7 BTO projects launched, BTO supply in 2012 a record

7 BTO projects launched, BTO supply in 2012 a record
Posted: 21 November 2012 1043 hrs

SINGAPORE: HDB launched seven Build-To-Order (BTO) projects on Wednesday, offering 6,463 new flats in two non-mature towns (Choa Chu Kang and Sengkang) and three mature towns (Bedok, Queenstown and Toa Payoh).

With this launch, the total BTO flat supply in 2012 will reach 27,084 units. This will be the largest BTO supply in a year since the BTO system was introduced in 2002.

Together with another 7,153 balance flats offered earlier in the March and September 2012 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises, HDB has launched a total of 34,237 new flats in 2012.

In January 2013, HDB will offer about 3,320 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Kallang Whampoa, Tampines and Yishun.

HDB is planning for at least 20,000 BTO flats in 2013.

First-timers will continue to enjoy priority flat allocation with at least 95% and 85% of the BTO flat supply (excluding Studio Apartments) set aside for them in mature towns and non-mature towns respectively.

The Multi-Generation Priority Scheme (MGPS) will be available to those applying for flats at Fengshan GreenVille, Ghim Moh Edge and Toa Payoh Crest.

Elderly flat owners in Bedok, Queenstown and Toa Payoh will also enjoy doubled balloting chances under the Ageing-In-Place Priority Scheme (APPS) when they apply for a Studio Apartment in Fengshan GreenVille, Ghim Moh Edge and Toa Payoh Crest.

Eigible first-timer households can also enjoy up to $60,000 of housing grants comprising Additional CPF Housing Grant ($40,000) and Special CPF Housing Grant ($20,000).

Inclusive of these grants, 3-room flats will be priced from as low as S$111,000 and 4-room flats from S$228,000. This will help young couples buy their first home (See table below).

(Photo: HDB)


- CNA/ir


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Ingress

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竹脚妇幼医院两名新生婴儿出院时被对调

Updated: 11/20/2012 07:41
竹脚妇幼医院两名新生婴儿出院时被对调

这两名新生婴儿是昨天出院。不过，院方搞乱两人的身份，直到其中一名家长发现婴儿身上的标签，写着另一名产妇的名字时，才揭发这起事件。

竹脚妇幼医院发生乌龙事件，两名新生婴儿出院时被对调。

这两名新生婴儿是昨天出院。不过，院方搞乱两人的身份，直到其中一名家长发现婴儿身上的标签，写着另一名产妇的名字时，才揭发这起事件。

院方在接获通知后，立刻展开调查，确认两名新生婴儿母亲的身份。目前，两名婴儿已经同亲生母亲团聚，他们情况良好。院方对事件感到遗憾，并展开彻底调查。院方也为两家人提供医药和心理上的援助。

医院非常严肃看待这起事件，并对事件展开全面检讨，院方也已经通知卫生部。医院向受影响的父母致歉，并承诺会采取所有必要措施，避免类似事件发生。


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研究：少年越快乐 成年收入越高

研究：少年越快乐 成年收入越高

研究显示，少年时期越快乐，成年后收入越高。

科研人员对1万名美国少年进行长达10年的追踪调查后发现，少年时期较不快乐的人，29岁时的收入比平均少百分之30；少年时较快乐的人，29岁时的收入则比平均高出百分之10。

参与调查的青少年必须在16、18和22岁时，完成问卷调查，评估他们对生活的满意度。研究人员排除了性别、智商、健康情况、身高等因素后发现，收入多寡与年轻时的快乐程度有关。即使是来自同一个家庭的兄弟姐妹，较快乐的人，收入也会更高。

研究人员认为，一个人快乐时，顾虑就比较少，注意力也比较集中，因此，能更专注地为事业打拼。


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MOE, SEAB to stop listing top-scoring students in all national exams

MOE, SEAB to stop listing top-scoring students in all national exams
By Kimberly Spykerman | Posted: 20 November 2012 2000 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will stop listing the top-scoring students in all national examinations.

The ministry told Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday that it will stop the current practice of listing the top students for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), and the "O" and "N" Level examinations.

MOE began providing a list of top students in 1999 but has never indicated the top scorers for the "A" Level examination.

Ahead of the release of the results of this year's PSLE on Thursday, MOE said the focus will be on the performance of the whole cohort.

This is in line with the importance of recognising the students for their holistic development and all-round excellence.

Amid the current debate on the pressure the PSLE exerts on parents and students, MOE hopes the change will balance the over-emphasis on academic results.

MOE said this does not mean that academic achievement will no longer be celebrated.

Students who have done well academically will still receive recognition for their hard work, such as through the Edusave Awards and scholarships.

At the school level, schools may continue to celebrate their students' achievements to recognise their students' efforts and to use this platform for students to express their appreciation to teachers and parents.

MOE hopes that this change will enable it to foster a better balance in emphasis and help parents and students understand that academic performance is just one aspect of a student's overall development and progress.

MOE stressed that each student deserves to be commended for his or her effort and progress.

- CNA/de

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More Asian companies turning to bond market

More Asian companies turning to bond market
By Thomas Cho | Posted: 20 November 2012 2116 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: More Asian companies are turning to the bond market for a cheaper source of long-term financing.

This following rising liquidity in the region as major central banks in the United States, Europe and Japan undertake quantitative easing measures.

Bonds issued in Asia, excluding Australia and Japan, have increased some 55 percent from US$461 billion in the first 10 months of 2011 to US$706 billion till end of October this year.

Looking ahead, rising investor demand for safe assets will boost the Asian bond market further.

Debt financing through corporate bonds has been mostly popular among companies in South Korea and Japan.

Analysts said the trend has now caught on with Southeast Asian firms.

Bond issuance in local currency has grown 26 per cent in Indonesia and over 18 percent in the Philippines and Singapore in the second quarter of 2012 year-on-year.

And among the big players are companies in the energy, transportation, and real estate sectors.

Big issues include Genting Singapore's S$1.8 billion perpetual bonds at 5.125 percent, as well as several notes by OCBC and DBS.

Adam McCabe, Senior Portfolio Manager, Asian Fixed Income, Aberdeen Asset Management Asia, said: "From an investor's perspective, Southeast Asia has a very mature market relative to some of the more immature and developing markets. If you look at Singapore particularly, the sovereign rating is triple A. That is one of the very few triple A rated sovereign in the world."

With growing economic uncertainty, analysts said more investors are turning to safe assets like bonds.

Rising inflation is also a concern as investments in risky assets may yield negative real returns after adjusting for inflation.

Lenny Feder, Group Head of Wholesale Banking Management Group at Standard Chartered Bank, said: "People are risk-adversity these days. So, they have a lot of money sitting in cash. Cash in the bank account isn't earning very much at all. So, on a relative basis, a bond may be a more attractive investment. But, in addition, if you are going to invest in bonds globally, then will you rather be investing in Asia where there is a lot of growth potential versus the West, where there is less?"

Islamic bonds are now becoming popular as well in the region.

These bonds that do not pay coupon interest are likely to be in hot demand by cash-rich Middle Eastern investors.

Such bonds issued in Asia, excluding Australia and Japan, jumped 17 percent to US$17 billion in the first 10 months of 2012.

Sean Chang, Head of Asian Debt Investment at Baring Asset Management (Asia), said: "The yield differentiate in this region is still attractive and not mentioning currency wise, the outlook is also very positive. With the much better fundamentals in this part of the region, we saw Indonesia got upgraded earlier this year."

Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources has recently raised US$490 million from selling five-year Islamic medium-term notes, called sukuk.

- CNA/de


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Comfort Delgro's taxi booking system restored after technical glitch

Comfort Delgro's taxi booking system restored after technical glitch
By Karen Ng | Posted: 20 November 2012 1721 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Transport operator Comfort Delgro's taxi booking system was down on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson said the taxi booking system was unavailable from 12 noon to 2.30pm due to a technical glitch.

The spokesman added that the system was restored fully at 2.30pm and engineers are currently "pinpointing the cause of the outage".

Comfort Delgro extends its apologies to all commuters who were inconvenienced.

- CNA/de


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World's largest oceanarium opens Nov 22 at RWS

World's largest oceanarium opens Nov 22 at RWS
By Sara Grosse | Posted: 20 November 2012 1603 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will open the world's largest oceanarium on November 22.

The S.E.A Aquarium, which is one of the attractions of the Marine Life Park, will be home to 100,000 marine animals spanning over 800 species in 45 million litres of water.

The centrepiece of the Aquarium is the Open Ocean Habitat with a viewing panel that stands at 8.3 metres tall by 36 metres wide.

Besides schools of fish, visitors can expect to see stingrays, zebra sharks and Queensland groupers. And over time, new species will be added to the aquarium.

The 25 controversial bottlenose dolphins, which animal activists have been lobbying to release back to their natural habitat, will also call this place home. They will be on display next year to help provide a complete experience.

"Marine Life Park is more than just the dolphins. We are here to present to visitors and guests that walk through our attraction that there is a huge urgent need in the marine environment for conservation and education, and dolphins is one of the components," said Biswajit Guha, Director of Conservation & Education at the Marine Life Park.

For those who want to get wet and wild, the challenge lies at the Adventure Cove Waterpark, which has the region's first hydro-magnetic coaster and a 620-metre Adventure River.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to snorkel with thousands of fish at the Rainbow Reef.

- CNA/il

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Hospitals rely on tags, staff, parents to prevent mix-up of babies

Hospitals rely on tags, staff, parents to prevent mix-up of babies
By Sing Geok Shan | Posted: 20 November 2012 2153 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Hospitals in Singapore have in place robust procedures to ensure that parents do not go home with the wrong baby.

But they also rely on staff and parents to prevent mistakes.

Channel NewsAsia checked with five hospitals on their systems, a day after KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) revealed its mix-up over two babies who were discharged to the wrong sets of parents on Sunday.

All babies are tagged and are carefully checked to ensure that they are matched with their mothers.

Still, the unexpected had happened at KKH.

The baby who left the hospital first had two correct tags with his mother's name.

The second baby was wearing mismatched tags.

One tag had the name of his mother, while the other carried the name of the mother of the first baby.

This incident has left many wondering why the checks were not thorough enough.

Other maternity hospitals that Channel NewsAsia checked with also rely on tagging.

Each baby is given two tags minutes after birth and when it is time to leave the hospital, staff would check both tags to confirm their identities.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital takes extra simple steps, such as getting the mothers to read out the babies' tags.

It also uses Radio-frequency identification to match baby and mother.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital's chief executive officer, Dr Kelvin Loh, said: "Only if the baby goes off the correct mother, the tag will give off a pleasant chime.

"If the baby goes to the wrong mother, it will actually sound off an alarm so that will be an additional mechanism that will help to match the baby to the right mother."

At least one other hospital is looking at using new technology to ensure that newborn babies are paired with the right mothers.

KKH is still investigating the mix-up and is working with the health ministry to ensure this will be the only and last mix-up incident.

- CNA/lp


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Om Mani Padme Hum

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