ComfortDelGro has introduced eight more premium bus services, providing direct and faster connection from suburban housing estates to city areas in Robinson Road and Shenton Way. From February 25, the buses will service estates in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol and Sengkang. Thereafter, the services will be extended to Bukit Batok in the coming weeks. Residents need only pay a...

Singapore's annual inflation rate hit a 25-year high of 6.6 percent in January, according to Department of Statistics (DOS) data released on Monday. The inflation rate, as indicated by the consumer price index (CPI), was the highest since the 7.5 percent hit in March 1982. From a month earlier, consumer prices in January rose 1.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the DOS said. The Ministry of...

Singapore is stepping up efforts to position itself as a hub for Islamic banking. In the recent Budget, a 5 percent concessionary tax rate was announced for income derived from qualifying Shariah-compliant products. Industry watchers said this would help to draw in key global players. The global Islamic banking sector is estimated to be worth around US$500 billion. And Singapore is making yet another...

Singapore's real estate investment trust (REIT) market is holding up, despite the current weak market conditions, according to the Asian Public Real Estate Association. It said that Singapore REITs are attractive to investors because of their well-diversified and cross-border assets as well as the good regulatory framework here. Singapore is a key player in Asia's REIT space. Together with Japan and Hong...

Property developer CapitaLand has gained control of 96.7 per cent of the Ascott Group. With this level of acceptance, CapitaLand can now compulsorily acquire the remaining shares of Ascott that it does not own. The move will allow CapitaLand to delist Ascott and take it private. But Ascott shareholders, who have yet to accept the offer, can still do so before the closing date of 11 March...

Youths will have a new place to hang out in the heart of the city by the end of next year. The *scape building being built next to Cathay Cineleisure Orchard will be a place where Singapore youths can express themselves. Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said the building will also be involved in the Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Dancing, sports and music are...

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Sunday Singapore has got its economic basics right so even in the face of a looming US recession, the country can cope. And it can also depend on the critical growth in China and India. He was speaking in an interview with South Korea's Arirang TV in Seoul. He said Singapore with its good budget, good economy and strong fundamentals can weather a US recession, even...

The sub-prime crisis in the United States has not affected investment flows within ASEAN countries. Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang who was responding to a question from MP for West Coast GRC Ho Geok Choo, in Parliament on Monday, said feedback from companies show interest within the region remains strong. As at 2006, the total foreign direct investment (FDI) from other ASEAN countries to...

The High Court on Monday dismissed an application by three devotees of the Jing Long Si Temple. The devotees had initiated proceedings to declare that the government's acquisition of the temple site had violated the Constitution. The three devotees had initiated proceedings on January 16 this year, and the case was heard in chambers on January 29. The Court said the devotees had no standing to make the...

It is time to raise the income ceiling for first-time buyers of subsidised public housing, says MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Christopher De Souza. This, he feels, will also help ensure a more equitable distribution of the Budget surplus. Speaking during the Budget debate, Mr De Souza pointed out that it has been 14 years since the HDB last increased the monthly income ceiling for buyers of new flats,...