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...

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...

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 A...

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....

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...

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...

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,...

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....

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...

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...

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...

Read More

Singapore kids streets ahead

Enabling Cookies in Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9 +Open the Internet BrowserClick Tools (or “gear” icon at top right hand corner) Internet Options Privacy AdvancedCheck Override automatic cookie handlingFor First-party Cookies and Third-party Cookies click AcceptClick OK and OKSingapore kids streets ah...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Read More

NEC Participates In Small Cells Asia 2014 In Singapore

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku AbdullahSINGAPORE, 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...

Read More

Surfing The Singapore Skyline

By John OseidA 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?...

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 prof...

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...

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...

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...

Read More