Singapore business, finance and trade news, every Monday.
Wong's Pay Jumps to S$3.6 Million
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's pay package is going to make a healthy move from S$2.2 million ($1.7 million) to S$3.6 million ($2.8 million) a year after an independent review recommended the first change to ministerial salaries since 2012. The reference salary for entry-level ministers will go up from S$1.1 million ($860,000) to S$1.8 million ($1.4 million), but sitting ministers will receive only a one-off bump of up to 9 percent. The benchmark is tied to the median income of Singapore's top 1,000 earners with a 40 percent discount for public service. MP allowances are also on the rise and will go up to S$18,500 ($14,400) a month from S$13,750 ($10,700). Wong says he plans to donate the increase to charity for five years. Singapore is well known worldwide for the relatively high salaries it pays public officials.
Read more: Financial Times (candidate attraction), Business Times (clean-wage principles), Business Times (cost), Business Times (National Bonus criteria), Business Times (NCMP allowances)
True Fitness Shuts All 10 Outlets Overnight
The plug has been pulled on True Fitness and True Yoga by email. At 10:30pm on September 10, an hour before closing time, the hammer came down. The Hong Kong-based group reported net liabilities of HK$429.3 million ($55 million) and blamed competition from boutique gyms, (in-house) condo facilities and online coaching. Members have so far submitted 241 complaints claiming more than S$609,000 ($473,000) in losses for unused memberships. Hundreds of (former?) staff have turned to the Singapore Fitness Alliance for help finding new work. A creditors' meetings is set for October 7.
Read more: Straits Times (rival gym incentives), CNA (NICA/e2i partnership), Business Times, Yahoo News SG (SFA job support), Business Times (liquidators)
Wong Scolds Over Air India Backlash
PM Wong used the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League's 85th anniversary dinner on September 12 to warn that economic frustration is hardening into "us versus them" thinking, and used (what he called) the “racist online backlash” against SIA's $3.7 billion Air India investment and the Nepal-Tibet earthquake as evidence. Police have interviewed five people because of their comments. Wong said that fault lines are opening between foreigners and citizens as well as between local-born and naturalised Singaporeans. Interestingly the PM seems to have drawn an economic lesson from the uproar and said the government would address cost-of-living and jobs pressure before anger hardens along racial lines.
Read more: CNA, Malaysia News Yahoo, UA News
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Parliament Lowers the Bar for En Bloc Sales
Developments that are at least 60 years old now require 65% owner consent to force a collective sale, which is down from 80%. Developments that are 40 to 59 years old will need 70%, under a Bill that was read in Parliament this week. The signature window will also be reduced from 12 months to six, although most successful bids get the bulk of signatures within the first four months anyway. Estates that are in the process already will be allowed to scrap their current agreement and restart under the new, lower thresholds and will be given seven months to get a deal done. Thresholds for newer developments will remain unchanged at 90% for those less that 10 years old and 80% for those 10 to 39 years old.
Read more: Business Times
Haze Hits Unhealthy Levels Again After 3 Years
Singapore's air quality fell once again into unhealthy territory for the first time in nearly three years when the PSI hit 116 on Sep 4 before easing to a moderate 69 by the morning of Sep 8. Contractors aren't waiting to see how bad it gets. Lum Chang Creations, working on a S$32.9 million ($25.7 million) contract at Teck Ghee MRT station since July, is going to rotate workers, cut “strenuous” activity and hand out N95 masks if readings get worse again. Dry weather over Kalimantan and southern Sumatra is forecast to continue.
Read more: AsiaOne (Sept 13 forecast), Business Times (industry outlook)
Cash in Circulation Hits Record S$69.6
Currency in circulation is now S$69.6 billion ($54 billion), a new high, and up from S$60.3 billion ($47 billion) in 2021, according to MAS data. Growth has slowed to an average 3% a year since 2023, which is a reduction from the heady 7% printed during the 2020-2022 period. The S$1,000 bill was discontinued in January 2021 because of money-laundering concerns, and the MAS says the S$100 note is picking up the slack, and is held less for shopping than as a popula hedge against cyberattacks and payment outages.
Read more: Business Times
Gemini Gets Full MAS Licence
Gemini's Singapore arm has finally received a full Major Payment Institution licence from MAS, almost two years after its in-principle approval in October 2024. The licence gets Gemini Digital Payments into the same club as Coinbase, Circle and BitGo on a roster of 37 companies that are allowed to offer digital payment token services in Singapore under the Payment Services Act. Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said that the news is a validation of the company's investment in Singapore, where it already runs spot trading, custody and OTC services for both retail and institutional clients. The licence will clear the way for stock trading, tokenised equity and prediction market services.
Read more: Yahoo Finance
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