The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Advisory Panel, chaired by Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, on Wednesday (Feb 3) submitted its first batch of recommendations to the Government on ways to enhance the CPF system to better meet the needs of Singaporeans in their retirement years.
There were a total of nine recommendations submitted, including the introduction of a Basic Retirement Sum, an additional lump sum withdrawal point when the member is 65 years old, and allowing members to defer their payout starting age.
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
New scholarship for Singaporeans pursuing careers in academia
Young Singaporeans keen to pursue a career in academia will now be able to apply for a new scholarship to bring them closer to their goal. Education Minister Heng Swee Keat announced this at the inaugural Raffles Dialogue on Monday (Feb 2).
The Ministry of Education-Autonomous University (MOE-AU) Scholarship will be offered to students who are about to pursue or are in the midst of pursuing their undergraduate studies. About 10 to 15 scholarships will be offered each year to those who demonstrate a high level of proficiency, motivation and interest in a particular field.
The Ministry of Education-Autonomous University (MOE-AU) Scholarship will be offered to students who are about to pursue or are in the midst of pursuing their undergraduate studies. About 10 to 15 scholarships will be offered each year to those who demonstrate a high level of proficiency, motivation and interest in a particular field.
A strong armed force, a strong nation
Fifty years of nation building, fifty years of national defence. As the country celebrates five decades of independence, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) celebrates its golden jubilee too. We look at how the men and women of the SAF have helped to build a formidable armed force over the years.
It is no coincidence that the history of the SAF is closely intertwined with that of Singapore's independence.
Back in 1965, the SAF was established to protect the young and vulnerable nation-state as she embarked on her journey as a sovereign state. As Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin."
It is no coincidence that the history of the SAF is closely intertwined with that of Singapore's independence.
Back in 1965, the SAF was established to protect the young and vulnerable nation-state as she embarked on her journey as a sovereign state. As Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin."
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Positive outlook for Singapore in immediate future: Lim Hng Kiang
With a strong pipeline of investments, the overall outlook for Singapore looks positive in the immediate future, said Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.
However, he also cautioned that Singapore faces some challenges in the immediate one to two years - these include an ageing population and the task of matching Singaporeans' aspirations.
Mr Lim was speaking during a visit to the Braddell Heights ward on Sunday (Feb 1) - his first visit in 20 years. During a dialogue with residents of the ward, he was asked for his take on Singapore's future economy and population.
Citing a 2011 World Bank study of 101 middle-income countries, Mr Lim noted that Singapore was one of just 13 countries that managed to move from middle- to high-income, over a period of 50 years.
But he stressed that Singapore still has to be cautious: "What it means for us as we celebrate 50 years is - number one, it is not very easy to become a high income country; and number two, it is also not very easy to stay there.
"There is a lot of competition and if you mismanage like some countries - for example Greece - you can drop very quickly and the drop need not be gradual, it can be a very severe drop over a period of five years. As we look after Singapore and we look to our future, let us be careful and reinforce those things which make us successful. Let us also be careful not to fall down the slippery slope and end up with such problems."
With investments coming into Singapore and local companies investing overseas, Mr Lim said he is confident that the country will be able to maintain steady growth of between two and four per cent. This is because of Singapore's strong pipeline of investments, the Economic Development Board still being able to attract investments to Singapore, and Singapore companies investing overseas - which allow them to generate good jobs with their headquarters in Singapore to look after their overseas subsidiaries.
However, he cautioned that there may be some ups and downs. One challenge is the slowdown in Europe, China and Japan's economic engines.
"We have to find new opportunities for our companies. But overall, we are still optimistic that we can generate the jobs and the big challenge now is how to match Singaporeans with these jobs," said Mr Lim.
"HUMAN RESOURCE IS THE BEST AND ONLY RESOURCE WE HAVE"
Thus the need for Singapore's focus on education and training. "Human resource is the best and only resource that we have. Other resources, like land and energy, will face greater constraints. If you look at what we've achieved in the last 50 years and look ahead to the next 50 years, there's optimism we can do more," said Mr Lim.
He cited how in 1966, only half of Singaporeans continued education past the primary six level. This is reflected in a high percentage of the current workforce having primary and secondary level qualifications.
But Mr Lim noted that this demographic has changed - more than 50 per cent of those who are under 30 and entering the workforce are now graduates. Another 30 per cent are polytechnic graduates, with less than 15 to 20 per cent having primary or secondary school qualifications.
He said that while an increasingly educated workforce is welcomed, this poses challenges as well and the economy has to adapt: "If your restaurants depend currently on the older workers with less education to be serving them - 10 to 15 years from now, these people will not be in the workforce. Your new workforce are polytechnic diploma holders and graduates. Therefore, you have to restructure your service industry to cater for this new profile of workers.
"In MTI and MOM, we are very concerned and we study all these statistics very carefully... The objective given to us is to make sure we are able to restructure the economy, make sure we can generate good jobs that satisfy and meet the aspirations of our new workers."
About 280 people attended the dialogue, which lasted for over an hour. Questions ranged from Singapore's education system, to changing consumer habits and the Central Provident Fund. One participant also asked what the role of SMEs looks like in Singapore's future. Mr Lim said that moving forward, it will be key to have a strong pipeline of startups and SMEs, and to facilitate local SME tie-ups with big companies and foreign SMEs.
However, he also cautioned that Singapore faces some challenges in the immediate one to two years - these include an ageing population and the task of matching Singaporeans' aspirations.
Mr Lim was speaking during a visit to the Braddell Heights ward on Sunday (Feb 1) - his first visit in 20 years. During a dialogue with residents of the ward, he was asked for his take on Singapore's future economy and population.
Citing a 2011 World Bank study of 101 middle-income countries, Mr Lim noted that Singapore was one of just 13 countries that managed to move from middle- to high-income, over a period of 50 years.
But he stressed that Singapore still has to be cautious: "What it means for us as we celebrate 50 years is - number one, it is not very easy to become a high income country; and number two, it is also not very easy to stay there.
"There is a lot of competition and if you mismanage like some countries - for example Greece - you can drop very quickly and the drop need not be gradual, it can be a very severe drop over a period of five years. As we look after Singapore and we look to our future, let us be careful and reinforce those things which make us successful. Let us also be careful not to fall down the slippery slope and end up with such problems."
With investments coming into Singapore and local companies investing overseas, Mr Lim said he is confident that the country will be able to maintain steady growth of between two and four per cent. This is because of Singapore's strong pipeline of investments, the Economic Development Board still being able to attract investments to Singapore, and Singapore companies investing overseas - which allow them to generate good jobs with their headquarters in Singapore to look after their overseas subsidiaries.
However, he cautioned that there may be some ups and downs. One challenge is the slowdown in Europe, China and Japan's economic engines.
"We have to find new opportunities for our companies. But overall, we are still optimistic that we can generate the jobs and the big challenge now is how to match Singaporeans with these jobs," said Mr Lim.
"HUMAN RESOURCE IS THE BEST AND ONLY RESOURCE WE HAVE"
Thus the need for Singapore's focus on education and training. "Human resource is the best and only resource that we have. Other resources, like land and energy, will face greater constraints. If you look at what we've achieved in the last 50 years and look ahead to the next 50 years, there's optimism we can do more," said Mr Lim.
He cited how in 1966, only half of Singaporeans continued education past the primary six level. This is reflected in a high percentage of the current workforce having primary and secondary level qualifications.
But Mr Lim noted that this demographic has changed - more than 50 per cent of those who are under 30 and entering the workforce are now graduates. Another 30 per cent are polytechnic graduates, with less than 15 to 20 per cent having primary or secondary school qualifications.
He said that while an increasingly educated workforce is welcomed, this poses challenges as well and the economy has to adapt: "If your restaurants depend currently on the older workers with less education to be serving them - 10 to 15 years from now, these people will not be in the workforce. Your new workforce are polytechnic diploma holders and graduates. Therefore, you have to restructure your service industry to cater for this new profile of workers.
"In MTI and MOM, we are very concerned and we study all these statistics very carefully... The objective given to us is to make sure we are able to restructure the economy, make sure we can generate good jobs that satisfy and meet the aspirations of our new workers."
About 280 people attended the dialogue, which lasted for over an hour. Questions ranged from Singapore's education system, to changing consumer habits and the Central Provident Fund. One participant also asked what the role of SMEs looks like in Singapore's future. Mr Lim said that moving forward, it will be key to have a strong pipeline of startups and SMEs, and to facilitate local SME tie-ups with big companies and foreign SMEs.
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
NUS climbs 23 places in global university rankings
The National University of Singapore (NUS) was ranked 111th among the world's universities, helped by improvements in the field of Engineering and Technology and Computer Sciences.
The university said on Friday (Aug 15) that it jumped 23 places from 2013's 134th placing in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), and remains within the 101-150 band of more than 1,200 varsities ranked each year.
The rankings were conducted by the Centre for World-Class Universities (CWCU) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, which started the project back in 2003.
The university said on Friday (Aug 15) that it jumped 23 places from 2013's 134th placing in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), and remains within the 101-150 band of more than 1,200 varsities ranked each year.
The rankings were conducted by the Centre for World-Class Universities (CWCU) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, which started the project back in 2003.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Slow retail sales in Q2 despite Great Singapore Sale
The triple whammy of MH370's disappearance, Thailand’s political turmoil and China’s legislation on overseas tour packages contributed to a 1.7 per cent on-year dip for international visitor arrivals in Singapore for the first five months of 2014.
The drop in tourism numbers, coupled with declining GDP growth and the increasing popularity of online shopping have led to slower Q2 sales for retailers here, according to a report from real estate service provider Savills released on Friday (Aug 15).
The drop in tourism numbers, coupled with declining GDP growth and the increasing popularity of online shopping have led to slower Q2 sales for retailers here, according to a report from real estate service provider Savills released on Friday (Aug 15).
Monday, 11 August 2014
Singapore's sharing economy is on the rise
Do you have a spare tennis racket or power drill lying around the house? You can turn a profit from these under-used possessions by renting them out to strangers who need them. Such services are part of the sharing economy, which is growing quickly in Singapore.
Rent Tycoons is the sector’s first such portal in Singapore, and it helps to match owners with renters. In less than two years, some 2,000 owners have signed up. The platform "allows anybody to share whatever that is within their homes, making it possible to share these resources with not just your friends and family, but also with strangers and your neighbours", said co-founder Fenni Wang.
Rent Tycoons is the sector’s first such portal in Singapore, and it helps to match owners with renters. In less than two years, some 2,000 owners have signed up. The platform "allows anybody to share whatever that is within their homes, making it possible to share these resources with not just your friends and family, but also with strangers and your neighbours", said co-founder Fenni Wang.
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