SINGAPORE: When Ms Hazel Kweh began a project last year to turn wedding flowers into bouquets for low-income elderly residents at Beach Road, one of her biggest hopes was to bring back the smile to her sister’s face.

Born with profound hearing loss, Ms Kweh’s older sister, Faith, fell into depression a few years ago after a painful divorce and being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable genetic disorder that causes retinal degeneration and eventual vision loss.

Hoping that flowers could be a mood booster, Ms Kweh persuaded her sister to join her. Through the trimming and rearranging of wedding blooms, and when the wary expressions of those who received the bouquets faded into smiles, the younger Kweh noticed her sister’s joy.

“She said that for once, she can be a giver despite her unfortunate circumstances,” Ms Kweh recalled.

That made the 32-year-old wonder if there was more that she could do.

“I’ve seen my sister struggle all these years to try to find a suitable job – one that would give her the patience and understanding she needs given her disabilities,” she told Channel NewsAsia. “But it’s been tough.”

Earlier this year, Ms Kweh decided to leave her insurance agent job to start a business – something that she never thought she would do – to support marginalised women like her sister.

She founded BloomBack, a social enterprise that trains women from low-income families or those receiving palliative care in floristry skills, and lists their floral arrangements on its e-commerce platform. The start-up takes a 10 per cent cut from each product sold.

The sisters also continue to repurpose donated wedding flowers for patients at local hospitals and nursing homes. For this, they rely solely on volunteers.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR BOOM

Ms Kweh is among a growing group of entrepreneurs here that have set up social enterprises, or businesses that devote a large part of their resources to advance social causes or create social impact.

According to the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE), there are 401 social enterprises in Singapore, up 32 per cent over the past year, with about half being up and running for less than a year.

They are mostly focused on helping disadvantaged youth or children (34 per cent), people with disabilities (28 per cent) and low-income families or individuals (22 per cent).

“Social enterprises may not be the silver bullet but I think we need a more nimble approach that includes having a revenue model to solving emerging needs, which charities may not be able to do,” said raiSE’s chief executive Alfie Othman.

Accompanying the exponential growth in the sector is a marked change in the demographic of local social entrepreneurs. Nearly two-thirds of those who registered with raiSE are below 40 years old, representing a “big change” from four to five years ago, noted Mr Alife.

Two of these young Singaporeans are 25-year-olds Lim Wei Jie and Anderson Ang.

The fresh graduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) pooled together S$20,000 from their savings to open Foreword Coffee – a café that aims to brew up quality jobs for people with disabilities.

The commitment to do good through business stems from the duo’s aspiration for a more inclusive society.

“We’ve heard so many stories about how they remain very misunderstood,” said Mr Lim, noting that people with disabilities are often cooped up at home. Even those who received education would end up staying at home after graduation due to the lack of a job.

“That got us thinking whether there’s a more sustainable plan to solve this.”

Apart from training and hiring disabled people, the café, located at the basement of the College of Alice and Peter Tan (CAPT) in NUS, hopes to create opportunities for interaction through the use of slower, manual brewing methods.

“We have a table top setting where customers can see the brewing process and we encourage our baristas to share the brewing methodology. We hope that will slowly facilitate communication,” said Mr Ang. “If we run a bubble tea-style, high-speed coffee joint, it wouldn’t help with the connection.”

Since beginning operations in August, the café has hired one barista with hearing impairment and are looking to work with more, specifically those with intellectual disabilities and autism. 

The founders said encouraging support from their customers has bolstered their confidence.

“We’ve seen students who know sign language coming down specifically to have a conversation with our barista. There are also others who don’t know how to sign but want to learn how to,” said Mr Lim. “Our barista said he’s enjoying the process and that to us, is an encouragement.”

Also in operations for less than a year is School of Concepts, a pre-school enrichment centre that offers children from low-income families with heavily-subsidised fees for its programmes.

To determine the level of subsidies, the social enterprise relies on the Health Assist Cards issued by the Ministry of Health and partners family services centres to identify underprivileged children.

Apart having a 30:70 ratio in terms of the children from varying backgrounds that it enrolls, School of Concepts also hires people with disabilities in varying roles, such as receptionists and planner for its phonics curriculum.

The social enterprise is in the black at the moment, according to founder Mint Lim, but the balancing act between profitability and social mission has not been an easy task.

Prior to starting School of Concepts, Ms Lim was running a tuition centre in Bedok South where she came in touch with many low-income families and their school-going children.

“Latchkey children with loose caregiver arrangements would wander into our centre, hungry and sometimes unkempt,” the 30-year-old recalled. “When we realised that some of them couldn’t read or write even though they were in primary school, we started offering them lessons.”

Then, Ms Lim offered these children and their parents a “Pay what you want” option. However, she soon realised that she, and her tuition centre, were buckling under the stress of long operating hours and a bleeding bottom line. 

“There were people paying S$100 for 12 lessons a month and even though they could afford more, they wouldn’t. Some also began treating us like a childcare and there were many times when I stayed back until midnight just to wait for parents to pick up their little ones.

“It became a case of us being unable to say no and they didn’t stop taking,” Ms Lim said.

“At the end, we realised that we needed to come up with a model that would be fairer on us yet allow us to continue helping these children.” 

“PROFIT IS NOT A DIRTY WORD”

This straddling between dual goals of mission and profit is not uncommon among local social enterprises given that they are mostly small-scale businesses, noted Mr Alfie. 

Figures from raiSE showed 74 per cent of social enterprises reported an annual revenue of less than S$250,000, while only 14 per cent earned more than S$500,000 a year.

Access to additional financial support also remains one of the top two challenges faced by social entrepreneurs.

While raiSE offers funding to help social enterprises get their ideas off the ground, its resources remain finite, said Mr Alfie. The centre, which was set up in 2015 to develop the sector, committed S$8.8 million in grants and investments to social enterprises in the financial year of 2015.

Having a viable business model with a clearly defined social mission, unique value proposition and best practices hence remains the key for social enterprises to be sustainable.

“We keep saying that profit is not a dirty word. By maximising your revenue then will you be able to channel them to the group that you really want to help,” Mr Alfie emphasised.

At SEOcity, whose digital marketing team is mostly made up of people with muscular dystrophy and are wheelchair-bound, the founders emphasise on a “business first” mentality.

“You may be able to leverage on grants at the start but you need to know how to evolve your business after that,” said co-founder and business director Mr Hendrick Ho. “That means you’ll need to think about being self-sustainable right at the start.”

Citing his previous experience of running a social enterprise called Hearts Aflame, which aims to alleviate poverty through art, Mr Ho explained: “I did that out of passion and back then, I was running it more like a charity. 

“After some time, things got very difficult which made me realised that only when the business aspect is well taken care of, then can we ensure the sustainability of the inclusive part of our business.”

SEOciety charges market rates for the marketing project it takes on. It also pays its staff, who have flexible working hours that accommodate their conditions, competitive salaries of above S$3,000 a month. 

While there have been clients who requested for lower rates after knowing about the team, such negative sentiments remain held by a minority.

“In the business world, it’s the value of your work that counts so we choose that as our primary focus when we meet our clients,” said co-founder Quek Jing Yan.

“But we are not ashamed to tell people about our team members. In fact, they are degree or master’s holders who are not inferior to any able-bodied, and I wouldn’t angle them as anything less.”

OTHER STUMBLING BLOCKS

But even as social entrepreneurship grows in popularity, there remains a lack of understanding about the sector and entrepreneurs said they often find themselves having to explain their model to “confused” customers and corporate partners.

“There are those that think we should be giving things for free and then there are those that ask why should they be supporting us if we are making money,” said Ms Elizabeth Soh, business development manager at School of Concepts.

This mismatch in understanding also serves as a stumbling block for hiring.

“Most Singaporeans still want to work for a multinational company (MNC) and even if they know you are young, they don’t understand that it takes time to build things up,” Ms Lim added.

Statistics from raiSE showed that 69 per cent of social enterprises here employ fewer than 5 employees. Only 5 per cent have a team of more than 30 workers.

The sector developer said initiatives that might help smoothen out some of these challenges are in the works.

Talks with a private equity fund to explore the set-up of a fund are ongoing, said Mr Alfie. raiSE is also mulling tie-ups with human resource agencies to help match job applicants with social enterprises more efficiently.

But for Ms Quek from SEOciety, the biggest challenge she had was dealing with the death of a co-worker.

“We still had meetings scheduled for the following days then we saw a Facebook post by his mum saying that he had passed away during the night,” said Ms Quek as she recalled the day when one of her team members, who was suffering from muscular dystrophy, passed away. 

It had been a “rude shock” until a counsellor from the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Singapore assured Ms Quek that the social enterprise is helping to make a difference to the lives of its members.

“That gave me the courage to continue. Technology is an enabler that allows my team members to take on high-value jobs, instead of settling for a normal administrative role,” she said.

For Ms Kweh, while BloomBack remains unprofitable for now, she takes comfort in the fact that her sister Faith has gotten more than just a mood booster from her work with flowers.Faith, 40, now handles the liaison work with volunteers. For her, 2017 is a “growing up process” that has rebuilt her confidence.

“Because of my hearing impairment, I had low self-esteem and after I got divorced, all the more I felt like a useless person who knew nothing except housework,” she told Channel NewsAsia as tears welled up in her eyes. 

“I tried to find a job but because of my eyes, I can’t stare at a computer for long. For retail jobs, I need to be of a certain distance (from) the customer but there will be times when I can’t hear them properly to know what they want from me. I know I’m not up to it so I will leave on my own.”

But Ms Faith Kweh no longer feels this way. 

Regaining her composure, she added: “There are still many women out there who are like me. Now, I want to be the one to reach out to them to tell them that they are not useless.”

“We can be useful people too.”

SINGAPORE: Amidst the rows of modern restaurants and hipster cafes that occupy the conserved shophouses along East Coast Road, Chakey’s Serangoon Salt Baked Chicken is, at first glance, an awkward sight. 

It no longer has a signboard to call out to customers, nor does it have much furniture. Over the last year, the shop has done away with table service, and now only does takeaways.

But come Dec 31st, the shop will join a long list of once-famous, rooted-in-history-type establishments in shuttering its doors for good.

“I am retiring because six months ago, I had a heart attack,” the owner, Richard Chak told this reporter.

“It was a hard decision and I was struggling. But then my wife told me, if you love me, you will take care of your health. So I thought maybe I should spend more time with my family.”

My interview with Mr Chak took a pause when he saw a customer waiting to be served at the entrance. The man, who looks to be in his 30s, has come from Boon Lay to buy two packets of Mr Chak’s famous chicken.

He sees the notice outside the shop informing customers of the permanent closure, and expresses surprise.

“I only heard about this place recently, and bought the chicken to have with my family,” he said.

“That’s when my aunt told me this was once a household name.”

“AT OUR PEAK, WE WERE SELLING A THOUSAND CHICKENS A DAY”

The business, then known as Heong Kee Salt Baked Chicken, got its start in the family home in Mohamed Sultan Road in 1962, but eventually Mr Chak Pak Sek rented a unit in Upper Cross Street and then in Serangoon Road.

At a time when many Singaporeans could only afford to eat chicken once a year during Chinese New Year, it was Mr Chak’s father’s idea to sell smaller chickens at an affordable price that resulted in the business booming.

His grandfather also came up with ‘advertising campaigns’ to attract customers.

“He came up with things like, ‘Buy 6 chickens and get 1 free’,” Mr Chak recalled with a laugh.

“For example, there’d be serial numbers on the box, and people could collect six tags and come here and exchange for one chicken. So it was like building a loyal customer base.”

The Chaks would also set up stalls selling the salt baked chicken at trade fairs, like at the then Great World Amusement Park.

“During our peak, we were selling a thousand chickens a day, so much so that my grandfather built brick ovens the size of a small room, and this is where you could place the chicken onto a rack – a hundred chickens at a time and they would be cooked within an hour,” Mr Chak said.

RECIPE HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME

With a big family to feed, Mr Chak said his grandfather, Chak Pak Sek, would often dabble in different businesses to make ends meet. Ultimately, the idea to sell salt baked chicken was borne out of the elder Mr Chak’s historical ties with his hometown in China.

“My grandfather was one of the early migrants to Singapore, in around 1910 or 1915,” Mr Chak said.

“He came as a labourer, and brought with him the recipe from Guangdong, where they had salt mines.

“This was before refrigerators existed, so people would use the salt to preserve the chicken, and eventually cook it.”

It took a while for the elder Mr Chak to finesse the recipe, as he had to jog his memory, having arrived as a 15-year-old to Singapore. The family experimented with various herbs and sauces until it passed his grandfather’s taste test.

Following the elder Mr Chak’s passing in 1977, the business was split up, with Mr Chak’s father taking over the Serangoon outlet. But his mother’s death greatly affected Mr Chak’s father, and he decided he did not want to continue the business.

“I thought it would be such a waste if we couldn’t carry on the legacy of my grandfather. It’s a very fragrant and nice chicken to eat,” Mr Chak said.

In 1995, after Mr Chak took over, he changed the name to Chakey’s Serangoon Salt Baked Chicken to appeal to a younger demographic. Two years later, he opened the East Coast outlet.

Through all the changes, Mr Chak said one thing has remained constant – the recipe.

“I think we stood the test of time because we never cut down our ingredients – we used the best ingredients,” Mr Chak said.

“And the formula has remained the same since my grandfather started the business. As a kid, we learnt to mix the different herbs and ingredients. That’s how we learnt the secret recipe of the chicken.”

Cooking the chicken has been modernised, a far cry from how Mr Chak’s grandfather had to do it. Then, a wok was used to fry and dry the rock salt, before the chicken was buried under the pile of salt. The chicken also had to be turned over after half an hour.

Today, the chicken is still buried in rock salt, but baked in large industrial ovens. But long time customers attest to the same juicy and tender consistency as before.

“IT’S LIKE LOSING A CHILD”

Outside the shop, a bright yellow standee thanks customers for their support, and informs them that Sunday (31 Dec) will be the last day of business.  Mr Chak said he started informing customers about a month ago through pamphlets with their takeaway orders.

Like him, Mr Chak’s son Samuel has been helping out in the business from a young age, cleaning and cooking the chicken. He said his son also knows the secret recipe.

But with Samuel still in university, Mr Chak said there is no one else to take over the business.

Mr Chak said he will pull the shutters down for the final time with a heavy heart on Sunday. He also wants to take a picture with his last customer as a memento.

“It’s like losing one of my kids,” the 60-year-old said, overcome with emotion.

“It was really a struggle for me to give up. But I guess it’s time I have more time with my wife.”

SINGAPORE: Recently, I attended the President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award at the Istana, organised by the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, and was delighted to see amazing social enterprises receive accolades from President Halimah Jacob and Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee.

The biggest prize of the evening went to a local coffee house and roastery Bettr Barista. It’s a great achievement for a venture that seeks to improve the lives of marginalised women through lifelong training and development.

The best part about Bettr Barista is that its coffee is really tasty and its service is excellent.

CANNOT RELY ON SOB STORIES

Often social enterprises seek to increase sales and revenues by pitching heartfelt stories of their beneficiaries to the general public. But the reality is that business models that only rely on sob stories soon find it hard to scale.

Let me put it this way: How many of us walked into an Apple store thinking: “I feel sorry for Apple. I will spend my hard-earned money to buy their latest phone so they can stay afloat.” I say the answer is next to zero.

What usually happens in the case of a social enterprise is that consumers feel affected by the sob stories, so they open their wallet just that one time to buy “something” to feel good about themselves and to offer support.

But then they quickly realise that the products are not good, end up not using them, and won’t recommend them to their family and friends.

This one-off purchase phenomenon is a key reason why some social enterprises remain small and shut down their business after a short time. They incur a very high consumer acquisition cost.

In order to successfully scale a venture, an entrepreneur needs to understand the forces that drive consumer spending habits.

Average customers tend to buy products that are priced reasonably, are of good quality and durability. I say priced reasonably because I have encountered instances in which social entrepreneurs believe that because they run a social enterprise, they can charge a higher price solely for that reason. This is a wishful thinking!

BUSINESS, NOT CHARITY

Like other businesses, social enterprises rely on recommendation, word of mouth and customer loyalty. When it comes to messaging, customers learn to build a tolerance to emotional stories. Shopping should be joyful – and the sense of well-being one gets from contributing to a good cause tends to fade with time. 

Successful social entrepreneurs develop quality products and services, while maintaining commitment to social impact.

One example is The Mustard Tree, a gift shop that employs special needs artisans. The store is quick to point out on its website that it wants to be recognised for its quality designs and good cause. By structuring its organisation as a business, not a charity, The Mustard Tree works hard to earn the business of each customer.

Another way to build a loyal customer base is to make consumers feel included in the growth and social impact of a social enterprise. 

For instance, by regularly purchasing handicrafts from the Mother+Child Project – which provides retail training and home-based sewing work to disadvantaged women – consumers can receive high quality products while empowering single mothers and women recovering from psychiatric conditions and giving them financial independence and opportunities to learn new skills.

GET HUSTLING

Understanding consumer spending behavior is one thing, another is to understand the concept of hustling.

Being a hustler means you work hard and grind all day and all night because you don’t have resources. Your back is against the wall, and the only way to succeed is to put the time and effort to make the business happen.

When I mentor aspiring entrepreneurs, or consider investing in an enterprise, I look for that fire – something that drives the founders, something that assures me these entrepreneurs won’t quit the minute they encounter challenges. Social entrepreneurs have to know how to leverage their personal connections and social capital they have built over the years.

Social entrepreneurs should also be careful not to spend all of their time and energy chasing grants from various entities and business plan competitions. I am not saying they shouldn’t do it at all but that they need to be strategic because these grants and business plan competitions consume a lot of time.

Time that otherwise can be spent on running and growing the business. 

People like to get grants because it’s free money, with no strings attached, That’s true but I also highly encourage social entrepreneurs to seek money from impact investors and venture capital firms. 

Yes, you will need to give away equity stake to your investors, but the right investors come with connections, mentorships and management insights. They also demand entrepreneurs to be more business-minded, which is needed to scale a business. 

Some of these skills and knowledge can be picked up by enrolling in courses, attending workshops, or even by getting a degree. But beyond these educational channels, having the right partners, mentors and investors will be useful for the growth of your businesses.

As the year draws to a close, I urge social entrepreneurs to consider new methods of connecting with their customers in more sustainable and meaningful ways.

And as consumers, let’s do something different. Let’s buy some of our holiday gifts from local social enterprises that are committed to both high quality products and social impact. Give them a chance to make a difference, and you might be surprised to find the hidden gems.

Jonathan Chang is executive director of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at the Singapore Management University.

LONDON: Oil moved higher above US$65 a barrel on Tuesday, within sight of its highest since mid-2015, supported by an explosion on a crude pipeline in Libya and voluntary OPEC-led supply cuts.

The move towards restart of a key North Sea pipeline, Forties, capped the rally. The pipeline is being tested after repairs and full flows should resume in early January, its operator said on Monday.

Brent crude , the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 19 cents to US$65.44 a barrel at 1447 GMT. Prices hit US$65.83 on Dec. 12, the highest since June 2015. U.S. crude added 24 cents to US$58.71.

“The confirmation that Forties is coming back ….has the potential for capping Brent,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix.

Trading activity was thin due to the Christmas holiday in many countries.

Oil turned positive following the explosion at the Libyan pipeline, which feeds the Es Sider terminal. It was not immediately clear what impact the blast will have on Libyan output, which has been recovering in recent months after being hampered for years by conflict and unrest.

Brent has risen 17 percent in 2017. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other non-members, have been withholding output since Jan. 1 to get rid of a glut.

The producers have extended the supply cut agreement to cover all of 2018.

Iraq’s oil minister said on Monday there would be a balance between supply and demand by the first quarter, leading to a boost in prices. Global oil inventories have decreased to an acceptable level, he added.

That is earlier than predicted in OPEC’s latest official forecast, which calls for a balanced market by late 2018.

While the OPEC action has lent support to prices all year, the unplanned shutdown of the Forties pipeline on Dec. 11 pushed Brent to its mid-2015 high.

Forties plays an important role in the global market as it is the biggest of the five North Sea crude streams underpinning Brent, the benchmark for oil trading in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Rising production in the United States is offsetting some of the OPEC-led cuts.

The U.S. rig count , an early indicator of future output, held at 747 in the week to Dec. 22, according to the latest weekly report by Baker Hughes.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Peter Graff and John Stonestreet)

SINGAPORE: Three Singaporeans were killed and another injured in a road accident in the United States last Friday (Dec 22).

The four were en route to the Grand Canyon in Arizona in a silver Hyundai sedan, when it collided head-on with a Dodge van.

The Hyundai was travelling northbound on State Route 64 and “crossed the painted median, colliding with a green Dodge van travelling southbound”, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said in response to Channel NewsAsia’s queries about the incident.

“The Dodge van travelled off the roadway and into a ravine. The Hyundai then collided with a third vehicle.”

The driver of the Hyundai and two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, while another passenger in the Hyundai was taken to Flagstaff Medical Center.

The driver of the Dodge van was also pronounced dead at the scene, and four passengers in the van were taken to Flagstaff Medical Center.

No injuries were reported from the third vehicle.

The injured Singaporean is currently in a stable condition and remains warded in hospital, Channel NewsAsia understands.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said it would not release the identities of those killed until it confirms that all next of kin have been notified.

Channel NewsAsia understands the Singapore Consulate General in San Francisco is rendering its assistance.

LONDON: Oil edged lower toward US$65 a barrel on Tuesday, but remained within sight of its highest level since mid-2015, as the looming restart of a North Sea oil pipeline offset support from OPEC-led supply cuts.

The North Sea Forties pipeline, which plays an important role in the global oil market, is being tested following repairs and full flows should resume in early January, its operator Ineos said on Monday.

Brent crude , the international benchmark for oil prices, slipped 15 cents to US$65.10 a barrel at 1153 GMT. Prices hit US$65.83 on Dec. 12, the highest since June 2015. U.S. crude was down 7 cents at US$58.40.

“The confirmation that Forties is coming back is the main development of the long weekend,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix. “For sure it has the potential for capping Brent.”

Trading activity was thin due to the ongoing Christmas holiday in many countries.

Brent has risen 17 percent in 2017. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other non-members, have been withholding output since Jan. 1 to get rid of a glut.

The producers have extended the supply cut agreement to cover all of 2018.

Iraq’s oil minister said on Monday there would be a balance between supply and demand by the first quarter, leading to a boost in prices. Global oil inventories have decreased to an acceptable level, he added.

That’s earlier than seen by OPEC’s latest official forecast, which calls for a balanced market by late 2018.

While the OPEC action has lent support to prices all year, the unplanned shutdown of the Forties pipeline on Dec. 11 pushed Brent to its mid-2015 high.

Forties plays an important role in the global market as it is the biggest of the five North Sea crude streams underpinning Brent, the benchmark for oil trading in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Rising production in the United States is offsetting some of the OPEC-led cuts.

The U.S. rig count , an early indicator of future output, held at 747 in the week to Dec. 22, according to the latest weekly report by Baker Hughes.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein; Eediting by Gareth Jones and Peter Graff)

LONDON: Oil edged lower towards US$65 a barrel on Tuesday, but remained within sight of its highest level since mid-2015, as the looming restart of a key North Sea oil pipeline offset support from OPEC-led supply cuts.

The North Sea Forties pipeline, which plays an important role in the global oil market, is being tested following repairs and full flows should resume in early January, its operator Ineos said on Monday.

Brent crude , the international benchmark for oil prices, slipped 19 cents to US$65.06 a barrel at 0924 GMT. Prices hit US$65.83 on Dec. 12, the highest since June 2015. U.S. crude was down 10 cents at US$58.37.

“The confirmation that Forties is coming back is the main development of the long weekend,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix. “For sure it has the potential for capping Brent.”

Trading activity was thin due to the ongoing Christmas holiday in many countries.

Brent has risen 17 percent in 2017. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, plus Russia and other non-members, have been withholding output since Jan. 1 to get rid of a glut.

The producers have extended the supply cut agreement to cover all of 2018.

Iraq’s oil minister said on Monday there would be a balance between supply and demand by the first quarter, leading to a boost in prices. Global oil inventories have decreased to an acceptable level, he added.

That’s earlier than seen by OPEC’s latest official forecast, which calls for a balanced market by late 2018.

While the OPEC action has lent support to prices all year, the unplanned shutdown of the Forties pipeline on Dec. 11 pushed Brent to its mid-2015 high.

Forties plays an important role in the global market as it is the biggest of the five North Sea crude streams underpinning Brent, the benchmark for oil trading in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Rising production in the United States is offsetting some of the OPEC-led cuts.

The U.S. rig count , an early indicator of future output, held at 747 in the week to Dec. 22, according to the latest weekly report by Baker Hughes.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein, editing by Gareth Jones)

SINGAPORE: More than 250,000 people visited the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival in the week since it opened, the organisers said on Tuesday (Dec 26). 

Billed as Singapore’s “biggest carnival”, it opened on Dec 15 after a week-long delay as organisers waited for the final green light from authorities.

It features more than 40 rides and games, including a roller-coaster and log flume.

“We have been working hard to provide a meaningful destination for families and friends to spend quality time together, and we are very encouraged by the support given by everyone,” said Barnabas Chia, who leads the organising team behind the carnival. 

He added that special acts have been lined up for New Year’s Eve, including electronic musician Jasmine Sokko and rapper TheLionCityBoy. 

The carnival runs daily from 4pm to 11am until Apr 1, 2018.

On New Year’s Eve, the carnival opens at 3pm and closes at 2am.

The fairground is at the Promontory and Bayfront event space. Admission is free, and rides and games cost between S$4 and S$14.