SINGAPORE: The Festival Walk shopping mall in Hong Kong that was extensively damaged during protests last week will remain closed until further notice.

“Due to the extensive damage incurred, recovery works including the cleaning up of debris and the assessment of repair works required, are ongoing,” said the manager of Singapore-listed Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) on Tuesday. MNACT owns the shopping mall. 

READ: Options narrow for last Hong Kong campus protesters as arrests take a toll

Metal hoardings have been erected at parts of the mall for safety and security precautions. The insurers have been notified and an assessment of claims is underway, the manager said.

“We are assisting and working closely with our tenants as the mall is not operational,” it added.

READ: Commentary: This may be the end of Hong Kong as we know it

Festival Walk, an upmarket shopping mall in Kowloon Tong, has been closed since 2pm on Nov 12 after groups of protesters smashed glass panels at entrances to the property, including the office lobby and balustrades on various levels of the mall, the manager said.

They also set fire to a Christmas tree in the atrium of the mall.

Units in MNACT – which generates about 62 per cent of its net property income from Hong Kong – has dropped more than 6 per cent since before Festival Walk was damaged on Nov 12.

A note by OCBC analysts suggests that investors could remain cautious.

“From our understanding, MNACT has two types of insurance coverage. Firstly, a policy on physical damage with an adequate sum covered. Secondly, MNACT also has business interruption insurance which covers for the loss of rental income,” OCBC Investment Research said in a note last week.

“MNACT has initiated the process for claims and a site inspection has already been carried out by the insurers. However, given that there would likely be a backlog of claims from other affected parties amid city-wide disruptions, we believe it would take time before any reimbursement is done.”

READ: Hong Kong Q3 GDP shrinks 3.2%, confirms depth of recession

It said that sentiment in the stock is likely to remain weak, and volatility in the share price may persist in the near-term.

“Hence, for investors who are open to taking a longer-term view and willing to accept potential near-term volatility, gradual accumulation would be the prudent approach,” it said.

MORE: Our coverage of the Hong Kong protests

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SINGAPORE: Singapore and Mexico have signed a number of new agreements in a bid to promote greater collaboration, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made his first official visit to Mexico.

The prime minister’s two-day visit, which concludes on Wednesday (Nov 20), underscored the “growing bilateral relations” between both countries, the two sides said in a joint statement released by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

READ: Asia not ‘centre of the world’, needs cooperation with other regions to progress: PM Lee

Five agreements were signed between Singapore bodies and their Mexican counterparts as part of the visit. They spanned areas including technical and scientific cooperation, culture, industrial property and international development.

On Tuesday, Mr Lee met Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the National Palace.

Both leaders welcomed the growing trade and investment cooperation between their two countries and underscored the importance of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which is already in force between Singapore and Mexico.

They also touched on Singapore’s bid to become an Associate Member of the Pacific Alliance, a grouping of four Latin American countries.

“Both leaders looked forward to the successful completion of the negotiations that will lead to Singapore becoming an Associate Member of the Pacific Alliance, a step that seeks to further enhance trade and productive investment for both countries, and supported the intention of concluding the process this year,” said the joint statement.

Last year, bilateral trade between Singapore and Mexico amounted to more than US$2.8 billion (S$3.8 billion), making Mexico Singapore’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America.

Mr Obrador also welcomed Singapore’s more than US$871 million of investments in Mexico.

The two leaders encouraged Mexican companies to leverage Singapore as a gateway to explore growth potential in Asia, noting Singapore’s position as a “strategic hub” in the region as well as the strength of Mexico’s private sector.

They also noted the participation of Singapore company Surbana Jurong in the development of the masterplan of Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor, and agreed to explore future collaboration in areas such as logistics, finance and port management.

More partnerships between Singapore and Mexico’s academic and cultural institutions were also welcomed by Mr Lee and Mr Obrador.

These include possible areas of collaboration between Singapore’s Civil Service College and Mexico, the establishment of an international office of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (a Mexican university) within the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and an exhibition of Mexican culture next year as part of a collaboration between the National Museum of Singapore and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.

Mr Lee was accompanied on his official visit by a delegation of ministers, parliamentarians, government officials and business people.

BARCELONA: Singapore hopes to be a “living laboratory” for developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions globally – an ambition that plays to its strengths, according to Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative Vivian Balakrishnan.

Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Foreign Affairs Minister, was speaking at the opening session of the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday (Nov 19), where he made a pitch for Singapore’s attractiveness as an AI hub.

For example, testing solutions in Singapore would be facilitated by agile regulations, as the country has just “a single layer of government”.

“We understand science, technology, engineering. We get it and we’re able to make decisions quickly, pivot instantly and seek opportunities that new technology will provide,” said Dr Balakrishnan. 

He added that the digitally literate population and “excellent first-world” digital infrastructure are key advantages.

His pitch comes on the back of Singapore’s new National AI Strategy, which seeks to intensify AI development and deployment across the country.

PROGRESS ON SMART NATION FASTER THAN EXPECTED

The plan is the next step of the country’s Smart Nation initiative, which kicked off five years ago in a bid to harness the benefits of digital technology.

Speaking to CNA on the sidelines of the event, Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore has made good progress on these initiatives – in fact, “faster than what (he) anticipated”.

However, efforts have to keep surging forward, as challenges lie ahead, especially when it comes to achieving the country’s bold AI ambitions.

The biggest hurdle is a shortage of manpower with relevant and updated skills. 

“This gap is something which we need to fill urgently,” said Dr Balakrishnan.

“Of course, we will also be part of a global network and we work with overseas partners but that is no replacement for having a hard core nucleus of Singaporeans on top of the game.”

Another part of the equation that is still missing is “smart money” – or investors with deep expertise, he said.

Dr Balakrishnan called for more venture capitalists, angel investors, and mentors “who have not just money, but networks and insights and perspective to share”. 

IMPORTANCE OF TAKING A HUMAN-CENTRIC APPROACH

Dr Balakrishnan also emphasised the importance of taking a human-centric approach, to ensure that new technology has a positive impact on people.

He said: “The first paramount concern always has to be jobs, meaning what are the new jobs that I’ve created? … What skills, what education, what exposure will our own local Singaporeans need?”

With privacy and safety at the forefront of discussions on AI, he also assured that Singapore is committed to ethics.

This focus should not be seen as a “roadblock to development” but rather a “competitive advantage”, as good governance builds trust, he said.

“You think about a car – if you didn’t have brakes, you can’t drive a very fast car.”

REMAINING OPEN IS KEY

When asked how US-China trade tensions would affect Singapore’s digital development goals, Dr Balakrishnan reiterated that Singapore’s attitude is to remain “open and inclusive and fair”.

He added that there’s no telling “how things will pan out“.

“In the meantime, there’s a need for small and medium-sized countries not to stay still and wait for this contest to be resolved, but to move forward,” he said.