August 22, 2018 12:45 PMSINGAPORE - The Muslim community has made strides in education and career prospects over the last 50 years, and it can be further boosted if volunteering and community work are strengthened, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said on Wednesday (Aug 21).

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No Hoteliers are having difficulty in striking the balance between price-competitiveness and profitability. Despite only opening its first hotel in Orchard Road last October, UK-based Yotel has been largely cited as a success story in Singapore’s nascent capsule hotel industry amidst plans to expand its foothold with another planned installment in the new Jewel Changi Airport in Q4 2018. read more

Submitted By:  Danielle Isaac Case Study:  No Owners can hold onto the future value of their flats, an analyst said. read more

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No They prefer the Orchard Road shopping belt and suburban districts. Activity-based tenants made a comeback to Singapore’s retail landscape in H1 2018 as landlords pushed to include more lifestyle components to drive back patrons to their malls, Colliers International said. The firm cites that the trend could be seen in the prime shopping belt of Orchard Road as well as suburban districts. read more

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No It is a long-term deal that may add up to the firm's marginal profit. The long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Bangladesh clinched by Sembcorp Gayatri Power Limited (SGPL) power plant could narrow down SGPL’s losses, DBS Equity research said. The contracted capacity represents around 19% of SGPL’s 1,320MW design capacity, which currently runs on short-term power contracts. read more

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No The platform will let investors access embedded interbank FX pricing at the point of transaction without slippage. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) partnered with cross-border solutions provider M-DAQ to roll out a view-only multi-denomination automated quotation solution SGX-listed securities as a proof of concept, an announcement revealed. read more

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No DBS had the most active shares with a decline of 0.71%. The Straits Times Index (STI) ended 4.82 points or 0.15% lower at 3,199.89, taking the year-to-date performance to -4.82%. The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index gained 0.14%, whilst the FTSE ST Small Cap Index advanced 0.14%. The top active stocks were DBS, which dipped 0.71%, Singtel, which declined 0.32%, UOB, which inched up 0.75%, AEM, which fell 17.17%, and OCBC, with a 0.09% decline.

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No Its ground-floor rents could lead the gradual rental recovery from 2018 to 2022. Ground-floor rents in the Orchard Road shopping belt led the rental recovery as the area is a mainstay for tourists, Colliers International reported. Orchard Road ground-floor rents stayed flat YoY at $40.39 (USD29.59) psf pm during H1 2018, which is still higher compared to the regional centres’ rents which saw a marginal uptick of 0.3% YoY to $33.50 psf pm. Colliers International thinks that the H1 2018 rates marked some stabilisation in ground-floor rents. read more

August 22, 2018 8:03 AMGood morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Wednesday, Aug 22.

Submitted By:  Luz Wendy Noble Case Study:  No It will cover flight ticket sales and loyalty programmes, amongst others. Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Alibaba Group teamed up to provide enhanced experience for travellers through the transformative potential of technology, as well as joining forces in other areas, an announcement revealed. The partnership will include several players in Alibaba Group’s ecosystem including Fliggy, Alibaba Cloud, Alipay and Cainiao Network. read more

China expects self-ruled Taiwan's last diplomatic ally in Africa, the Kingdom of eSwatini, will switch to Beijing soon, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday, a day after China won over the third Taipei ally in a year.

JAKARTA: Singapore Olympic champion Joseph Schooling qualified for the final of the 100m butterfly event with the fastest overall time at the 2018 Asian Games on Wednesday morning (Aug 22), putting behind his disappointing performance in the 50m freestyle heats the previous day.  The 23-year-old ...

China expects self-ruled Taiwan's last diplomatic ally in Africa, the Kingdom of eSwatini, will switch to Beijing soon, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday, a day after China won over the third Taipei ally in a year.

KATHMANDU: International insurance companies have set a Sep 1 deadline for Nepal to clamp down on fraudulent helicopter rescues of tourists or they will stop giving cover, industry sources say. An AFP investigation earlier this year revealed a lucrative insurance racket around pressuring hikers in ...

The top commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said on Wednesday he supports moves to withdraw some outposts along the fortified border with North Korea, despite the risks.

Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe praised relations with India, describing them during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a friendship dating back to ancient times, as relations between the two countries warm further.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand's Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter announced on Wednesday that she had delivered her first child, a baby boy, after cycling to hospital and becoming the country's second member of the government, after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, to give birth this year. Genter gave ...

SYDNEY: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on Wednesday morning, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck at a moderate depth of 30 kilometres with the epicentre just off the northern tip of Vanuatu's sparsely-populated ...

Chinese companies have experienced multiple setbacks with their outbound M&A and that is unlikely to change soon, but there is room for smaller deals.

Former chief of the Nasdaq-listed biotechnlogy firm launches a $3.9 billion bid to take it private. His consortium of backers face a potential battle to bring back ownership to China.

“Divestiture was made for personal reasons at a time when the market was fully informed,” was the unconvincing reply to our queries from an REA spokesman. Continue reading REA CEO Tracey Fellows sells majority of her shares in company at Property Portal Watch.

August 22, 2018 11:05 AMWASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The United States is "deeply disappointed" by El Salvador's decision to break diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China and is reviewing its relationship with San Salvador as a result, a spokesman for the US State Department said on Tuesday (Aug 21).

David Leake, managing director of Housesetc in Goole, East Yorkshire, left Zoopla to join OTM in 2015 and says the leads have been of far greater quality. Continue reading ZPG tries to keep veteran agent who chooses OTM over the former at Property Portal Watch.

August 22, 2018 10:24 AMPARIS (AFP) - A new lawsuit accusing Google of tracking people's locations against their will has served as a reminder that every movement of most smartphone users is being recorded, often without their knowledge.

August 22, 2018 10:02 AMSAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Facebook said Tuesday (Aug 21) it stopped stealth misinformation campaigns from Iran and Russia, shutting down accounts as part of its battle against fake news ahead of elections in the United States and elsewhere.

August 22, 2018 10:05 AMSAN FRANCISCO (NYTIMES) - Facebook said on Tuesday (Aug 21) it had identified multiple new influence campaigns on its platform that were aimed at misleading people in different countries and regions. The social network found and took down 652 fake accounts, pages and groups that were trying to sow misinformation.

Since its debut in 2016 in Korea, a total of nine branches have opened, with three new openings in the coming months. Once the planned Jongno Tower branch opens in September, the total capacity is expected to reach 15,000 people across the venues. Continue reading WeWork expands into S. Korea by buying up leases in Seoul at Property Portal Watch.

Although not as flashy as Booking Holdings investments in China’s Ctrip, ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, and e-commerce platform Meituan-Dianping, Expedia is taking a multifaceted approach to the Asia Pacific that includes a $350 million investment in Indonesia booking site Traveloka. Continue reading Expedia uses brands, affiliates, and investments to cut its way into Asia at Property Portal Watch.

This industry-first partnership comes amidst rapid growth periods for both companies, with When You Move recently completing a £3 million round of investment and HOOCHT.’s partnership with digital insurance provider Homelyfein April. Continue reading US: Digital broker HOOCHT joins proptech platform When You Move at Property Portal Watch.

The deal with RE/MAX Revolution marks another major partnership milestone for ShelterZoom and its partner brokerages, agents, technology and data providers, and aggregators across the globe seeking to harness the power of ShelterZoom’s differentiating blockchain-based solution. Continue reading Prop platform ShelterZoom and RE/MAX Revolution to develop listings solution at Property Portal Watch.