are going to lose relevance. Other kinds of skills gain in prominence and relevance.

“And today’s all about innovative capacities of individuals. No country can be satisfied with its performance today.”

PISA will conduct its next round of tests next year.
 

Singapore students top PISA problem-solving test

Read More

Singapore"s OCBC offers $4.95 billion for Wing Hang Bank in bet on China growth

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) (OCBC.SI) has offered to pay almost $5 billion for one of Hong Kong’s last remaining family-owned banks, in a deal that would give the Singapore lender a much sought-after gateway to the Greater China region.

The deal to buy Wing Hang Bank Ltd (0302.HK) was preceded by months of negotiations, with the deadline for an agreement extended not once, but twice. OCBC formally made the offer to purchase the Hong Kong-based lender after reaching a deal with major shareholders including the bank’s founding family.

OCBC, like other foreign lenders, are drawn to China’s economic clout and the growth of its offshore yuan markets. Wing Hang, headquartered in Hong Kong, has branches in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Macau – major hubs in the prosperous and bustling Pearl River Delta.

The acquisition, OCBC’s biggest, would also help the Singapore lender narrow the gap with domestic rival DBS Group Holdings (DBSM.SI), which operates Hong Kong’s sixth-biggest bank by assets.

At the same time, China’s economic growth is slowing, prompting concerns about Hong Kong’s loan exposure to Chinese companies, particularly those in industries that are suffering.

OCBC would also be entering a highly competitive space dominated by mainland banks and global lenders such as Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.L) and HSBC (HSBA.L). OCBC said it would retain the name of Wing Hang, founded in 1937.

Still, Wing Hang’s sale process had attracted interest from suitors including Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SS), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) and Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI).

OCBC is offering HK$125 a share to buy all the stock of Wing Hang, according to a joint announcement on Tuesday.

The offer came after Singapore’s second-biggest lender reached a deal with members of Wing Hang’s founding Fung family, their affiliates and related family trusts, as well as BNY International Financing Corp, to buy a nearly 45 percent stake in the bank. OCBC also reached separate deals with other shareholders, increasing its stake to 50.66 percent.

“The deal ultimately will also depend on whether the other shareholders will accept this at this price or not,” OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday. “We are of the opinion that the price to be paid is fair and equitable.”

OCBC has received in-principle approval for the purchase from Hong Kong and Singapore regulators, with formal approval needed by June 30 for the deal to go through. The acquisition is not subject to the approval of OCBC’s shareholders.

If the deal goes through, there will be two family-owned banks left in Hong Kong – Bank of East Asia Ltd (0023.HK) and Dah Sing Banking Group Ltd (2356.HK).

OFFER SIZE

Wing Hang and OCBC had been locked in exclusive negotiations since December after several players walked away from the deal on price concerns, sources had told Reuters earlier.

OCBC’s HK$38.428 billion ($4.95 billion) offer announced on Tuesday is lower than expectations. Sources previously estimated the deal could be worth $5.3 billion.

“BNY Mellon is pleased to see an agreement has been reached between Wing Hang Bank and OCBC. The offer values Wing Hang at twice the book value, adjusting for the final dividend and the bank premises revaluation reserve,” BNY Asia-Pacific Chairman Steve Lackey said in an emailed statement.

“BNY Mellon believes the proposal represents the best value for Wing Hang’s shareholders and the bank as a whole and will be giving its full support to the offer.”

Yue Xiu Group, the trading arm of China’s Guangzhou city government, paid a multiple of 2.08 times to buy Hong Kong’s Chong Hing Bank (1111.HK) last year.

The adjusted price-to-book ratio of 2.0 times paid by OCBC is more comparable to other MA deals at the smaller Hong Kong banks, said Daiwa Capital Markets analysts Grace Wu and Samuel Ng in a note.

“Though the cash offer is shy of our and market expectations, given the size of Wing Hang, we believe the offer price is reasonable as it represents a 46 percent premium to WHB’s closing price on September 16, 2013,” when Wing Hang announced it is in talks for a sale.

Shares of OCBC rose 0.42 percent in Singapore trading around midday, following the announcement of the deal. Wing Hang Bank was up 0.24 percent in Hong Kong.

CHINA AND YUAN

About 6 percent of OCBC’s pre-tax earnings in 2013 came from the Greater China region. If it had owned Wing Hang in 2013, the share of the contribution would have been around 16 percent, calculations by OCBC show.

But market watchers are warning that while non-performing asset ratios in China’s banking system are at record lows of around half a percent, the number will only rise from current levels, a potential drain on profits.

Wing Hang is the biggest deal for OCBC CEO Tsien, who took the post in April 2012. The bank’s last major purchase was completed in 2010 when it bought ING Group’s (ING.AS) Asian private bank for $1.5 billion.

Last week, Tsien said at the Reuters ASEAN Summit that the bank aims to expand in Greater China which it sees as the engine of Asian economic activity, rather than in another market in Southeast Asia where OCBC is already well-entrenched.

Wing Hang was founded as a money changing business. It has since grown into a mainstream retail bank with more than 70 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and China.

Speaking at a news conference in Singapore, OCBC Chief Financial Officer Darren Tan said the bank plans to raise equity for the deal, but added that the exact timing and size depends on the progress of the acquisition.

OCBC is also planning to utilize a mix of internal resources and new debt.

“Wing Hang is already profitable so if there is no equity raising obviously it would add to the earnings immediately,” Tan said. “Now for an acquisition of this size, sort of a cross-country acquisition, and the price that we pay for it, three years is a reasonable return period.”

OCBC is being advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N), and Wing Hang by Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N), Nomura Holdings (8604.T) and KPMG.

($1 = 7.7571 Hong Kong Dollars)

(Additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee and Michael Flaherty in HONG KONG; Editing by Ryan Woo)

Singapore"s OCBC offers $4.95 billion for Wing Hang Bank in bet on China growth

Read More

Fitch Rates Sands China's Amended $4.4B VML Credit Facility 'BBB-'

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Fitch Ratings has assigned a ‘BBB-’ rating to VML US Finance LLC’s (VUF) amended $4.4 billion senior secured credit facility, which includes a $2.4 billion term loan and a $2 billion revolver. Fitch’s existing Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) for VUF and its indirect parent companies, Sands China Ltd (Sands China), Las Vegas Sands LLC (LVS LLC) and Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVSC) are ‘BB+’. The Rating Outlook is Positive.

The credit facility is guaranteed by VUF and Venetian Macau Limited (VML), Sands China’s main operating subsidiary and a gaming concession holder in Macau. VML’s concession expires in June 2022, full two years after the credit facility’s maturity, unless extended by Macau’s government. VML owns Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central (SCC), Four Seasons Macao, Sands Macao and the Parisian project. The collateral pledged for the facility has not been made public, but Fitch expects the collateral to include all of the assets mentioned above with the possible exception of The Parisian.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The new facility improves VML’s liquidity by pushing out its maturity wall from 2016 to 2020 and increasing the revolver capacity from $500 million to $2 billion. However, $1.18 billion is available pro forma for VML drawing on the revolver to paydown $820 million of the non-extending term loans. VML’s liquidity as of Dec. 31, 2013 pro forma for the increased revolver and net of cage cash (estimated at $200 million by Fitch) is roughly $3.9 billion. Along with free cash flow (FCF), liquidity is sufficient to meet VML’s capital development plans while maintaining the company’s ramp-up in shareholder friendly initiatives.

Fitch estimates VML’s run-rate discretionary FCF at slightly in excess of $2.5 billion. Sands China’s 2013 year-end dividends annualizes to $1.8 billion. Sands China also paid a special dividend of $800 million in 2013. The company projects that it will spend $1.25 billion – $1.50 billion on development capital expenditures in Macau for 2014 ($825 million on The Parisian) and $1.7 billion in 2015 ($1.15 billion on The Parisian). The Parisian is slated to open late 2015 with no major capital plans past that at VML.

The refinancing is leverage neutral with gross leverage remaining at around 1.4x.

Fitch projects 12% gaming revenue growth for 2014 in Macau, which may prove to be conservative given that revenues have grown 20% year-to-date through March. The 12% growth forecast is driven by 20% growth in the mass market while VIP growth will generally be in line with Chinese GDP growth. Growth will be supported by the growing Chinese economy (Fitch projects 7.3% annual GDP growth in 2014 and 7% in 2015); the improved infrastructure in and around Macau (e.g. a new ferry terminal connecting to Cotai will open in mid-2014); continued ramp up of LVSC’s SCC; and the development on Hengqin Island adjacent to Macau.

LVSC is best positioned to capitalize on the mass market growth, with approximately 1 million square feet of gaming space. This gaming space, plus an extensive complement of amenities and hotel rooms, allows LVS to freely adjust to the demands of the market.

The ‘BBB-’ rating on the credit facility is one notch above VUF’s IDR and reflects the meaningful overcollateralization of the credit facility by VML’s assets, which generated $2.9 billion of EBITDA in 2013.

Uncertainty with respect to VML’s ability to extend its gaming concession past 2022 is a risk albeit a remote one. The Macau government said that it may begin discussions on extending concessions in 2015. Positively, the government indicated that it has no interest in increasing the number of concession holders past six.

Main Drivers for the ‘BB+’ IDR

The ‘BB+’ IDR is linked to LVSC’s and its subsidiaries’ IDRs and reflects LVSC’s strong financial profile supported by manageable debt levels, significant cash balances and robust discretionary free cash flow (FCF). LVS also maintains a strong business position supported by high quality assets in attractive regulatory regimes, which provides the company with the best global market exposure in the industry.

The ratings also consider LVSC’s history of being an aggressive developer of large-scale gaming-centric integrated resorts, lack of a track record with respect to maintaining to stated financial policies, and the pending Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations.

The Positive Outlook reflects the solid ramp up of SCC; Fitch’s favorable outlook for Macau; LVSC’s significant unencumbered non-core pool of assets; and LVSC’s relatively modest capex pipeline with no other new integrated resort projects aside from The Parisian being shovel-ready for at least another two years (e.g. South Korea and/or Japan) with the Spain plans now being canceled.

The Positive Outlook also takes into account the company’s recently articulated gross leverage target range of 2x-3.5x before incurring additional debt related to future development of integrated resorts. Fitch believes that this range can potentially support an investment grade IDR given LVSC’s business risk. Fitch calculates LVSC’s consolidated gross leverage for the year-end 2013 at 2.5x (net of cash based corporate expenses and income attributable to minority interest) versus Fitch’s 4x threshold for LVSC for ‘BBB-’ IDR of 4.0x gross leverage. There is about 0.5x difference in Fitch’s calculation of gross leverage relative to the company’s.

When considering an upgrade of LVSC’s IDR to ‘BBB-’ Fitch will take into account cushion in the gross leverage ratio relative to Fitch’s 4.0x threshold. An upgrade of the IDR to ‘BBB-’ would be possible even with a thin cushion relative to the 4.0x leverage threshold possibly after LVSC incurs debt to fund a leveraging shareholder friendly transaction. Fitch will factor into its upgrade decision the timing and scope of potential upcoming capital projects as well as LVSC’s ability and perceived willingness to deleverage and/or build liquidity in anticipation of large scale capital plans.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Positive: Future developments that may, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating action include:

–Maintaining leverage below 4x on a gross basis and 3x on a net basis for an extended period with some cushion relative to potential new development opportunities;

–Keeping to its articulated financial policies including maintaining gross leverage at below 3.5x before accounting for the development of new integrated resorts;

–Favorable resolution of inquiries and lawsuits related to governance matters discussed above.

Negative: Future developments that may, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action include:

–Leverage exceeding 5x on a gross basis and 4x on a net basis for an extended period, likely driven by pursuing multiple largescale projects at once;

–Deviating from to its articulated financial policies including contributing at least 25% equity towards projects;

—Loss of a license/concession as a result of inquiries related to governance matters discussed above.

Fitch rates LVSC and its subsidiaries as follows:

Las Vegas Sands Corp.

–IDR ‘BB+’, Outlook Positive.

Las Vegas Sands LLC

–IDR ‘BB+’, Outlook Positive;

–US$1.25 billion secured revolving credit facility ‘BBB-’;

–US$2.25 billion secured term loan B ‘BBB-’.

Sands China Ltd. (Sands China)

–IDR ‘BB+’, Outlook Positive.

VML US Finance LLC (VML US)

–IDR ‘BB+’, Outlook Positive;

–US$500 million Macao secured revolving credit facility ‘BBB-’;

–US$3.2 billion Macao secured term loan ‘BBB-’.

Marina Bay Sands Pte. Ltd. (MBS)

–IDR ‘BB+’, Outlook Positive;

–SGD 500 million Singapore secured revolving credit facility ‘BBB-’;

–SGD 4.6 billion Singapore secured term loan ‘BBB-’.

Additional information is available at ‘www.fitchratings.com‘.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

–’Fitch: LVS’s Pullout from Spain Reinforces Positive Outlook; IDR Affirmed at ‘BB+’ (Dec. 19, 2013);

–’Corporate Rating Methodology: Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage’ (Aug. 5, 2013);

–’Recovery Ratings and Notching Criteria for Nonfinancial Corporate Issuers’ (Nov. 19, 2013);

–’U.S. Leveraged Finance Spotlight — Las Vegas Sands Corp.’ (July 11, 2013);

–’2014 Outlook: U.S. Gaming (Deleveraging Potential)’ (Dec. 16, 2013);

–’2014 Outlook: Asia Pacific Gaming (Stable Despite Rising Competition)’ (Dec. 16, 2013).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Corporate Rating Methodology: Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=715139

Recovery Ratings and Notching Criteria for Non-Financial Corporate Issuers

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=721836

U.S. Leveraged Finance Spotlight — Las Vegas Sands Corp.

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=703828

2014 Outlook: U.S. Gaming (Deleveraging Potential)

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=726622

2014 Outlook: Asia-Pacific Gaming

http://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=725156

Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

http://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=825813

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY’S PUBLIC WEBSITE ‘WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM‘. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH’S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

• Security Upgrades Downgrades


• Investment Company Information


• Fitch Ratings


• Sands China


• VML

Contact:

Fitch Ratings
Primary Analyst
Michael Paladino, CFA, +1-212-908-9113
Senior Director
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
One State Street Plaza
New York, NY 10004
or
Secondary Analyst
Alex Bumazhny, CFA, +1-212-908-9179
Director
or
Committee Chairperson
Michael Simonton, CFA, +1-312-368-3138
Managing Director
or
Media Relations
Brian Bertsch, New York, +1-212-908-0549
brian.bertsch@fitchratings.com

Fitch Rates Sands China"s Amended $4.4B VML Credit Facility "BBB-"

Read More

Pan Pacific Hotels Group opens first international hotel in Myanmar"s capital ...

Strategically located close to the Myanmar International Convention Centre, PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw anticipates being the accommodation of choice for visiting dignitaries and high-profile guests

Singapore — Pan Pacific Hotels Group has announced the opening of PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw today, the first international hotel in the capital of Myanmar, Nay Pyi Taw.

The launch also makes PARKROYAL the first international hotel brand in Myanmar to enjoy a presence in two major cities – the commercial centre, Yangon and the administrative seat of the government, Nay Pyi Taw.

Set within spacious beautifully landscaped gardens, the 180-room PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw opens with 90 rooms, with the remainder expected to be fully operational by the end of the year. The hotel offers an all-day dining restaurant, spa, gym, swimming pool and a range of meeting facilities.

Nay Pyi Taw is the third largest city in Myanmar and has been listed by CNN¹ as one of the world’s fastest-growing cities. As the capital, Nay Pyi Taw is expected to host a prestigious line-up of international events, starting with the ASEAN Leadership Forum in May.

Strategically located within the vicinity of the Myanmar International Convention Centre, the official venue of government functions, PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw anticipates being the accommodation of choice for many foreign and local dignitaries.

As the second PARKROYAL hotel in Myanmar, PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw builds upon the success of PARKROYAL Yangon which has established itself over the past 12 years as one of the top international hotels in the country. To retain its premier position in Myanmar’s increasingly competitive hotel industry, PARKROYAL Yangon is undergoing a series of renovations this year to refresh its lobby, dining spaces as well as meeting and entertainment facilities.

The opening of PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw under a management contract, and the refurbishment of PARKROYAL Yangon come on the heels of another recent development of the Group in Myanmar.

Last November, Pan Pacific Hotels Group announced a conditional joint venture with Shwe Taung Group to develop the first “Pan Pacific” hotel in Myanmar. Scheduled to open in 2017, the 348-room Pan Pacific Yangon will be located in the heart of Yangon city centre, opposite the popular Bogyoke Aung San (Scott) Market.

“As an early and successful player in Myanmar’s hotel industry, Pan Pacific Hotels Group is keen to capitalise on business opportunities within the flourishing tourism sector to solidify our position as one of the leading international hotel operators in the country,” says Bernold O. Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group.

“The opening of PARKROYAL Nay Pyi Taw in such a prominent location in the capital will give the brand greater visibility and boost the Group’s Myanmar portfolio. We look forward to harnessing our in-depth market knowledge and strong reputation to win over more travellers with the quality accommodation and personalised service that we have become trusted to provide.”

In Myanmar, Pan Pacific Hotels Group continues to seek expansion opportunities in key destinations for both city and resort hotels.

Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, the Group is on track to open its fifth property in China – Pan Pacific Hotel and Serviced Suites Tianjin – later this year. By 2017, it is also scheduled to launch five more “Pan Pacific” and PARKROYAL hotels in Australia, China and Indonesia.

About Pan Pacific Hotels Group

Pan Pacific Hotels Group is a wholly-owned hotel subsidiary of Singapore-listed UOL Group Limited, one of Asia’s most established hotel and property companies with an outstanding portfolio of investment and development properties. Based in Singapore, Pan Pacific Hotels Group owns and/or manages close to 40 hotels, resorts and serviced suites with some 12,000 rooms including those under development in Asia, Oceania and North America. The Group comprises two acclaimed brands: “Pan Pacific” and PARKROYAL. “Pan Pacific” is a leading brand in Asia and the Pacific Rim with hotels offering premium accommodations and services. PARKROYAL is a collection of comfortable leisure and business hotels and resorts located in the heart of cities and interesting locales across Asia Pacific. For more information, visit pphg.com.

¹ “Six of the world’s fastest-growing cities are in China” – CNN, 31 October 2011

Pan Pacific Hotels Group opens first international hotel in Myanmar"s capital ...

Read More

Andy Murray"s luxury hotel opens doors

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray’s luxury hotel near to his home town of Dunblane in Scotland opened its doors to guests on Tuesday.

The Scottish tennis star bought Cromlix House, a Victorian mansion built in 1874, in February last year and has transformed it into a 15-bedroom five-star retreat.

The Perthshire residence, set in 34 acres of woodlands three miles from Dunblane, has undergone extensive refurbishment and tourism officials believe it will prove to be a big draw for visitors to the area.

The hotel boasts a Chez Roux restaurant, overseen by renowned French chef Albert Roux, and will be managed on Murray’s behalf by Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI).

In a statement on the hotel’s website, Murray said: “By re-establishing Cromlix as a leading luxury hotel at the heart of the Dunblane community we will be able to attract new visitors to the area, create a number of new jobs and focus on supporting other local businesses.

“I’m pleased to be able to give something back to the community I grew up in.”

VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: “The revamped Cromlix is bound to be a huge draw for visitors from all over the world, generating the kind of excitement that Andy creates on court.”

Prices for double rooms during the summer start at 250 pounds and activities offered in the local area include hunting, fishing and golf.

The former country house has been renovated to show off much of its original heritage, including a private chapel and fishing loch.

The accommodation features 10 bedrooms and five suites which overlook manicured grounds and tennis courts.

The hotel’s opening takes place in time for the 2014 Ryder Cup, which is being staged a short distance away at Gleneagles in September.

The new business will create up 40 jobs for the local community, Murray said in a statement on his website last year.

Murray last year became the first British winner of the men’s singles title at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

Andy Murray"s luxury hotel opens doors

Read More

OCBC Cycle Singapore: Cycling should not be a contact sport

On Sunday, I was one of the more than 10,000 participants at the OCBC Cycle Singapore event.

It was into its sixth year, but this was the first year I was taking part.

I only recently bought a hybrid bicycle to get some exercise on weekends. All my rides have been confined to the cycling paths along East Coast Parkway (ECP).

The paths are generally crowded on weekends, and it is fairly normal to have to dodge other cyclists, children and the occasional dog to avoid falling off my bike.

• 
  
  

  An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

  
  


• 
  
  

  An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

  
  


• 
  
  

  An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

  
  


• 
  
  

  An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

  
  


• 
  
  

  An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

  
  


• 
  
  

  Cyclists assembling on the F1 track for the The Business Times Charity Challenge of the OCBC Cycle Singapore 2014. — BT PHOTO: JOSEPH NAIR

  
  

An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

An accident witnessed by cyclist Hock Lee Ng during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event on Sunday, March 31, 2014. – PHOTO: HOCK LEE NG

Cyclists assembling on the F1 track for the The Business Times Charity Challenge of the OCBC Cycle Singapore 2014. — BT PHOTO: JOSEPH NAIR

Despite the practice I’ve had doing this, Sunday’s event still came as a bit of a shock to me.

Within the first 5km or so of the 39km route, I saw two cyclists on the ground. One looked like he was bleeding from the knee.

This was along the downhill portion of the event on the Benjamin Sheares bridge heading east.

I thought to myself then that since it was rather dark (it was just past 6am) and everyone was going downhill, with some possibly half asleep, it was within the laws of probability that out of 10,000 cyclists a minor accident would happen.

But as I continued cycling, it became clear the accidents had nothing to do with the light or the slope.

Along the flat part of the ECP expressway somewhere between Marine Parade and Siglap, I saw another two cyclists fall, one of them just metres in front of me.

A few kilometres later, I almost became a statistic. A cyclist in front of me suddenly jammed on her brakes. I managed to stop just in time, but I could smell burnt rubber from my tyres from braking too hard.

I was definitely a little shaken by all of this, but carried on.

It was hard to feel entirely comfortable during the race when I kept passing by toppled cones, flattened water bottles and broken lights. These were reminders that yet someone else had fallen down.

Even past the finish line, there was no escaping an accident.

A cyclist who whizzed past me in the last 200m crashed near the barriers just after the finish line. Other cyclists who had already dismounted helped him. He was able to dust himself off and push his bicycle to the side.

He should count himself lucky.

As I write this, national serviceman Chia Wee Kiat, 24, is in critical condition after an accident during the race.

Many of these accidents could have been avoided.

The bunching of cyclists along the ECP eastwards was one of the main reasons the mishaps happened.

With just one lane or a little over a lane for cyclists heading east, the entire stretch was an accident zone.

The slower cyclists tried their best to stick to the left lane to let the faster cyclists through on the right. But with limited space, it was difficult to accommodate everyone’s varying speeds.

The U-turns were also danger areas as cyclists with different turning radii came together. Also a red zone was the split in the route at Benjamin Sheares bridge where those going on their second lap had to veer right, and those headed to the finish line looped left.

One way to solve this would be to redefine the categories according to experience or speed, or flag people off in more “waves” so that cyclists moving at the same speed ride together.

The other solution is to simply give everyone more space. Most of the route on the ECP towards the finish line was accident-free because there was more than enough space for both the slower and faster cyclists.

If the organisers cannot secure enough road space for cyclists to have a safe ride, then they should consider capping the number of cyclists.

There’s no point having a record number of participants when many leave with injuries, marring what would have otherwise been a perfectly wonderful event.

Cycling isn’t a contact sport, and it really should stay that way.

mariaa@sph.com.sg

OCBC Cycle Singapore: Cycling should not be a contact sport

Read More

Singapore kids streets ahead

Enabling Cookies in Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9 +

1. Open the Internet Browser


2. Click Tools (or “gear” icon at top right hand corner) Internet Options Privacy Advanced


3. Check Override automatic cookie handling


4. For First-party Cookies and Third-party Cookies click Accept


5. Click OK and OK

Singapore kids streets ahead

Read More

In Singapore, citizens don"t want babies — or foreign workers, either

Get the message? (Lydia DePillis/The Washington Post)

In Singapore, the place where most people go to make the biggest decision in their lives — other than, arguably, their choice of a spouse — is the headquarters of the Housing Development Board. It’s a get-a-room, one-stop shop: Browse the planned communities depicted in glass-enclosed models on the first floor, pick out your unit at the staged showrooms three floors up, and descend again to line up your financing and apply for a spot.

Spend much time there, though, and the real mission becomes apparent: Make babies. Right now, Singapore is a time bomb. In 1980, there were 17 people working for every retired person. That’s come down to six people today, and by 2030, the ratio is expected to be 2 to 1 — a problem stalking much of the developed world that’s bearing down on this island city-state with alarming speed.

So at HDB, it’s families first. Flat-screen TVs display b-roll of smiling pregnant women and couples with strollers. “Working together to build a loving home,” scrolls the motto of the Ministry of National Development underneath. Expecting newlyweds and those with small children jump ahead in the line for new flats (just one of a slew of procreation incentives). Even though the government recently started allowing unmarried people to buy units if they’re over 35 — past which they’re presumably beyond all help — the videos depicting a homely single woman arranging flowers in her lonely living room did not make the choice look attractive.

Aisya Sharif, a 26-year-old kindergarten teacher, is doing exactly what the government wants her to do. At HDB’s vast waiting room on a recent afternoon, she sat reading a book about pregnancy, about to pick up the keys to a new four-bedroom apartment she’d bought with her firefighter husband. It’s an exciting new phase — getting married and buying property is pretty much the only way to move out of your parents’ house — but the future doesn’t look so bright.

“One word? Struggling,” Sharif says, when asked how Singapore is faring. The costs of food, gas and goods are rising, but wages haven’t kept pace. ”Generally, what we’re getting is not as much as things are increasing. To survive here is okay, but to do better is hard.”

Looking over options at the HDB Hub. (Lydia DePillis/The Washington Post)

Over the past decade, the government has tried to supplement the sagging labor force by welcoming immigrants — only 3.2 million of the country’s 5.3 million residents are actually citizens. For Sharif, though, that’s made doing better even harder. She’s now competing with foreign teachers for the best jobs at private international schools. And she’s noticed that everything is getting more crowded as foreign laborers flood the malls, subways and well-designed public waterfront.

“Public transport is just crazy,” Sharif sighs. “You leave early, you’re still late. You leave even earlier, you’re still late.”

Sharif’s not alone in her dissatisfaction. Last year, the government reacted by starting to stem the flood of new arrivals — which leaves the country in an impossible position, as its half-century long growth miracle starts to fade.

—

HERE’S THE MOST irksome piece of the population problem: This wasn’t supposed to happen to Singapore. The 50-year-old democracy has been a wonder of central planning, with a laser focus on attracting foreign investment and channelling the proceeds into public goods.

Housing policy, for example, is just one of many powerful tools. Too many people commuting into the downtown and creating traffic jams? Put more office buildings next to housing complexes. Ethnic groups starting to self-segregate into racial enclaves? Set up quotas for each race within each tower, to keep a harmonious mix. As a result, Singapore has enjoyed remarkable peace throughout its half-century of expansion, allocating decent housing for all with elegant efficiency.

The economy has needed that kind of active stewardship, argues Minister of Law and Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam, because the island — which is slightly smaller than Cape Cod — lacks natural resources and is highly subject to the vagaries of international trade that flows around it.

“It’s not a country with an internal economy,” Shanmugam explained to a group of American journalists a couple weeks ago. “Basically, it’s like a spinning top that’s got to stay spinning in order to stay up.”

But just like Aisya Sharif, Shanmugam knows that those easy times are over. Young people today don’t remember the years of striving and sacrifice that gave rise to the prosperity all around them, he says, and no longer simply accept the government’s benevolent paternalism; new plans have to be justified with arguments about what’s in it for them.

“Now we are entering a new part of our history, where it’s no longer possible to deliver those kinds of results every four years,” he said. ”Their expectations are going to adjust. You’re not going to earn double next year. It’s very jarring.” Citizens are also starting to notice the rising inequality, which for so long had been hidden by forceful government redistribution. “The feeling that you can be like ‘that guy’ is not so strong.”

That’s why the long slide in Singapore’s birth rate, now at 1.2, is so alarming. It threatens to upset the balance of the spinning top. The government  released a white paper on population last year that put the problem in stark relief. Even though the birth rate has ticked back up slightly in recent years, the projections are still dire. Caring for all those older people will be a huge burden on the young, and Shanmugam worries that everything his government has worked for could disappear.

Singapore’s problem. (Government of Singapore)

In fact, he sees it every week. In Singapore, ministers are also elected members of parliament, and Shanmugam represents a community on the northern end of the island where the ratio of working people to retired people approaches what the country is expected to look like in 2030.

“You are looking at the future,” said Quak Hiang Whai, one of Shanmugam’s senior advisers, as the minister wove through a crowded market greeting constituents on a rainy Saturday morning. Elderly people were everywhere, picking out vegetables at the market stalls or lingering over bowls of porridge. Right now, their children can support them, but the next generation of retirees might not have had any in the first place. “We have the money to take care of old people, but you have to start taxing people more, so it’s going to undermine our competitiveness,” Quak said.

For more than a decade, the government has kept the top spinning with a liberal immigration policy for high-skilled professionals, as well as for manual laborers who work as domestic maids and in low-wage industries like construction and retail. They live in dormitories provided by their employers, make much less than native people, and don’t enjoy any of Singapore’s generous state benefits. But there’s no way of keeping them out of public places, and since infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with the burgeoning population, citizens are starting to notice.

“These people are not going to be citizens, but they do take up space,” Quak said, noting that voters had sent a message in recent elections that they’re sick of the overcrowding. “They hear the Chinese talking, they hear the Indians talking, and it’s a minor irritant.”

Singapore’s Minister of Law K. Shanmugam knows what his country needs. (Lydia DePillis/The Washington Post)

—

FACING RISING dissatisfaction with their plan to compensate for a low birth rate with new immigrants, Singapore’s central planners are doing their best to recalibrate. Last year, they tightened quotas on the number of immigrants any business may employ — a restaurant, for example, can only have foreigners make up 40 percent of its staff — and increased the fees levied for each hire. But since the unemployment rate among citizens is 1.2 percent, Singaporeans are hard to find, putting a ceiling on growth. Instead of creating more jobs, the government has asked businesses to make each worker more productive, through automation and if necessary longer hours.

That hasn’t made businesses happy.

“What’s happening now is you’re a restaurant, you want a foreign worker to be approved, and they say, ‘No you can’t, because you already hit the quota,’ ” said Ho Meng Kit, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation. “So you find that food establishment will be closing down because it can’t find the workers.”

But here’s the thing about the private sector: It, too, has been co-opted by a central government that’s been in control for the country’s entire history. So far, the ruling party has been radically pro-business. Now that it’s choking off the labor supply, the Business Federation — whose board of trustees is appointed by the government — isn’t sure what to do. It can protest the new immigration regime but not threaten to defect to the opposition. That signature Singaporean groundedness, it figures, is more important.

“We would rather have a stable government than one that loses votes as a result of continuing this policy,” says Ho, referring to the government’s old open-immigration strategy.

“We don’t play politics,” adds Ang Yuit, vice president for membership and training at the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. “What’s the point?”

So, having decided against pulling the levers of power that an American corporation might, businesses are relying on the negative economic consequences of the new policy to convince the government that the citizens’ concerns are misplaced — or for citizens themselves to feel their corner noodle shop’s pain, when it can’t find enough people to bus the tables.

“They don’t see the blood on the streets yet,” Ang says.

In Singapore, citizens don"t want babies — or foreign workers, either

Read More

Amazing Spider-Man 2 launches Earth Hour 2014 in Singapore

An environmentally friendly Superhero? Just what the world needs.

Sony Pictures has rather cleverly laid claim to that marketing real estate, partnering Spider-Man up with global environmental group the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and their Earth Hour campaign.

With the imminent release of the next chapter in the lucrative Spider-Man movie franchise, the cast flew into Singapore along with a bevy of international media to launch Earth Hour 2014, and the local fans went crazy for them.

Thousands crammed the Earth Hour event at Marina Bay in central Singapore to watch the lights go out, and for a taste of Hollywood, as Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man), Emma Stone (Gwen Stacey), Jamie Foxx (Electro) and director Marc Webb took to the stage to whip the gathered crowd into a frenzy for the cameras.

The cast of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in Singapore (Getty)

Earlier, Garfield told 3 News the Earth Hour partnership was a natural fit for Spider-Man, and was overwhelmed at the level of excitement from the local fans.

After already fronting for the Chinese media in Beijing, there was no rest for the cast in Singapore. On arrival they hit the red carpet in one of the city’s newest and most enormous shopping malls, crammed with thousands of frenzied fans on a mission to get a Spidey selfie.

Garfield worked the crowd like a natural, no longer the quiet shy boy who spoke to 3 News in Cancun Mexico four years previously, an up and coming actor who couldn’t quite believe he’d just been given the role of his favourite superhero.

The always effortlessly stylish Emma Stone didn’t disappoint in a gorgeous claret red Dior lace dress and charming the gathered fans and media alike.

Jamie Foxx was certainly a crowd favourite and ruled the roost at the post-carpet media conference.

The Oscar-winning Grammy-nominated actor and singer beat-boxed his way through his question/answer session, explaining how excited his young daughter had been when he told her he was going to be in the new Spider-Man movie, only to watch her face fall when he confirmed that no, he wasn’t going to be playing Spider-Man.

The cast spent the rest of their Singapore tour buried in hotel rooms at The Marina Bay Sands Hotel for 2 days of interviews, before flying onto Japan for the next leg of their promotional tour.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: The Rise of Electro opens in New Zealand in April.

3 News

Amazing Spider-Man 2 launches Earth Hour 2014 in Singapore

Read More

InterContinental Hotel Groups (IHG) unveils Holiday Inn Express Singapore

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) opened its doors to Holiday Inn Express in Singapore. The 442-rooms Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay will commence its functioning in Singapore’s liveliest food and entertainment districts.The new hotel is developed in partnership with RB Capital Hotels, the hotel arm of RB Capital Group – a property investment and development group in Asia that also launched the Cuppage Terrace development in Orchard Road and the EFG Bank Building in Singapore.

Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay offers guests Free Wi-Fi, free Express Start breakfast or a Grab Go option for a smart start to the day. A comfortable and restful sleep with high quality bedding and a choice of firm or soft pillows. Self-service business centre and laundry room for your everyday needs. 24-hour fitness room access to indulge in your fitness regime any time. Rooftop swimming pool for a refreshing dip to soak up the sun
The award-winning green-designed hotel also features a spacious landscaped roof-top area which includes a fitness room and swimming pool. Guests can recharge with a workout or a refreshing dip in the 40 mt infinity pool with picturesque views of both Clarke Quay and the Singapore skyline.

Mark Winterton, General Manager, Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay commented, “Travellers to Singapore will be hard-pressed to find a better location and quality of hotel for the same price than Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay. We’re in the heart of one of Singapore’s most exciting locations – its entertainment and dining hot spot – which is hugely popular among locals and tourists alike.

“Our guests can look forward to a refreshing and hassle-free stay with my team and I who are here to make their experience as easy and as uncomplicated as possible. Holiday Inn Express guests know exactly what they want from a hotel and we listen to them closely.”
Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay follows the successful launch of Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road in July 2013. There are currently six Holiday Inn Express hotels in South East Asia with properties in key cities in Indonesia and Thailand and more than 2,200 around the world.

“Holiday Inn Express is one of the fastest growing hotel brands in the world and this is our second Holiday Inn Express hotel to open in Singapore in under a year. In the last eight months alone, the brand debuted in both Indonesia and Singapore and across the two countries, we opened five Holiday Inn Express hotels in that time. We know that there is a demand for select-service hotel brands in the region and Holiday Inn Express is here to meet that. With 19 Holiday Inn Express hotels due to open across South East Asia alone over the next five years, we’re confident this is just the beginning of a successful growth period for the brand,” said Clarence Tan, CEO, South East Asia Resorts, IHG.

InterContinental Hotel Groups (IHG) unveils Holiday Inn Express Singapore

Read More

TASTE OF THE WORLD AT SHERATON TOWERS SINGAPORE HOTEL

Sheraton Towers Singapore is strategically located along Scotts Road with 420 elegantly refurbished rooms and 13,400 square feet of prime function space made up of 17 event venues. Voted by Conde Nast Traveler Gold List as one of the best places to stay in the world, Sheraton Towers Singapore sets the benchmark in the hospitality industry with its outstanding quality standards and personalized butler service. From the detailed elegant furnishings, delicate presentation of culinary experience to warm, discreet service, the hotel believes in pampering its guests with the comfort, luxury and conveniences that they are accustomed to at home.

(TRAVPR.COM) SINGAPORE – March 31st, 2014 – Drawing inspiration from their travel experiences, Executive Chef Nobuyuki Taguchi and his culinary team at The Dining Room of Sheraton Towers, a 5 star hotel in Singapore, has exquisitely crafted a new ala-carte menu that showcases signature dishes from around the world.

Introducing 12 international delights, some of the new menu highlights include the following:

Confit de Canard

Chef Nobu’s personal favourite, the flavoursome duck confit is a classic dish from France which is meticulously prepared over long hours. The duck leg is cured overnight, slowly simmered for another 10 hours before pan-frying to yield a golden-brown crispy skin, encasing the tender and flavourful meat. The accompaniment of braised red cabbage and sautéed potato adds an authentic touch to this dish.

Dolsot Bibimbap

All within a hot stone bowl, the Bibimbap is a comforting Korean staple that literally means “mixed rice”. Featuring a sunny-side up egg perched atop the vivid assortment of sliced mushroom, carrot, zucchini, soybean sprout, lettuce and radish, this wholesome and visually-pleasing dish promises a myriad of textures and nutrients. For a sweet, tangy and subtle chilli kick, simply stir in the homemade gochujang, a fermented condiment specially concocted by Korean Chef Kim.

Eisbein

A traditional German delicacy set on a bed of appetising sauerkraut, the Eisbein features a whole pork knuckle marinated overnight with a special in-house blend, boiled for another hour and then glazed with a coat of apple vinegar to attain a crisp finish. Fitting for two to share, the succulent meat is best enjoyed with wholegrain mustard and sautéed potato wedges.

Xing Hua Bee Hoon

Originated from China, this well-loved dish is wok-fried using very thin rice vermicelli specially brought in from Xing Hua. Adorned with generous serving of fresh prawns, oysters and pork, the Xing Hua Bee Hoon makes a delightful meal for all who enjoy the light and natural flavours of this Chinese cuisine.

Chicken Fajita

A crowded pleaser for grown-ups and kids alike, the Fajita is Tex-Mex flavours all enveloped within a wrap. Sizzling on a hotplate, the chicken slices are grilled to perfection with sautéed onion and bell pepper. Served with warm flour tortilla, the chicken fajita is complemented with an array of condiments – salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce and cheese jalapeno pepper. 

Draw a close to your culinary journey with our signature Ice Burger – a sweet treat of luscious chocolate and vanilla ice cream sandwiched between ginger sponge cake. The Taste of the World ala-carte menu is available daily for both lunch and dinner at The Dining Room, one of the best restaurants in Singapore. In-house guests may also enjoy these delectable dishes in the comfort of their room.

For enquiries and reservations, please call The Dining Room: 6839 5621

###

TASTE OF THE WORLD AT SHERATON TOWERS SINGAPORE HOTEL

Read More

NEC Participates In Small Cells Asia 2014 In Singapore

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

SINGAPORE, March 31 (Bernama) — NEC Corporation will outline the advantages of its E-RAN Solution for enabling mobile operators to quickly provide indoor services to large enterprises at Small Cells Asia 2014 on April 7-8, 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel here.

Gakuto Oka, assistant manager, Mobile Radio Access Network Division, NEC Corporation, will deliver a presentation on NEC’s E-RAN Solution on April 7 and will introduce the importance of in-building solutions for achieving effective TCO (total cost ownership), outlining innovative solutions for future network empowerment.

In a statement, NEC said the spread of mobile devices had led to an explosive growth of data traffic, and indoor environments account for a large segment of this increase.

It said NEC’s E-RAN solution features multimode small cells, an intelligent, on-premises services node and a small cell gateway that provides enterprises with scalable, reliable and secure in-building LTE (long term evolution), 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, which reduces mobile operator churn in the valuable enterprise segment.

Moreover, it provides new revenue streams from value-added services such as IP-PBX integration, BYOD (bring your own device) management and in-building location-based applications.

– BERNAMA

NEC Participates In Small Cells Asia 2014 In Singapore

Read More

Surfing The Singapore Skyline

By John Oseid

A day of seducing lady luck at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands c asino tables can take its toll. But then dusk rolls around and brings a breezy reward 57 floors above the city at the Ku De Ta lounge. Towering palm trees dot the resort’s rooftop SkyPark, and a 500-foot-long infinity pool is cantilevered across three buildings like a giant surfboard. (If you’ve booked a room, you can plunge in.) Did the renowned architect Moshe Safdie have the Jetsons in mind when he designed the Sands? Because the SkyPark could easily pass for an Orbit City landing platform.

Either way, while standing on the wooden deck at Ku Dé Ta under a red umbrella, savor the kitchen’s modern Asian fare before hitting the dance floor. And be sure to order a Singapore Sawa–a sublime concoction of umeshu plum liqueur, Aperol, Prosecco and ginger liqueur.

Edge up to one of the tables that hug the glass railing and you’ll be treated to an unrivaled panoramic view: Safdie’s futuristic glass Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton store floats in the bay just next to his lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum. Farther off, the sky reflects against a London Eye-like Ferris wheel called the Flyer. As night descends, a field of funky steel Supertrees that belong to the domed Gardens by the Bay put on a dazzling light show. And if you gaze a bit beyond the Gardens to old Singapore, you can plot the evening’s next adventure, which will undoubtedly be more down to earth.

• Inside the Magazine


• Forbes Life

Surfing The Singapore Skyline

Read More

Solaire apes Singapore to make bigger profits

Malaya Business Insight’s weekday sections treat readers to timely articles on shipping, banking, information and technology, automotive and motoring, real estate and property development, travel and tourism and people and sectoral events. Special issues and supplements are designed to enrich current information and data files of readers with pre-selected topics of national and local significance.

Solaire apes Singapore to make bigger profits

Read More

Can Razon's Solaire match Marina Bay Sands' success?

MANILA – Bloomberry Resorts Corp hopes to recreate the magic of Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands with the expansion of its $1.2 billion Solaire casino-resort in Manila, a crucial project if the firm is to reverse its disappointing first-year results.

Solaire is the first of four planned integrated resorts expected to rise in Manila Bay’s new Entertainment City gaming precinct, a massive development designed to give wealthy Asian gamblers an alternative to the Chinese casino city of Macau.

Solaire’s first phase opened in March last year, and as work on the $500 million expansion gets into full swing Bloomberry is looking to Marina Bay Sands for inspiration. With its triple towers, boat-shaped observation deck and infinity pool in the sky, Marina Bay Sands is more than just the world’s most profitable casino – it is an emblem of Southeast Asian gaming glamour.

Solaire will struggle to match the $5.9 billion Marina Bay Sands in terms of glitz, even though it already boasts spectacular views of Manila Bay and the expansion will see the opening of the country’s first Lyric theatre that can stage big musicals.

But Bloomberry’s billionaire owner Enrique Razon, the Philippines’ fourth-richest person, has managed to grab a bit of the Singapore casino’s executive nous in the form of ex-Marina Bay Sands CEO Thomas Arasi.

The American left Las Vegas Sands Corp-owned Marina Bay Sands in early 2011 citing personal reasons, after 18 months with the company.

Razon convinced Arasi to come back to Asia from the United States to become Bloomberry president and COO in October, hoping to tap some of the secrets of Marina Bay’s success.

Five months later, Solaire has seven fixed-room junkets and over 40 casual junket operators who fly in players, against nearly zero junkets under the previous management of Las Vegas-based Global Gaming Philippines (GGAM).

That is apart from individual high-rollers from China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, who fill Solaire’s VIP gaming sections.

HIGH-CLASS PROBLEMS

Arasi believes Solaire is already on the right path in terms of its clientele, having achieved in its first year the sought-after balance of high roller VIPs and mass-market gamblers.

“We are close to ideal because we have a nice variety of junkets that are currently calling Solaire home,” he told Reuters in an interview at Solaire’s Bay Tower hotel overlooking Manila Bay.

“Based on our current space constraints in our VIP areas, we don’t have too much more room to bring in others. So that’s a high-class problem to have.”

He said the Philippines had certain advantages over Singapore for casino operators which should serve Solaire well, citing lower taxes and high-quality local staff.

Casino operators also enjoy higher margins in the Philippines because Manila allows junkets – middlemen who charge casinos commissions to bring in wealthy gamblers.

Solaire’s expansion is likely to open towards the end of the year, boosting Solaire’s VIP gaming area by 70 percent.

But for the market, Bloomberry’s inability to make its current assets profitable outweighs any anticipated jump in gaming revenue, after the company posted losses amounting to around $19 million in its first nine months.

“I’m not factoring in the expansion,” said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp’s Vittorio Gomez, who helps oversee trust funds partly invested in gaming.

“They haven’t even fully maximised the existing space, they are only starting to maximise the space.”

Investors who were disappointed by Solaire’s weak earnings and a bitter shareholder battle involving GGAM have started to buy Bloomberry shares again after they fell 35 percent last year.

The stock is up about 13 percent this year, the only integrated casino resort-related stock to post gains in the Philippine stock market over the period.

Bloomberry is expected to post its first net profit this year of P3.2 billion.

Arasi said the opening later this year of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd’s more than $1 billion City of Dreams integrated resort – Asia’s sole new casino development in 2014 – would lift the profile of Entertainment City.

“They are another competitor; they are also just as much a savior,” Arasi said.

“When (City of Dreams) opens you’re going to have twice as much marketing going on to this location. You’re going to have the centre of gravity starting to really shift down here” from the Makati financial and commercial centre in Manila.

Can Razon"s Solaire match Marina Bay Sands" success?

Read More

Singapore"s Shockingly Nice Airport Just Won Best In The World Again

Photo courtesy of Singapore Changi Airport

Singapore’s Changi Airport was just named the world’s best airport in 2014 by the World Airport Awards. 

This is the second year that Changi took the top spot in Skytrax’s World Airport Awards, the most prestigious airport award in the industry.

Skytrax evaluates over 400 airports around the world for service, check-in, transfers, shopping, security, immigration, and more. 

It’s no surprise that Changi took the No. 1 spot. The international transit hub has incredible amenities, like a butterfly garden, rooftop pool, movie theaters, hotels, spas, and showers, and even a four-story slide.

Last year, I visited the airport during a trip to Singapore and had a chance to explore. The bottom line: This is a place where you’ll actually enjoy having a long layover.

Disclosure: Our trip to Singapore, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board.

Singapore"s Shockingly Nice Airport Just Won Best In The World Again

Read More

Over 9000 Singaporeans celebrate Singapore Day in London

LONDON: Over 9,000 Singaporeans living, working and studying in the United Kingdom and Europe came together to celebrate Singapore Day in London on Saturday.

They were joined by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu.

The event was held at London’s Victoria Park.

Thousands of Singaporeans and their friends enjoyed the familiar tastes, sights and sounds of home including authentic hawker food.

They were also updated on developments in Singapore, including the education landscape, the sports scene, infrastructural developments and career opportunities.

For entertainment, the Dim Sum Dollies, Hossan Leong, The Noose’s Chua En-lai and Michelle Chong, music duo and radio entertainers Jack Rai, as well as indie rockers, The Great Spy Experiment wowed the crowd with their songs and performance.

“I could feel the strong Singapore spirit among the participants today,” said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

“More than 180 overseas Singaporeans volunteered to help organise and contribute to the event. Apart from Singapore Day, Singaporeans abroad do organise their own programmes to keep in touch with home and with one another.

“I am glad to see that many have a keen interest in what is happening in Singapore and want to contribute to make Singapore a better home for us all.”

Ms Fu said: “Over the years, we have tried to make this as accessible and relevant to Singaporeans.”

“We hope that we have brought some of the updates from Singapore and… to make this as close to your heart as possible. The idea is to get everyone… to participate and… get back (their connection) with Singapore, and hopefully relieve them of some of the homesickness.”

Rozalina Rawi, a student in London, said: “There’re some friends who actually came from Singapore to be here, and we’re definitely looking forward to rojak, mama nasi lemak and teh tarik”.

Singapore Day is a collaborative effort by the Overseas Singaporean Unit and its partners from the public, people and private sectors.

It is held annually in major cities where there are a significant number of Singaporeans.

Singapore Days have been held in New York (2007), Melbourne (2008), London (2009), Shanghai (2011), New York (2012) and Sydney (2013).

A statement from the National Population and Talent Division said Ms Grace Fu also held a dialogue with about 40 overseas Singaporeans, mainly students and working professionals living in London.

At the dialogue, they shared their hopes and aspirations for Singapore and discussed ideas on how the overseas Singapore community could be involved in the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.

Ms Fu said, “Singaporeans based overseas are an integral part of our Singapore family and it is important that they be involved in the celebration of our 50th year of independence in 2015.

“As we commemorate our journey as one people, we should reflect on what the first 50 years of Singapore’s development means to us and how we can shape our future together. The SG50 celebration is indeed a special milestone for all Singaporeans, no matter where they are.” 

Over 9000 Singaporeans celebrate Singapore Day in London

Read More