Singapore business, finance and trade news, every Monday.
IOI Properties Takes Shenton House for S$1
Malaysia's IOI Properties has agreed to buy Shenton House from its chief executive, Lee Yeow Chor, for S$1 (74 US cents). The company will also take on the shareholder advances Lee put into the deal. He bought the 25-story tower for S$538 million through his own vehicle in 2024, then offered it to IOI two months later. The board declined at first, say8ng that it had “other capital commitments,” but now plans to redevelop the site with offices, a luxury hotel and shops. The transfer still needs to get a green light from Bank Negara Malaysia, the vehicle's lenders and the Singapore Land Authority.
Read more: VnExpress
Temasek Heads to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi
Temasek will open its first Middle East offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in the first half of next year. The S$401 billion state investor said some portfolio companies will use the offices as regional hubs, but did not say how large they expected the offices will be. Europe, the Middle East and Africa together make up 12 percent of the Temasek portfolio.
Read more: Financial Times
Bus and Train Fares to Rise 7% in December
Adult card fares will rise 12 or 13 cents on December 26, the biggest increase under the current review system. The Public Transport Council is, of course, blaming the need to raise fares on higher energy costs. Seniors, students and commuters with disabilities will pay a nickel more for each trip. Monthly pass prices will stay unchanged. The increase is less than half what the formula could have allowed, and about 190,000 low-wage workers who have Workfare concession cards will pay no more than they do today.
Read more: The Independent Singapore (household relief), Business Times (fare formula)
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Ge Zhi Loses Extradition Fight to US
A district judge ordered Ge Zhi held for surrender to the United States after a two-year extradition battle. Ge is on the hook for six securities fraud and money laundering charges in an alleged insider-trading scheme that got tips from investment bankers on companies including Tiffany and Walgreens Boots Alliance. He is in custody and is allowed to ask the High Court to review his detention.
Read more: Business Times
Kroll Steps In at Crystal Jade
Kroll has been appointed receiver of Crystal Jade's Singapore and Hong Kong holding companies as LVMH-backed L Capital Asia looks for an exit. The restaurant group has closed five Singapore outlets this year, leaving 13. Kroll said the receivership doesn’t mean the business is closing, and management will stay in place.
Read more: Business Times
AI-Written Email Code Exposes 95,000 Addresses
A Bee Cheng Hiang employee asked an AI tool to write code for a mass marketing email, then used the result without noticing that recipients could see everyone else’s address. More than 95,000 customers received the email. Singapore's privacy regulator called it the first reported AI-related data breach but blamed the failure on human error, including the lack of supervisory review and a generative AI policy.
Read more: Business Times
Household Electricity Gets 10.4% Cheaper
Households will pay 28.59 cents per kWh from October through December, down from 31.91 cents as a result of easing oil prices. The reduction will trim about S$13 (US$10) from the average monthly bill of a four-room HDB flat. Rystad Energy expects prices to rebound by a single-digit percentage in early 2027 if Middle East tensions lift oil prices again.
Read more: Business Times
Car Importer Jailed for S$11.1 Million Fraud
Karkaunsl Leasing director Mah Chee Wern was sentenced to more than five years in prison for underdeclaring the value of imported cars. Prosecutors said he dodged S$1.2 million (US$890,000) in duty and GST on 866 cars, then underdeclared 876 cars at registration and deprived the Land Transport Authority of another S$9.9 million (US$7.3 million). He is required to repay the registration fees.
Read more: Business Times
Civil Servants Bought Near Unannounced MRT Stops
A working paper found that from 2007 to 2019, civil servants were 60 percent more likely than a control group to buy private apartments within a kilometer of planned (but unannounced) MRT stations. Those who sold after the facts became public made about S$80,000 (US$62,000) more for each year they owned the property than sellers of similar apartments elsewhere. The study doesn’t say how the buyers learned of the plans. We guess it will remain a mystery.
Read more: The Economist
More Healthcare Workers Report Abuse
Reports of abuse and harassment in public hospitals nearly doubled from about 2,200 in 2023 to 4,200 in 2025, according to the Health Ministry. Police referrals rose from 350 to 550. A government-backed workgroup attributed some of the increase to a greater willingness to report abuse, instead of deciding that behavior has been getting worse.
Read more: The Independent Singapore
Disability Employment Goal Rises to 40%
A government taskforce wants 40 percent of people with disabilities to be employed by 2030, up from 34.7 percent this year. It proposed an office under SG Enable that would bring skills training, career advice and job support into one place. The plan focuses on the drop in support after special-education students turn 18 and leave school.
Read more: CNA (employer wage offset), AsiaOne (ESO launch date)
Chan Yeng Kit Takes Charge at SPH Media
Chan Yeng Kit, 61, became executive chairman of SPH Media Trust and SPH Media Holdings on October 1 while keeping his chief executive role. Deputy CEO Kuek Yu Chuang, 47, was promoted to managing director and joined both boards. Chan, a former Health Ministry permanent secretary, said he intends to give up his executive duties within two to three years.
Read more: Business Times (full board names), Business Times (Chan career background)
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