https://www.scmp.com/rss/325776/feed Xinghui was an Asia desk journalist based in Singapore. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jason Guan, 39, is a business development manager in the fintech industry in Singapore. With an average monthly household income of around S$12,500 (US$9,000), his family is reasonably comfortable – the national median household income last year was S$9,520. But as disruptions from the Ukraine war leave Asian countries including Singapore grappling with soaring inflation, the cost of living has left even a middle-class family like Guan’s feeling the squeeze. Singapore’s core inflation gauge,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3191143/singapore-families-dismayed-over-rising-inequality-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3191143/singapore-families-dismayed-over-rising-inequality-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2022 00:30:20 +0000 For decades, Hong Kong and Singapore have shared many similarities, among them the many expatriates who rent homes in the thriving Asian financial hubs. However, differing Covid-19 policies have affected rental prices in the two cities. In Hong Kong, rents declined by 1.3 per cent in the first half of the year, as expats unable to tolerate pandemic travel restrictions left the city for jobs elsewhere. But prices are going in the opposite direction in Singapore, which has reopened its borders and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3187808/singapore-still-tenants-haven-rents-heat-and-more-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3187808/singapore-still-tenants-haven-rents-heat-and-more-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Aug 2022 03:00:22 +0000 Kok Xinghui Kok Xinghui Singapore has sought to distance itself from key cryptocurrency players based in the country currently mired in trouble, with the central bank chief saying these “so-called Singapore-based” firms had “little to do” with the city state’s crypto regulations. Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said authorities, however, were now planning consultations on strengthening crypto rules following this year’s meltdown. Speaking during the release of the MAS’ annual... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3185819/singapore-distances-itself-troubled-crypto-firms-it-plans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3185819/singapore-distances-itself-troubled-crypto-firms-it-plans?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jul 2022 09:55:31 +0000 When Diane Foong, 34, finally got to go on her Covid-delayed honeymoon to Bali last month, the flight was full and Singapore’s Changi Airport was teeming with travellers. So many people were on the move that Foong ran into two friends who happened to be on the same flight as her. It was a pleasant surprise and not the only serendipitous encounter she had during her seven-day trip. “My Australian colleague was also in Bali. Then on the flight back, I bumped into a customer,” said Foong, who works... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3184603/so-many-singaporeans-are-now-travelling-theyre-bumping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3184603/so-many-singaporeans-are-now-travelling-theyre-bumping?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2022 03:30:16 +0000 Global food and crude oil prices are surging, and look set to stay high for some time yet, as the world’s wheat and energy supplies are put under immense strain by the combined effects of the Ukraine war and retaliatory sanctions on Russia. In May alone, world food prices were up 22.8 per cent, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index – driven by an increase in cereal and meat prices. The World Bank expects food prices to rise by about 20 per cent this year... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3184639/inflation-jihad-cash-handouts-can-singapore-malaysia-and-other?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3184639/inflation-jihad-cash-handouts-can-singapore-malaysia-and-other?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2022 00:30:23 +0000 Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday said the government would address citizens’ growing concerns about social mobility and workplace discrimination as part of efforts to “refresh” the city state’s social compact. In his first major policy speech since the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) signalled in April that he will succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Wong stressed that legislation on these issues needed to go hand in hand with attitudinal shifts – including... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3183403/singapore-dpm-lawrence-wong-outlines-plans-more-open-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3183403/singapore-dpm-lawrence-wong-outlines-plans-more-open-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:17:17 +0000 Luxury property purchases by Chinese buyers have long made headlines in Singapore, but quietly, Chinese money has also been flowing into the city state’s many fund management companies. Back in 2004, Grace Tang, executive director at Phillip Private Equity, used to go to China to woo investors for her company’s fund catered to those who were seeking to be part of Singapore’s Global Investor Programme. The programme was launched that year to draw entrepreneurs into Singapore, giving permanent... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3183006/singapore-lures-new-wave-chinese-investors-eyeing-good-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3183006/singapore-lures-new-wave-chinese-investors-eyeing-good-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:30:24 +0000 Singapore is seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases, with a 23 per cent week-on-week increase in infection amid newer Omicron subvariants. The health ministry said on Tuesday night that the proportion of BA.4 and BA.5 infections is rising, contributing to about a third of Singapore’s Covid-19 cases. This compared to 17 per cent, 8 per cent and 3 per cent in the previous three weeks. Singapore was hit by the Omicron wave earlier this year and saw close to 20,000 daily infections, the bulk of them being... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3182685/singapores-covid-19-infections-rise-amid-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3182685/singapores-covid-19-infections-rise-amid-new?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jun 2022 10:50:33 +0000 Singapore on Tuesday unveiled a S$1.5 billion (US$1.08 billion) package to cushion lower-income families from rising global inflation, with officials warning that the Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions would keep the cost of living high for some time. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the latest “support package” would benefit about 1.5 million Singaporeans and would be funded from higher-than-expected revenues collected in the last financial year. The city state of 5.45 million... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3182495/singapore-unveils-us1-billion-package-cost-living-rises-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3182495/singapore-unveils-us1-billion-package-cost-living-rises-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jun 2022 08:13:25 +0000 Singapore has always maintained that LGBT people are valuable members of society who face no discrimination at school or work, even telling the United Nations Human Rights Council that they get to enjoy the island city’s many gay bars and attend an annual rally. So when Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam told parliament in March about the painful discrimination LGBT people face, it gave activists hope that a fresh chapter may be opening for gay rights in the city state – specifically,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3182094/why-singapore-may-be-edging-closer-scrapping-section-377a?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3182094/why-singapore-may-be-edging-closer-scrapping-section-377a?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jun 2022 00:30:22 +0000 Singapore’s move to raise taxes of up to 30 per cent on foreign buyers came just last December, but that did not stop one Chinese buyer from snapping up 20 condominium units for a staggering S$85 million (US$61.5 million). If the buyer had Singapore citizenship – or a passport from any of the five countries, including the United States, whose free-trade agreements with Singapore allows them to pay local rates – stamp duties would have cost S$19.6 million. The buyer would have forked out S$24... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3181218/chinese-buyer-drops-us61m-20-condo-units-whats-fuelling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3181218/chinese-buyer-drops-us61m-20-condo-units-whats-fuelling?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:30:16 +0000 Singapore’s Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday was promoted to become one of the country’s deputy prime ministers, a widely expected move after the ruling party signalled in April that he would succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Wong’s promotion – which takes effect on June 13 – was part of a cabinet reshuffle that involves eight other junior-level officials taking on new roles. The current deputy prime minister Heng Swee Keat – previously Lee’s heir apparent – will retain that title... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3180587/lawrence-wong-becomes-singapores-deputy-pm-cementing-position?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3180587/lawrence-wong-becomes-singapores-deputy-pm-cementing-position?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jun 2022 08:12:37 +0000 There is a meme spreading around the internet in Singapore: A photo of a plate of rice accompanied by another lump of rice shaped to resemble a chicken drumstick. Thanks to Malaysia’s export ban on fresh chicken, the wealthy city state can only buy frozen chicken now. Chicken from Malaysia makes up about one-third of Singapore’s total poultry imports, but it is the country’s sole source of 3.6 million fresh chicken every month. Since the ban was announced, citizens have joked about their access... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3180330/what-singapore-doing-boost-food-security-urban-farms-homegrown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3180330/what-singapore-doing-boost-food-security-urban-farms-homegrown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2022 03:30:15 +0000 Asia has been slammed by a wave of protectionism in recent months, with countries enacting food export restrictions on items from palm oil to wheat, sugar and chicken. The disruptions have sent already inflated food prices soaring, with Singapore’s food price increase in April hitting levels not seen since March 2009 and Malaysians saying the once affordable everyday chicken is now a weekly luxury. Countries with export controls say the restrictions have been necessary to safeguard supplies for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3180331/malaysia-india-how-are-export-bans-chicken-wheat-sugar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3180331/malaysia-india-how-are-export-bans-chicken-wheat-sugar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2022 00:30:29 +0000 After two years of border closures replete with a host of quarantine and travel restrictions, free travel has finally returned, to most places, for the vaccinated. Those who choose to travel now will also benefit from many destinations’ removal of testing requirements, making at least some trips more convenient and less expensive than they were. Reservations have surged to the point that Booking.com said April 2022 was the first month in which global room bookings exceeded 2019 levels. Still,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3179398/tourism-reopens-asia-europe-here-are-dos-and-donts-post-pandemic-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3179398/tourism-reopens-asia-europe-here-are-dos-and-donts-post-pandemic-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2022 02:30:14 +0000 The sigh of relief was palpable across Asia as countries began lifting strict Covid-19 movement restrictions to allow in foreign travellers after two years of living in the shadow of the coronavirus. From Singapore to Japan, and most everywhere in between, inbound travel protocols are being relaxed as governments and the public adapt to the shift towards treating Covid-19 as endemic, buoyed by the protection against severe infections afforded by high rate of vaccinations. Travel surged as people... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3179483/tourism-asia-bouncing-back-can-rebound-survive-global-recession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3179483/tourism-asia-bouncing-back-can-rebound-survive-global-recession?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2022 00:30:26 +0000 Two years after the pandemic swept the world, reclusive North Korea has finally acknowledged it is dealing with an outbreak, with more than half a million people being quarantined due to a rapidly spreading fever. North Korea has reported more than 1.48 million “fever cases” and over 50 virus-linked deaths since late April, according to state media. If Covid-19 cannot be controlled in the impoverished country, it could spell further doom for its 26 million people, who are largely unvaccinated... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3178146/will-kim-jong-un-look-china-battle-north-koreas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3178146/will-kim-jong-un-look-china-battle-north-koreas?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 May 2022 02:43:53 +0000 China’s new ambassador to Singapore, Sun Haiyan, has signalled that ties between the two countries are on an even keel as she pledged to strengthen bilateral relations between the “friendly neighbours facing each other across the sea”. Sun, 50, arrived in the city state on Monday and was received at Changi Airport by Singapore foreign ministry officials and Chinese diplomats, an embassy statement said. According to the Singaporean-Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, Sun is a veteran of the CCP central... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3178099/chinas-new-envoy-singapore-says-will-promote-peace-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3178099/chinas-new-envoy-singapore-says-will-promote-peace-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 May 2022 11:35:12 +0000 Asia is often painted as restrictive and less liberal than the West, but when it comes to abortion, many Asian societies have legalised the medical procedure. In much of the region, there is close to no debate about banning abortions, despite the United States now attempting to overturn abortion rights. From metropolitan societies like Singapore and South Korea, to Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, abortions are legal – albeit tied to varying conditions. Dr Subatra Jayaraj,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3177619/asias-progressive-abortion-laws-safe-accessibility?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3177619/asias-progressive-abortion-laws-safe-accessibility?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 May 2022 02:30:16 +0000 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will travel to Washington this week to join Southeast Asian leaders in a previously delayed summit with President Joe Biden, the city state’s government said on Monday. Lee last visited the US capital from March 26 to April 2, around the time when the US-Asean summit was originally scheduled to be held. The meeting was postponed after some leaders of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations indicated they were unavailable during the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3177082/singapores-pm-lee-travel-washington-us-asean-summit-weeks-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3177082/singapores-pm-lee-travel-washington-us-asean-summit-weeks-after?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 May 2022 12:23:26 +0000 In the western side of Singapore, within what is known as the Science Park, lies a curious “bank”. Within this negative 80 degrees Celsius storage sit 200 to 300 tubes of a “very thick milkshake” extracted by spinning about 250 grams of human stool at high speeds. Dr Jeremy Lim, co-founder of start-up Amili which operates the bank, described it as separating the fibre in poop from the “microbes in the soup that the microbes live in”, then putting the liquid in glycerol solution. And why is... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3176743/singapores-poop-lab-studies-asias-gut-health-treat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3176743/singapores-poop-lab-studies-asias-gut-health-treat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 May 2022 06:00:18 +0000 Singapore’s Archbishop William Goh, the country’s most senior Catholic cleric, on Thursday apologised on behalf of the Church after a member of its religious order was jailed for five years for sexual acts on two teenage boys. In a pastoral letter published on Thursday, Goh said he was “dismayed, shocked, and ashamed” to learn of the case that occurred more than 10 years ago. “I humbly apologise on behalf of the Church,” wrote Goh. “I want to assure you that the Archdiocese takes very seriously... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3176643/singapore-archbishop-dismayed-ashamed-catholic-church-parishioner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3176643/singapore-archbishop-dismayed-ashamed-catholic-church-parishioner?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 May 2022 12:00:23 +0000 ​​Roslaini Husain, 61, is excited. After two years of quieter, smaller festivities amid the pandemic, she can finally host the Eid al-Fitr celebrations that she used to, with up to 30 guests feasting on her home-cooked dishes. The Singaporean housewife and mother of four is looking forward to welcoming her relatives and friends on Tuesday. “I have bought a lot of fresh flowers, decorated my house, put up fairy lights, put out cookies and cake,” she said. “This year we can have as many guests as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3176363/singapores-muslims-cheer-first-hari-raya-without-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3176363/singapores-muslims-cheer-first-hari-raya-without-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 May 2022 09:38:06 +0000 After two years, Singapore nightclubs finally reopened on April 19 but instead of roaring back to life, the industry’s biggest players are sputtering. The city’s best-known club Zouk opened at half its capacity a day later, while the massive Marquee, which houses an indoor Ferris wheel and a giant slide, has yet to announce an opening date. The problem is not demand, but manpower. As the city state relaxes its pandemic rules, there has been a flurry of reopening – from clubs and karaoke... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3176022/singapore-ready-party-clubs-zouk-marquee-first-need-jobseekers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3176022/singapore-ready-party-clubs-zouk-marquee-first-need-jobseekers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Apr 2022 04:00:23 +0000 A Malaysian man found guilty of drug trafficking was executed on Wednesday in Singapore after a last-ditch legal challenge by his mother failed in a high-profile case that had attracted international calls for clemency. The family of Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam and anti-death penalty campaigners confirmed the execution took place early on Wednesday morning. Nagaenthran, 34, had been on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 43 grams (1.5 oz) of heroin into Singapore, which has some of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3175603/mentally-disabled-malaysian-nagaenthran-k-dharmalingam-due-hang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3175603/mentally-disabled-malaysian-nagaenthran-k-dharmalingam-due-hang?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Apr 2022 13:24:46 +0000 Residents in Singapore still have to wear masks indoors and undergo Covid-19 tests before attending large events, but life largely returns to an “almost normal” as the city state moves away from two years of restrictive pandemic measures on Tuesday. The decision to do away with rules such as a cap on group sizes for social gatherings to the scanning of the TraceTogether app marks the most significant moment in Singapore’s “living with Covid” journey since the government indicated in May last... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3175485/coronavirus-singapore-returns-almost-normal-life-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3175485/coronavirus-singapore-returns-almost-normal-life-free?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Apr 2022 00:00:17 +0000 New Zealand and Singapore have a “vested interest” in ensuring that US-China relations are stable and do not become more complicated, the city state’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday. In a joint press conference with the visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Lee said “developments in the Pacific region, and particularly, China’s growing interest in the region”, were among the topics discussed during their bilateral talks. Ardern is on her first overseas trip since... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3174770/singapore-and-new-zealand-have-vested-interest-stable-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3174770/singapore-and-new-zealand-have-vested-interest-stable-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Apr 2022 09:30:25 +0000 Singapore is often seen as a bellwether of policy direction in Asia, offering clues on the best practices for regulating everything from cryptocurrency and healthcare to public transport. But until recently, it was lagging behind its neighbours in one glaring aspect: allowing healthy, single women to freeze their eggs. The island nation has for years sought to boost its dismal birth rate, which at 1.12 babies per woman last year ranked among the lowest in the world. The global average is 2.3.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3174379/social-egg-freezing-singapore-follows-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3174379/social-egg-freezing-singapore-follows-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Apr 2022 01:00:14 +0000 At long last, a name. After months of speculation and political tea leaf reading, Singaporeans on Thursday were finally told that Finance Minister Lawrence Wong was poised to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as the country’s next prime minister. Prime Minister Lee said in a statement that the so-called fourth-generation or 4G group of younger leaders overwhelmingly backed Wong, 49, and that his current Cabinet – all 83 of the People’s Action Party (PAP) – supported this decision. Lee is expected to make... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3174445/singapores-new-pm-waiting-what-you-need-know-about-lawrence-wong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3174445/singapores-new-pm-waiting-what-you-need-know-about-lawrence-wong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Apr 2022 12:30:23 +0000 Singapore’s long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) on Thursday signalled Finance Minister Lawrence Wong would succeed Lee Hsien Loong as the country’s prime minister. In a statement, Lee said cabinet ministers had endorsed Wong, 49, as the leader of the so-called “4G” or fourth-generation of the PAP. The decision was also backed by all PAP MPs following a party caucus, the statement said. “This decision on succession is a crucial one for Singapore. It will ensure the continuity and stability of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3174293/singapores-ruling-pap-signals-finance-minister-lawrence-wong-will-be-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3174293/singapores-ruling-pap-signals-finance-minister-lawrence-wong-will-be-next?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Apr 2022 11:00:23 +0000 Singapore faces a period of sticky inflation as it grapples with an ageing labour force and transitions towards cleaner energy, the city state’s Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Monday, as he acknowledged that short-term price increases arising from the Ukraine-Russia conflict were hurting households. To alleviate the pressure faced by citizens, the government will bring forward the disbursement of several household support measures announced in February, Wong told lawmakers in a statement... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3173042/singapore-fast-tracks-aid-families-inflation-soars-amid-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3173042/singapore-fast-tracks-aid-families-inflation-soars-amid-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Apr 2022 12:00:14 +0000 In the hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his “special military operation” against Ukraine on February 24, several Southeast Asian nations released carefully couched statements that balanced their concerns about the invasion with a wariness about angering one of the world’s most powerful nations. Singapore however stood out. Within hours of Russian tanks rolling into Ukrainian territory, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s government outrightly condemned the “unprovoked invasion... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3172812/singapores-ukraine-war-debate-citizens-take-pro-china-pro-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3172812/singapores-ukraine-war-debate-citizens-take-pro-china-pro-west?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Apr 2022 00:30:25 +0000 Singapore on Thursday announced a significant easing of Covid-19 restrictions, representing its most “decisive step” forward towards living with the virus, its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. From next week, the highly-vaccinated nation – 95 per cent of eligible people have been double-jabbed; with 71 per cent having had a booster – will join the ranks of countries across the world that now allow, or are taking steps to allow, vaccinated travellers to enter quarantine free with a negative... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3171733/singapores-decisive-living-covid-19-move-heres-all-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3171733/singapores-decisive-living-covid-19-move-heres-all-you?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Mar 2022 10:28:00 +0000 People in Singapore will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors and the city state will put in place its most significant easing of Covid-19 restrictions from next Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Most restrictions for travellers will also be lifted, the prime minister said in a televised address, with ministers later elaborating that travellers who are vaccinated would be able to enter quarantine-free from April 1 with on-arrival tests dropped. Lee and his counterpart in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3171636/singapore-shed-outdoor-mask-mandate-remove-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3171636/singapore-shed-outdoor-mask-mandate-remove-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Mar 2022 03:14:43 +0000 The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc, with over 650 million people and set to become the fourth largest global economy by 2030, should stop selling itself short as a junior partner in ties with China. That was among the key themes touched on by economic and trade experts during the first day of the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia. Chris Humphrey, the executive director of the EU-Asean Business Council, said the bloc had tended to view... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3171529/asean-should-ditch-younger-weaker-brother-mentality-when-dealing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3171529/asean-should-ditch-younger-weaker-brother-mentality-when-dealing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Mar 2022 08:20:04 +0000 From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to surging inflation and rising social costs, the finance ministers of Hong Kong and Singapore have plenty on their minds. And if all that wasn’t enough, there is also the planned global minimum corporate tax of 15 per cent to fret about – as mentioned by both of them in recent budget speeches. The sweeping reform of international tax rules – engineered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and agreed by more 130 jurisdictions last... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3170967/amid-ukraine-war-inflation-headwinds-singapore-and-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3170967/amid-ukraine-war-inflation-headwinds-singapore-and-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 00:00:16 +0000 The number of foreigners entering Singapore from Hong Kong almost doubled from January to last month, according to latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), reinforcing reports of people fleeing the city for its rival financial hub. Singapore is among several destinations that have become a convenient bolthole for those seeking to ride out Hong Kong’s chaotic handling of the pandemic. Last month, there was a net outflow of 71,000 people from Hong Kong. The 1,790 foreigners arriving... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3170076/hong-kong-exodus-pushes-singapores-foreign-visitor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3170076/hong-kong-exodus-pushes-singapores-foreign-visitor?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Mar 2022 05:00:36 +0000 In India, a child with ADHD screams at the computer in front of him, frustrated to the point of seizure. In Malaysia, a child with autism stares blankly at the on-screen face of a teacher he once knew but can no longer recognise. In Hong Kong, a single mother of five special needs children breaks down in despair at the closure of schools. In the Philippines, a 12-year-old boy quietly attempts to hang himself, for the third time. These snapshots of post-Covid life – as relayed by educators across... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3168341/hong-kong-malaysia-and-india-how-online-learning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3168341/hong-kong-malaysia-and-india-how-online-learning?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Feb 2022 03:30:18 +0000 As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, several Asian governments are scrambling to evacuate their citizens via its neighbours to the west. Japan said it had an estimated 120 citizens in Ukraine as of late January and evacuation flights were being arranged out of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged citizens to make their way to the west, towards Poland or Hungary. India said it had already evacuated 4,000 Indians since it started repatriating citizens home a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3168450/ukraine-invasion-thousands-asians-struggle-evacuate-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3168450/ukraine-invasion-thousands-asians-struggle-evacuate-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Feb 2022 23:00:11 +0000 After advertising tech firm manager Lukas Ng kept telling his friends he wanted to “catch Covid-19”, one of them wrote a song about it. A line in the lyrics of the song, that friends of the 32-year-old have been circulating among themselves goes: “Let me get Covid, please!” Ng, who has received two shots of the Pfizer vaccine, tested positive on February 14. It felt like it could not come soon enough though. His girlfriend had tested positive earlier and he continued spending time with her as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3168286/let-me-get-covid-please-shifting-views-virus-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3168286/let-me-get-covid-please-shifting-views-virus-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Feb 2022 00:00:27 +0000 Singapore will roll out its long-delayed 2 percentage point increase in sales tax starting next year, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Friday. Unveiling the 2022 budget in parliament, Wong said the goods and services tax (GST) hike would take place in two steps – with an increase from the current 7 per cent to 8 per cent on 1 January 2023, and subsequently to 9 per cent on 1 January 2024. Alongside this rate hike, Wong also announced plans to increase personal income, property and vehicle... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3167574/singapore-raises-gst-first-time-15-years-taxes-ultra-wealthy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3167574/singapore-raises-gst-first-time-15-years-taxes-ultra-wealthy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Feb 2022 09:40:46 +0000 When bank worker Angelica Lim caught Covid-19 over the Lunar New Year, she was told to isolate for three days and then do a rapid antigen test using a home kit. Under Singapore’s rules, anyone who gets Covid-19 and has no symptoms can leave self-isolation after 72 hours if they test negative on an ART – as the self-test kit is referred to in the city state. If they continue testing positive, they are only allowed to leave self-isolation after a full seven days. The 24-year-old set about testing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3167398/coronavirus-what-singapores-home-test-kits-can-teach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3167398/coronavirus-what-singapores-home-test-kits-can-teach?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Feb 2022 08:26:20 +0000 Singapore has announced plans to broaden its list of vaccinated-travel lanes (VTLs), with Hong Kong to be added to more than two dozen destinations that are already part of the scheme. All travellers using the VTLs no longer need to undertake a costly polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at Changi Airport or other entry points to the city state. Instead they only need to test negative in a supervised antigen rapid test within 24 hours of arrival. In practice, the addition of Hong Kong – starting... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3167281/coronavirus-singapore-adds-hong-kong-vaccinated-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3167281/coronavirus-singapore-adds-hong-kong-vaccinated-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Feb 2022 10:26:31 +0000 Singapore’s under-fire opposition chief Pritam Singh has denied claims by a parliamentary committee that he perjured himself during a probe into a lying scandal involving his ex-colleague Raeesah Khan, saying the allegation was suggestive of “political partisanship”. Speaking in parliament, the leader of the Workers’ Party said he planned to exonerate himself before the courts and accused the committee of failing to consider key pieces of evidence that he had submitted to it. But participating... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3167145/singapore-opposition-chief-pritam-singh-rejects-perjury?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3167145/singapore-opposition-chief-pritam-singh-rejects-perjury?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Feb 2022 11:19:48 +0000 A Singaporean parliamentary committee tasked with probing a lying scandal involving the opposition Workers’ Party has recommended a fine for the ex-MP Raeesah Khan and the possibility of criminal prosecution for party chief Pritam Singh. The parliamentary Committee of Privileges’ recommendation to take Khan, 29, to task for lying in the legislature was widely expected following proceedings that stretched back to early December. The decision to refer Pritam Singh, the Workers’ Party chief to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3166552/singapore-opposition-chief-pritam-singh-may-face-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3166552/singapore-opposition-chief-pritam-singh-may-face-prosecution?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Feb 2022 11:03:21 +0000 A curious thing has been happening in Dubai over the past few weeks. Each week, eight strangers gather for an eight-course meal. But before they tuck in, they first learn how to wrap Chinese dumplings. Later, they will polish these off alongside fried spring rolls, steamed scallops, and rice wrapped in lotus leaf. It’s the sort of meal that many Chinese families will be tucking into this Lunar New Year, though with this being Dubai the meal comes with a twist – there is none of the traditional... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3165445/lunar-new-year-meet-hongkonger-connecting-strangers-dubai-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3165445/lunar-new-year-meet-hongkonger-connecting-strangers-dubai-one?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Feb 2022 03:30:27 +0000 The Lunar New Year is typically a festival of abundance and excess. But three years into the pandemic, food prices have risen across the globe thanks to a confluence of pandemic-induced supply chain constraints, bad weather that decimated crops and surging energy prices have also affected the cost of fertilisers. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s food price index reached a 10-year high last year and the World Food Programme estimates that 272 million people worldwide are at risk of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3165001/singapore-thailand-higher-food-costs-hit-lunar-new-year-reunion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3165001/singapore-thailand-higher-food-costs-hit-lunar-new-year-reunion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jan 2022 05:00:27 +0000 When Nathanael Yau tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago in Singapore using a home rapid antigen test kit, referred to as ART, the 30-year-old knew he would need to cancel all activities outside and immediately self-isolate. With 88 per cent of the population having had two shots of a Covid-19 vaccine and 56 per cent receiving a booster, since October 11, patients with mild or no symptoms have been told to recover at home. This is to free up health care capacity as the country transitions... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3164922/omicron-singapore-means-home-isolation-and-self?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3164922/omicron-singapore-means-home-isolation-and-self?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jan 2022 08:03:16 +0000 Singapore is to begin easing some Omicron-related travel and health-care rules despite projections by its virus task force that the city state is facing a “significant wave” that could bring up to 15,000 cases a day. Under the relaxed measures announced on Friday, those infected who showed symptoms but were fully vaccinated would only have to isolate themselves for seven days instead of 10, while children could recover at home. Meanwhile, incoming travellers using vaccinated travel lanes no... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3164265/coronavirus-singapore-eases-travel-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3164265/coronavirus-singapore-eases-travel-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jan 2022 10:01:20 +0000 British national Anne is preparing to leave Hong Kong, a place she has called home for the past seven years. Her family “adores” the city of 7.5 million, but she is giving up its seasons and scenic country parks for Singapore’s urban landscape. For the mother of two young children, the issue is the 21-day hotel quarantine that is mandatory for all returning residents. Anne, a homemaker who declined to be named, has not seen her family in Britain for three years. “We desperately miss our families... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3162495/hong-kong-expats-are-relocating-faster-pace-singapore-isnt-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3162495/hong-kong-expats-are-relocating-faster-pace-singapore-isnt-their?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Jan 2022 03:00:27 +0000