ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest taxi operator, is looking to revamp fares to make them simpler and flatter, to win back customers lost to fast-growing private-hire fleets.

The company, which controls more than 16,800 taxis, or 61 per cent of the market, said it will be taking up its proposal to the regulator. Although taxi fares have been deregulated since 1998, operators are not completely free to formulate fares.

ComfortDelGro’s chief executive of taxi business, Mr Yang Ban Seng, said: “We are looking at how to simplify the fare structure to have a flatter fare.”

There are close to 10 different flag-down rates, three different metered-fare structures and more than 10 kinds of surcharges, as well as eight types of phone-booking charges in Singapore.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo said in 2013 the Government would look into simplifying the fare structure, which she said was “complex and confusing”.

But in 2015, she said the Land Transport Authority found that while commuters complained about the fare structure, they did not want fares to be levelled up if they were harmonised. She said the Government would leave it to operators to standardise fares.

Mr Yang said ComfortDelGro would want to implement “surge pricing” – a term ride-hailing operator Uber uses to describe fares which rise according to real-time demand, and which could exceed $140 at crunch times such as rail breakdowns.

“We would love to do surge pricing, but I don’t think we are allowed to,” Mr Yang said. “At the end of the day, whatever structure we adopt, we must take care of the earnings of taxi drivers.” He also said the number of taxi trips has come down.

christan@sph.com.sg

Read also: More cabbies leaving the job amid stiff competition
Taxi firms tweak rental deals in face of private hire disruption

This article was first published on Feb 11, 2017.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) yesterday released Malaysia’s application to revise the court’s 2008 judgment that awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca to Singapore.

In the 42-page application, Malaysia cited three “new facts” to argue that “Singapore’s officials at the highest levels did not consider that Singapore had acquired sovereignty over Pedra Branca from Johor” in the years following 1953.

Malaysia filed the application on Feb 2, asking the court to revise its judgment. Singapore has formed a legal team, including senior lawyers well acquainted with the issue, to study the application.

Read also: Malaysia seeks to revise judgment on Pedra Branca, citing discovery of ‘new facts’

In its 2008 ruling, the ICJ had considered correspondence from 1953 between Singapore’s colonial officials and Johor as being of central importance in determining the sovereignty of Pedra Branca.

In the 1953 letter, Johor’s top official wrote that “the Johor government does not claim ownership of Pedra Branca”. The court found this showed that while Johor had the original title, “as of 1953, Johor understood that it did not have sovereignty over Pedra Branca”.

Malaysia, in its application, cited three documents. This, it said, “cuts deeply against the central thesis of the court’s judgment”. It contends that the court would have reached a different conclusion “had it been aware of this new evidence”.

The first document is a confidential telegram sent from Singapore’s top colonial official to the British Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1958. In it, the Governor had proposed establishing “a corridor of international waters passing only one mile from Pedra Branca”.

This showed he “did not consider the island of Pedra Branca to be part of Singaporean territory”, Malaysia said.

The second document was a report about a naval incident near Pedra Branca.

Malaysia pointed out the report had said a British Navy ship could not go to the aid of a Malaysian vessel being followed by an Indonesian gunboat because it was “still inside Johor territorial waters”.

Malaysia said this showed that the “military authorities responsible for Singapore’s defence at the time did not view the waters around Pedra Branca as belonging to Singapore”.

The third document – a map of naval operations in the Malacca and Singapore straits from 1962 – showed Singapore’s territorial waters “do not extend to the vicinity of Pedra Branca”, Malaysia said.

It also said two of the documents – from the UK National Archives – were declassified after the 2008 judgment. The third document’s date of release is unknown. Malaysia discovered them on or after Aug 4 last year, it said, and had filed its application within six months of getting the documents.

Based on the ICJ’s rules, an application for revision may be made only when there is discovery of a fact that would be a “decisive factor” and was not known at the time of judgment. The application must be filed within six months of the new fact being found and 10 years of the judgment, which means the window for filing it closes next year.

The territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia had also involved two smaller maritime features, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, near Pedra Branca.

The ICJ, in its 2008 judgment, found that sovereignty over Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia and sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.

The three features in the Singapore Strait are located about 40km east of the Republic’s main island.

yuenc@sph.com.sg

Read also: Panel to draw up maritime boundaries
Sultan of Johor seeks to reopen Pedra Branca case
KL cites declassified UK files in bid to revise judgment
Malaysian official on Pedra Branca: We’ll defend borders, keep good ties

This article was first published on Feb 11, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Singapore – The slumping economy ensured that the super-sports and ultra-luxury car segment shrank in 2016, with the majority of brands slowing down.

Only one marque outperformed the market – Aston Martin, with registrations soaring 180 per cent to 14 units, said the Land Transport Authority (see table).

McLaren was the only other brand that managed to speed into positive territory last year, increasing 25 per cent to five units.

The LTA’s registration numbers include both official and parallel imports.

Thanks to the performance of Aston Martin and McLaren, the dip in the super-luxury market did not look too bad, shrinking just 8.3 per cent overall.

Aston Martin’s performance in 2016 was particularly noteworthy, given that it was distributor Wearnes Automotive’s first full year of operation as its dealer. It officially assumed the Aston Martin franchise in August 2015 from the previous dealer, who had represented the brand for 21 years.

Wearnes said that it immediately set about building the brand by investing in the infrastructure, such as its full-service showroom in the prime Leng Kee Road motor belt and trade-in support for new car buyers.

Pang Cheong Yan, managing director of Wearnes Automotive, said: “Aston Martin is a well-desired brand in Singapore. Our investment in the brand and facility was a significant first step to re-instil brand confidence.”

But one competitor also pointed out that the numbers were likely achieved with some very attractive pricing.

As for the McLaren brand, it also moved to a new distributor in 2015. Eurokars had secured the British sports car make from Wearnes early that year, after the latter relinquished the franchise voluntarily.

Among the best of the rest in 2016, Rolls-Royce led the premium pack. The brand with the “Spirit of Ecstasy” flying lady hood ornament dropped just one registration or 5 per cent to 19 units.

Following closely was Ferrari, which trended about 10 per cent downwards with 37 units.

Bentley was next, falling 20 per cent to 53 units. However, Bentley continues to be the brand which racks up the biggest volumes in this rarefied segment.

Finally, Lamborghini was down 25 per cent to 15 units.

The dip in the super-luxury segment accelerated in the second half of 2016 as the economy worsened, said Michael Lim, chief executive of the Motorway Group, the authorised distributor of the more than S$6 million Koenigsegg as well as one of the biggest dealers of used super-sports and luxury models.

Still, he remains optimistic about 2017. “There should be some buying,” he said, especially if distributors cut prices to attract prospects. “I see a new group of buyers who are upgrading as prices fall and depreciation becomes lower. Many people aspire to own a supercar. For them, it’s a dream.”

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2015-10-29 15:51:40

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Comparing prices of luxury items in Singapore and Asia

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This article was first published on February 11, 2016.
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I refer to Olivia Ho’s article (Bookstores That Have Stood The Test Of Time, Sunday Life, Feb 5) on the book about Singapore’s bookstores, Passage Of Time: Singapore Bookstore Stories 1881-2016.

It is sad to witness the demise of so many bookstores here over the years. Much of this is due to the rise of e-books as more readers migrate to digital devices.

But there is possibly light on the horizon for the brick-and-mortar bookstore.

In 2015, e-book sales in the United States, the world’s largest book market, fell by 14 per cent, according to the Association of American Publishers. This was in tandem with increased sales of print books that year.

The decline in e-book sales continued last year, while sales of print books increased by 3.3 per cent, according to Bloomberg View.

In the US, the number of bookstores has been steadily increasing in the past few years, according to the American Booksellers Association.

Locally, I do not know of any bookstore that has opened recently, but the biggest bookstore here, Kinokuniya in Ngee Ann City, is set to open an extended space with a new shopfront this quarter.

The increasing popularity of print books will serve as an impetus for more bookstores to open here, but issues of high overheads and competition from book-peddling websites remain. In fact, online retail giant Amazon is set to enter the local market this quarter.

Perhaps our government agencies can get more involved. The #BuySingLit campaign, organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore and funded by the National Arts Council, is a good start.

Happening from Feb 24 to 26, this one-off event aims to promote the purchase of local literary works in print form. It will indirectly draw attention to the bookstores selling them.

Is it too much to wish for consistent funding, in some way or other, of worthy bookstores – these “cathedrals of the human spirit”, as author Forrest Church wrote?

Whether there will be a renaissance in bookstores here remains to be seen. One can only hope.

Colin Lim

This article was first published on Feb 11, 2017.
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Keep an umbrella handy while celebrating the last day of the Chinese New Year festivities today, as the weekend and week ahead look set to be gloomy.

It would likely be occasionally windy today with passing showers expected in the afternoon, said the weatherman.

But more wind and rain are expected tomorrow and into the coming week, when Singapore is affected by a weather phenomenon known as the monsoon surge.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a Facebook post on Thursday: “The surge will bring windy conditions with widespread rain, heavy at times, on some days in the coming week.

“The daily temperature during this period is expected to range between 22 and 29 deg C.”

A monsoon surge refers to the strengthening of winds over the South China Sea, which is to the north-east of Singapore.

The winds blowing towards Singapore pick up moisture as they travel across the sea, resulting in the formation of rain clouds over the region, said Assistant Professor Winston Chow, from the National University of Singapore’s geography department.

Rain-bringing monsoon surges are not typical for this period as February is usually the driest month in the year, said Prof Chow.

February usually coincides with the dry phase of the north-east monsoon season, which Singapore is currently experiencing.

The NEA had noted in an earlier forecast that the first fortnight of this month would likely be marked by drier weather and occasionally windy conditions – a change from the wet weather experienced in the second half of last month.

“Climatologically, February is the driest month of the year,” the NEA said then.

But it is still too early to say if the expected deluge over the week would make this February the wettest one yet.

For weather updates from AsiaOne, click here:

This article was first published on Feb 11, 2017.
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Singapore is not training enough dentists to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population, resulting in many foreign and foreign-trained (Singaporeans and PRs) dentists being recruited.

In recent years, locally trained dentists make up less than half the new dentists registered each year.

In 2014, for example, 141 – or 75 per cent – of newly registered dentists were trained overseas. Only 46 – or 25 per cent – were local graduates.

A Ministry of Health (MOH) spokesman said the demand for dental care is projected to grow in the coming years.

Singapore’s chief dental officer, Associate Professor Patrick Tseng, told The Straits Times: “With an ageing population, demand for dental services is not only increasing but also changing due to the more complex dental needs of geriatric patients.”

To cater to a growing need for dentists, the faculty of dentistry at the National University of Singapore increased its intake from 48 in 2010 to 54 last year, the MOH spokesman said.

The number will continue to grow to an annual intake of 80 undergraduates with the opening of the National University Centre for Oral Health in about three years.

She added that half the overseas-trained dentists are Singaporeans or permanent residents. Foreigners account for only one in five dentists practising here.

Of the overseas-trained locals, 12 were recipients of a pre-employment grant where the ministry pays up to 60 per cent of tuition fees for the last two years of study at a recognised foreign dental school.

The grant is capped at $50,000 a year. These students are bonded, on graduation, to two years’ service for a one-year grant, and three years if they received the full two-year grant. Another four grant recipients will be returning to work here this year.

The number of dentists here has grown by 40 per cent between 2010 and last year.

Singapore now has about 2,200 dentists, giving it a dentist to population ratio of 1:2,550.

Prof Tseng said Singapore is working towards a target of one dentist to 2,200 people.

Dr Raymond Ang, chief operating officer of dental chain Q&M, which runs more than 70 clinics islandwide, said almost a quarter of its 220 dentists are foreigners.

Dr Ang said the chain feels it is important to keep its “Singapore identity”, especially in its heartland clinics, but does need to employ foreigners “to complement and supplement our team”.

Prof Tseng said that “patients are also becoming more knowledgeable and aware of their dental health” and he foresees growing demand for preventive screening, treatment of root and dental caries as well as gum disease.

Older people will be looking at “conservative replacement of lost teeth”.

To cater to the growing needs of older people, the MOH spokesman said the dentistry undergraduate curriculum “has been modified to better emphasise dental care for geriatric patients”.

The ministry has also been encouraging more dentists to specialise in geriatric dentistry by offering scholarships for post-graduate studies in this discipline.

There are now seven such specialists in the public sector, who offer training and upgrading courses for general dentists.

Specialist dentists make up 16.4 per cent of dentists here, according to the Singapore Dental Council’s 2014 annual report.

Almost a third of them are in orthodontics, providing mostly youngsters with braces to straighten their teeth.

Two in three dental specialists work in the private sector, as do almost four in five general dentists.

But with subsidies from the Community Health Assist and Pioneer Generation schemes, poorer patients can turn to private dental care.

Read also: Dentists the most sought after medical specialist in S’pore
More doctors and dentists sharpen up on acupuncture

This article was first published on Feb 11, 2017.
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