Singapore’s wealthiest man is getting richer to the tune of more than US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) a month this year, as the stock price of his medical devices company soared by almost 50 per cent amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The fortunes of Li Xiting, the co-founder and chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics, have risen by US$4.3 billion this year to US$13.5 billion, according to Bloomberg data, or an average of US$37.7 million every 24 hours.
That makes Li, born in eastern China’s Anhui province, the wealthiest man in Singapore, where he has been a citizen since at least 2018.
Mindray’s shares have jumped since the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in central China’s Hubei province, spread worldwide, sickening more than 2 million people.
The stock on Thursday traded near a record-high of 270.52 yuan on the ChiNext market in Shenzhen, giving it a market value of 329 billion yuan (US$46.5 billion).
Now, I don’t want to say that an ongoing global outbreak is a prime time to consider getting a new TV, but considering that you’ll be stuck at home for at least five more weeks (and perhaps even beyond that) you could probably use a nice upgrade to an ageing screen still sputtering in the living room.
I mean sure, times are tough and income streams might be a tad bit unstable, but consider this: it’s a 55-inch smart TV that probably costs half the price of your mobile phone.
SINGAPORE: Sales of new private homes in Singapore plunged in the first quarter of the year along with a dip in prices, amid disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed on Friday (Apr 24).
Expectations are that the private property market will deteriorate even further, as the “circuit breaker” measures take hold.
Developers sold 2,149 homes (excluding executive condominiums) in the first three months of the year, down 12 per cent from 2,443 units in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
This came on the back of fewer launches: Developers released 2,093 homes for sale in the January to March period, compared with 2,226 units in the previous three months.
Along with the fall in take-up, private home prices declined 1 per cent, slightly better than the -1.2 per cent flagged in the flash estimates released earlier this month. This compares with the 0.5 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
The sentiment was similar in the public housing market, where resale transactions fell 7 per cent in the first quarter.
(Image: URA)
“Ever since COVID-19 reached Singapore shores and worsened, property buyers have turned opportunistic, prudent and highly price-sensitive,” said property analyst Ong Kah Seng.
“Times will be even harsher from Q2 2020, as COVID-19 conditions further worsen,” he added.
Singapore has put in place a circuit breaker period to stem the spread of the virus, closing most non-essential workplaces and schools. The one-month period was originally scheduled to end on May 4, but has since been extended to Jun 1.
With stricter safe distancing measures and travel restrictions installed by governments around the world, potential buyers from foreign countries have all but disappeared while show flats have been closed and house viewings postponed.
“Singapore’s property market recovery came to an abrupt halt amid the global pandemic and growing macroeconomic uncertainties,” said Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie.
She said that prices of private homes for the entire year could decline up to 4 per cent if the pandemic continues to drag on, although pent-up demand could see a rise in buying activity when the COVID-19 measures are eased.
“Although the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic remain uncertain, the bright side is that Singapore’s property market has always recovered after every economic crisis. Buying activities could pick up faster than other downturns given the pent-up demand from many weeks of home isolation,” said Ms Sun.
Prices of landed properties fell by 0.9 per cent in the first quarter, reversing a 3.6 per cent increase in the previous quarter, said URA.
In the non-landed market, prices declined 1 per cent as homes in the Core Central Region (CCR) lagged, extending the 0.3 per cent decrease in the previous quarter.
By region, prices of non-landed properties in CCR fell the most by 2.2 per cent in the first quarter, followed by the Rest of Central Region (RCR) at -0.5 per cent and Outside Central Region (OCR) at -0.4 per cent.
(Image: URA)
RENTAL MARKET
Compared to the sales market, rentals of private homes performed relatively well, rising 1.1 per cent in the first quarter, a rebound from the 1 per cent fall in the previous quarter.
This was boosted by rentals of non-landed properties, which rose 1.3 per cent, compared with rentals of landed properties, which fell 0.9 per cent.
By geography, rentals of non-landed homes in the OCR performed the best (+1.9 per cent), followed by CCR (+1.4 per cent) and RCR (+0.6 per cent).
SUPPLY IN THE PIPELINE
As of end-March, there was a total supply of 48,868 uncompleted private residential units (excluding ECs) in the pipeline with planning approvals, compared with the 49,173 units in the previous quarter.
Of these, 29,149 units remained unsold at the end of the first quarter, compared with the 30,162 units in the previous quarter.
In the EC market, there is an upcoming supply of 3,613 homes in the pipeline with planning approvals, with 1,950 units unsold.
Based on the expected completion dates reported by developers, 5,134 units (including ECs) will be completed in the remaining three quarters of this year. An additional 10,816 units (including ECs) will be completed in 2021.
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SINGAPORE: The Government will set aside S$100 million to fund a traineeship scheme to help new graduates amid a weakening job market due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Jun 1, recent graduates of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), polytechnics, universities and other institutions will be able to tap on the new SGUnited Traineeships Programme to boost their employability, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) said in a joint release on Friday (Apr 24).
First announced during the Resilience Budget last month, the programme aims to support graduates and help them gain work experience.
In their joint release on Friday the authorities gave more details about the initiative and provided an update on companies which have signed up.
Under the programme, traineeships will last for up to 12 months. Trainees will get a monthly training allowance, based on the scope and skills required for the traineeship.
(Graphic: Ministry of Manpower and Workforce Singapore)
The Government will fund 80 per cent of the allowance and the trainee’s host company will fund the remainder.
This monthly training allowance is pegged to 50 to 70 per cent of median starting salaries, according to WSG and MOM. Host companies will not have to make CPF contributions for the trainees as “there is no employer-employee relationship” under the programme, said the authorities.
To qualify for the programme, trainees must be a Singapore citizen or permanent resident. They must also have graduated – or be graduating – in calendar year 2019 or 2020, or have graduated earlier and completed National Service in 2019 or 2020.
Trainees should have graduated from ITEs, polytechnics, universities or educational institutions such as private universities and overseas institutions.
To date, more than 280 organisations across the private sector, Government and institutes of higher learning have offered more than 4,000 traineeships under the programme, said the authorities. These organisations include Singtel, DBS Bank, Surbana Jurong and the National University of Singapore.
The aim is to have up to 8,000 traineeship opportunities this year across fields such as life sciences, engineering and the arts, said MOM and WSG.
WSG has appointed the Singapore Business Federation programme manager for the SGUnited Traineeships Programme. The federation will work with host companies to review and approve the scope and development plans of their proposed traineeships.
Those interested in applying can look for traineeship opportunities on MyCareersFuture.sg. Host companies can also advertise these positions with the hashtag #SGUnitedTraineeships.
“We are heartened that despite difficult business conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak, many firms, large and small, have stepped forward to join the SGUnited Traineeships Programme,” said WSG Chief Executive Tan Choon Shian. “With these firms participating as hosting companies, our fresh graduates will be able to use this traineeship period to prepare themselves for the eventual recovery, and we can be better assured that our Singapore workforce will remain resilient, robust and ready to rebound.”
SINGAPORE – More than 200 locally made UV disinfecting mobile robots will be rolled out in shopping malls and the healthcare and transport sectors by the end of the year to help fight against Covid-19.
These autonomous UV mobile robots, known as Sunburst UV Bots, are made by local robotics technology firm PBA Group and are built with a lamp module emitting powerful ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light.
The robots will first be deployed in Northpoint City in May and eventually, in all 14 malls owned by Frasers Property, PBA Group and Frasers said in a joint statement on Thursday (April 23).
Frasers will be the first mall operator to utilise the robots in their malls.
The UV-C rays emitted by the lamp module help decontaminate the environment by tearing apart strands of virus DNA. The robots move around autonomously and are guided by light detection and ranging sensors.
Popular supper spot Al-Azhar Eating Restaurant may have gotten some praise for shutting its Tampines outlet to provide food for foreign workers amid the Covid-19 crisis — but it turns out that the restaurant wasn’t telling the full story.
SINGAPORE – Pastor Samuel Gift Stephen spends his days trying to ensure migrant workers in Singapore, confined to cramped dormitories due to an outbreak of coronavirus, all remain well fed.
He runs one of a number of non-governmental organisations working with authorities and employers to deliver meals to dormitories where workers are either under government quarantine or ordered to stay home to curb transmission of the disease.
Singapore has seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases to over 10,000 infections this week, the vast majority from dormitories where workers mainly from Bangladesh and India live in bunk rooms each housing 12 to 20 men.
The government has said employers are required to provide sufficient food for workers during this lockdown period, but it is also working with NGOs like Stephen’s Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach (AGWO) to make up any shortfalls.
With the tightened CB measures set in place, Singaporeans had to say goodbye to their favourite bubble tea (BBT) stores. Thankfully, a few BBT shops are still open as they operate at hawker centres, coffee shops, food courts and cafes.
If you’re wondering where to get your daily cuppa fix, desserts and cakes (yes, cakes are comfort food in bad times), here is a list of F&B outlets that are still open during the extend CB period, so you don’t have to go cold turkey.
