Internal auditors now compulsory for companies: SIAS
By Ryan Huang | Posted: 30 March 2011 2204 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) is calling for tighter listing rules by making it compulsory for companies to have an internal auditor.
This is to ensure better governance in listed companies and protect shareholder interests.
Market watchers said the requirement for internal auditors should be made stricter, as currently companies can get away with it by citing various excuses such as cost constraints.
The call for a tougher stance follows a recent spate of S-chip companies requesting for trading suspensions to investigate their accounts.
SIAS said it wants the ruling to be enforced and not remain as a best practice recommendation as in the code of corporate governance.
"I would like this to be a listing requirement because if it is then you would find less and less of this happening. Company's internal controls need to be tightened up and one of the best ways to do this is to have an internal auditor, or internal audit department or function," said Mr David Gerald, president and CEO of SIAS.
Other observers believe the issue of internal auditing goes beyond making the role a strict requirement.
The Institute of Internal Auditors believes there is a need to better regulate the industry first.
It said there is currently no requirement for internal auditors to be certified and that has to change.
"The investors or shareholders will think that the checkbox has been ticked and the company has an internal audit function, and the internal auditor is doing what he or she has to do. but what if the internal auditor is not qualified, that will certainly give a false sense of assurance," said Mr Uantchern Loh, president of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
The Institute of Internal Auditors said it is also advocating other revisions to the Code of Corporate Governance.
This includes making it mandatory for companies to disclose if internal auditors have quit, just like in the case of senior level executives.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tech firms set to see more upside
Tech firms set to see more upside
By Chris Howells | Posted: 31 March 2011 0102 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's big technology companies look poised to benefit from rising global consumer demand this year.
Local bank DBS said it expects 20 to 30 per cent upside in the share price of companies such as Venture, Amtek and Hi-P International.
These companies have not reported any supply glitch as well, since the disaster in Japan. They also have sufficient inventories till May.
Strong demand for smart phones and tablet computers, as well as high precision components, will be the main income drivers for this sector.
Singapore-listed Venture Corp, a tech manufacturing company, could face component shortages from the recent disaster in Japan, according to analysts.
But they said the company has significant inventory to fulfil current orders and this helps ensure a smooth production schedule for the firm.
Analysts said its strategy to diversify its product portfolio is likely to offset any shortages as well.
Meanwhile, strong demand for consumer electronics this year is expected to give a boost to the sector overall.
DBS Vickers Securities Equity Research vice-president Tan Ai Teng said: "Right now, demand is still holding up; companies are still benefiting from the sustained economic recovery globally so (there is) not much of an impact (in the) first quarter.
"The March quarter is usually the slower quarter of the year so, we still expect these companies to continue to see an uptick of demand going into the June quarters."
"In terms of my target prices, we are looking for upside ranging from almost 20 per cent for Venture, about 25 per cent for Hi-P and Amtek (at an) even higher percentage".
DBS has bought calls on Venture, Amtek and Hi-P International.
Hi-P is expected to benefit from increasing demand for smart phones and tablets, as it supplies components for these gadgets to major global players in the sector.
Meanwhile, Amtek has strong prospects on the back of solid demand for its high precision metal and plastic components.
Venture is set to benefit from high corporate and industrial exposure.
Small cap stocks like UMS Holdings have also reported no supply disruptions from Japan and could also see upside.
SIAS Research head of Research Roger Tan said: 'UMS is the least impacted; their supply comes mainly from the US and at this point in time, they are probably not seeing disruption in supply.
"In fact, it may be good for them because if prices were to go up because of the supply issues in the semiconductor equipment side, they are the main producers for now, for companies like Applied Materials".
Analysts said despite higher costs for components in the wake of supply disruptions, companies will likely pass these on to its customers and end consumers.
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
By Chris Howells | Posted: 31 March 2011 0102 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's big technology companies look poised to benefit from rising global consumer demand this year.
Local bank DBS said it expects 20 to 30 per cent upside in the share price of companies such as Venture, Amtek and Hi-P International.
These companies have not reported any supply glitch as well, since the disaster in Japan. They also have sufficient inventories till May.
Strong demand for smart phones and tablet computers, as well as high precision components, will be the main income drivers for this sector.
Singapore-listed Venture Corp, a tech manufacturing company, could face component shortages from the recent disaster in Japan, according to analysts.
But they said the company has significant inventory to fulfil current orders and this helps ensure a smooth production schedule for the firm.
Analysts said its strategy to diversify its product portfolio is likely to offset any shortages as well.
Meanwhile, strong demand for consumer electronics this year is expected to give a boost to the sector overall.
DBS Vickers Securities Equity Research vice-president Tan Ai Teng said: "Right now, demand is still holding up; companies are still benefiting from the sustained economic recovery globally so (there is) not much of an impact (in the) first quarter.
"The March quarter is usually the slower quarter of the year so, we still expect these companies to continue to see an uptick of demand going into the June quarters."
"In terms of my target prices, we are looking for upside ranging from almost 20 per cent for Venture, about 25 per cent for Hi-P and Amtek (at an) even higher percentage".
DBS has bought calls on Venture, Amtek and Hi-P International.
Hi-P is expected to benefit from increasing demand for smart phones and tablets, as it supplies components for these gadgets to major global players in the sector.
Meanwhile, Amtek has strong prospects on the back of solid demand for its high precision metal and plastic components.
Venture is set to benefit from high corporate and industrial exposure.
Small cap stocks like UMS Holdings have also reported no supply disruptions from Japan and could also see upside.
SIAS Research head of Research Roger Tan said: 'UMS is the least impacted; their supply comes mainly from the US and at this point in time, they are probably not seeing disruption in supply.
"In fact, it may be good for them because if prices were to go up because of the supply issues in the semiconductor equipment side, they are the main producers for now, for companies like Applied Materials".
Analysts said despite higher costs for components in the wake of supply disruptions, companies will likely pass these on to its customers and end consumers.
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
More bloggers going full-time
More bloggers going full-time
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 26 March 2011 1646 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore has an estimated 100,000 bloggers, with about half of them registered with blog advertising community, Nuffnang Singapore.
Social media experts said this number is set to rise and more will turn blogging into a full-time career.
Nuffnang said top bloggers can earn up to S$5,000 a month, depending on factors like blog demand and editorial content. Other factors include the blogger's style of writing and blog readership.
Most influential bloggers get about one or two ads a month. And as manager of their blogs, Nuffnang limits the number of ads so that blogs do no get over-commercialised.
But with the lure of money, what safeguards are there to ensure young bloggers do not compromise on their reputation in the blogosphere?
Well-known blog Monoxious.com was created by best friends Dawn and Arissa as a hobby in 2009. Their blog, which caters to teens and young working adults, got only seven unique hits a day when it first started.
However, after gaining recognition from blog awards, it now sees close to 1,000 unique hits a day.
Their fashion-centric blog is among a growing trend of niche blogs.
"Last time a lot of people blog to focus on their lifestyle, like what they did today. But now blogs are more inclined towards niche blogs and it has to be focused on few things like travel, food or fashion and beauty. And I think these niche blogs have more potential to expand than personal blogs do," said Dawn.
Like them, there is a growing number of bloggers who get paid for writing brand reviews or advertorials. This as more brands are recognising the power of influence online, and also the lower advertising costs compared to traditional media.
With such monetary gains, one social media expert said more should be done in schools to educate young bloggers on its pitfalls.
Pat Law, a social media blogger and expert, said: "To begin with, it should come from fellow bloggers to other bloggers. We can start by making it known or having events where you talk about our experience as bloggers. We should have at least a module on social media, why there are some things you should not say or can you bear the consequences if you say what you want to say.
"So if there aren't any educational programmes catered to the very fundamental fact that we are dabbling in social media, it's about time."
Nuffnang said it has about 50 bloggers who have signed contracts with them and those below 18 years must have a parent present to attend meetings regarding the contract.
The parent also has to sign the contract on his/her child's behalf. The terms are explained very clearly to both parent and child to ensure they understand and there is a grace period where they can take the contract home to discuss or consult a third party.
Meanwhile, as a content regulator, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said its policies are aimed at safeguarding public interest, increasing media choices and enabling informed decisions by consumers.
It looks out for content that touches on broad areas like "national interest" and "racial and religious harmony", as well as specific areas such as violence, language, sex and drug scenes.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 26 March 2011 1646 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore has an estimated 100,000 bloggers, with about half of them registered with blog advertising community, Nuffnang Singapore.
Social media experts said this number is set to rise and more will turn blogging into a full-time career.
Nuffnang said top bloggers can earn up to S$5,000 a month, depending on factors like blog demand and editorial content. Other factors include the blogger's style of writing and blog readership.
Most influential bloggers get about one or two ads a month. And as manager of their blogs, Nuffnang limits the number of ads so that blogs do no get over-commercialised.
But with the lure of money, what safeguards are there to ensure young bloggers do not compromise on their reputation in the blogosphere?
Well-known blog Monoxious.com was created by best friends Dawn and Arissa as a hobby in 2009. Their blog, which caters to teens and young working adults, got only seven unique hits a day when it first started.
However, after gaining recognition from blog awards, it now sees close to 1,000 unique hits a day.
Their fashion-centric blog is among a growing trend of niche blogs.
"Last time a lot of people blog to focus on their lifestyle, like what they did today. But now blogs are more inclined towards niche blogs and it has to be focused on few things like travel, food or fashion and beauty. And I think these niche blogs have more potential to expand than personal blogs do," said Dawn.
Like them, there is a growing number of bloggers who get paid for writing brand reviews or advertorials. This as more brands are recognising the power of influence online, and also the lower advertising costs compared to traditional media.
With such monetary gains, one social media expert said more should be done in schools to educate young bloggers on its pitfalls.
Pat Law, a social media blogger and expert, said: "To begin with, it should come from fellow bloggers to other bloggers. We can start by making it known or having events where you talk about our experience as bloggers. We should have at least a module on social media, why there are some things you should not say or can you bear the consequences if you say what you want to say.
"So if there aren't any educational programmes catered to the very fundamental fact that we are dabbling in social media, it's about time."
Nuffnang said it has about 50 bloggers who have signed contracts with them and those below 18 years must have a parent present to attend meetings regarding the contract.
The parent also has to sign the contract on his/her child's behalf. The terms are explained very clearly to both parent and child to ensure they understand and there is a grace period where they can take the contract home to discuss or consult a third party.
Meanwhile, as a content regulator, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said its policies are aimed at safeguarding public interest, increasing media choices and enabling informed decisions by consumers.
It looks out for content that touches on broad areas like "national interest" and "racial and religious harmony", as well as specific areas such as violence, language, sex and drug scenes.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
Site at Fusionopolis Link launched for sale by public tender
Site at Fusionopolis Link launched for sale by public tender
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 25 March 2011 2225 hrs
SINGAPORE : JTC Corporation has launched the site at Fusionopolis Link, for Fusionopolis Phase 3, for sale by public tender.
The 6,253 square metre site has a 60-year lease and is on the Confirmed List of the Industrial Government Land Sales programme.
With a plot ratio of 4.0, the zoned business park has set aside 40 per cent of its space for offices.
JTC said Fusionopolis is the key development at one-north that supports infocomm technology and media industries, as well as R&D activities in physical sciences and engineering.
The launch of Fusionopolis Phase 3 is set to further enhance growth of research and development in these sectors, strengthening JTC's efforts in promoting private sector partnership.
The tender for the site will close on May 20.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 25 March 2011 2225 hrs
SINGAPORE : JTC Corporation has launched the site at Fusionopolis Link, for Fusionopolis Phase 3, for sale by public tender.
The 6,253 square metre site has a 60-year lease and is on the Confirmed List of the Industrial Government Land Sales programme.
With a plot ratio of 4.0, the zoned business park has set aside 40 per cent of its space for offices.
JTC said Fusionopolis is the key development at one-north that supports infocomm technology and media industries, as well as R&D activities in physical sciences and engineering.
The launch of Fusionopolis Phase 3 is set to further enhance growth of research and development in these sectors, strengthening JTC's efforts in promoting private sector partnership.
The tender for the site will close on May 20.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
Sarang Ah Nae Ge Oh Gi Man Hae
Sarang Ah Nae Ge Oh Gi Man Hae Lyrics
Sarang Ah Nae Ge Oh Gi Man HaeAshily
Para-nha-nuri nun-bushyo
Waen-ji gasumi apawa
Nado moruge nun kaye isul mae-thim-yon
Sangsangsogeso na-yege
Taga-ul komman gatun kudae-rul
Onjebuton-ga kidaryossotjyo
[Chorus]
Ajik sarangul mollaso ku-dael mollaso
Onje sarangi ulkka
Waiting for your love
Kudae chuguman do kakkayi
Ul sun omnayo
Nae saranga Baby my sweet heart
Nomuna manhun saramdul
Ottohke saranghanunji
Naman honja morugo sarannabwayo
Aju ttaduthan pogunhan
Ttae-ronun talkumhan saranguro
Hangsang chi-nha-ge nae-ge itdon kudae
[Chorus]
Saeng-gang-man hae-do nomuna
Haeng-bokhan norul bol-ttaem-yon
Haru-yedo su chonbon sarang-handan-mal
Onje ottohke sarangi
Naege uryona gidaryonnunde
Imi un-golyo ku-dae algo-buto
[Chorus]
Ku-dae-rul wihan chariga
Nae gasumsoge issoyo
Nanun kud-ael wi-hae-so tae-onan saram
Ku-dae nae-gero un-damyon hamkkehan sigan
I sun-gan boto
Kkum-chorom motjin naye saranga
Ooh naye saranga naege ogiman-hae Title: Love Come To Me (Singer: Ashily)
The blue sky is blinding
My heart hurts for some reason
Dew drops form in my eyes, without me knowing
In my imagination
It feels like you’re getting closer to me
I’ve been waiting for you, I don’t know since when
I still don’t know love, I don’t know who you are
When will love come to me?
Waiting for U, love
Can’t you get a little
Close to me
My love, Babe my sweet heart
All those other people
How can they think of love?
Am I the only one who doesn’t know how?
Very warm and comfortable
And sometimes sweet
With such love you were always with me
I still don’t know love, I don’t know who you are
When will love come to me?
Waiting for U love
Can’t you get a little
Close to me
My love, Babe my sweet heart
Any way that I think about it
When I see you being so happy
And say I love you a thousand times a day
I wondered when and how
Love would come to me
It was already here, Ever since I knew you
There was a place for you
In my heart
I was born to be with you
If you come to me, our time together
From this point on
Will be a dream. My love
Oh, my love, come to me
- wong chee tat :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
SingTel bullish on cloud computing
SingTel bullish on cloud computing
By Ryan Huang | Posted: 28 March 2011 2154 hrs
SINGAPORE: SingTel has raised its forecast of contribution of cloud computing to its revenue.
The telco now expects the segment to now grow as much as 70 per cent each year until 2014, instead of the previously estimated 50 per cent.
This is on the back of a strong take-up rate for its services, and also as more companies think of business continuity measures in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Cloud computing is Internet-based, and shared services, resources and software are provided to users on demand.
The destruction caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan more than two weeks ago has left many companies to pick up the pieces.
SingTel said many of its customers are now thinking more about disaster-recovery measures, and how they can leverage on cloud computing for the business continuity.
SingTel Business Group EVP Bill Chang said: "Recently, with the unfortunate earthquake in Japan, we see that if businesses have the means to move their applications up to the cloud, it will help them secure a lot of their work load and be able to tide through this period".
VMware's Southeast Asia GM Ed Lenta said: "The unfortunate reality is that a lot of our customers in Japan found that their virtualised infrastructures were far easier to recover then their physical infrastructures.
"Virtualisation doesn't just drive consolidation, it standardises the atomic units of your data centre".
SingTel said it is aiming to meet those needs and the wider growth for cloud computing services, with a new enterprise grade offering that it is launching in Singapore and across Asia.
Targeted at large enterprises, this service enables businesses to lease IT infrastructure such as processing power and storage, without losing control over sensitive data, under a pay-as-you-use model called PowerON Compute.
SingTel said it would be the first time the so-called "infrastructure-as-a-service" product will be offered under a hybrid cloud.
A hybrid cloud allows companies the flexibility to decide how much of its sensitive data it wants to manage in-house.
This is opposed to a public cloud where the data is housed externally.
SingTel will be partnering VMware to offer its hybrid cloud solution across Asia, and will be launching it in the coming months in other key Asian cities like Hong Kong.
SingTel currently offers it in Australia through Optus.
VMware chief executive officer Paul Maritz said: "Hybrid clouds provide customers with freedom of choice that will eventually give rise to applications that can be 'dragged and dropped' between clouds and delivered securely to any device, anywhere, at any time".
The telco is bullish on demand for cloud-computing services and has raised its 50 per cent annual growth forecast made last year September.
"We are starting to see more robust growth rates," Mr Chang said.
"That's because Singapore (is getting) more wired up to its fibre connectivity to all businesses. When that happens, (many) more people will be more open to the cloud services.
"The other thing is that there are more smart devices penetration (such as) smart phones and of course, the tablet revolution that's happening. That allows customers and businesses to consume all these cloud services more rapidly."
SingTel said that by tapping on processing power and storage on demand, businesses can reap cost savings of up to 73 per cent.
Mr Chang said: "They will also be able to preserve investments in existing computing infrastructure without changes to their IT operations.
"By improving their productivity and simplifying their processes, we seek to allow customers to increase their business agility, focus on their core business activities and reduce their costs significantly".
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
By Ryan Huang | Posted: 28 March 2011 2154 hrs
SINGAPORE: SingTel has raised its forecast of contribution of cloud computing to its revenue.
The telco now expects the segment to now grow as much as 70 per cent each year until 2014, instead of the previously estimated 50 per cent.
This is on the back of a strong take-up rate for its services, and also as more companies think of business continuity measures in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Cloud computing is Internet-based, and shared services, resources and software are provided to users on demand.
The destruction caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan more than two weeks ago has left many companies to pick up the pieces.
SingTel said many of its customers are now thinking more about disaster-recovery measures, and how they can leverage on cloud computing for the business continuity.
SingTel Business Group EVP Bill Chang said: "Recently, with the unfortunate earthquake in Japan, we see that if businesses have the means to move their applications up to the cloud, it will help them secure a lot of their work load and be able to tide through this period".
VMware's Southeast Asia GM Ed Lenta said: "The unfortunate reality is that a lot of our customers in Japan found that their virtualised infrastructures were far easier to recover then their physical infrastructures.
"Virtualisation doesn't just drive consolidation, it standardises the atomic units of your data centre".
SingTel said it is aiming to meet those needs and the wider growth for cloud computing services, with a new enterprise grade offering that it is launching in Singapore and across Asia.
Targeted at large enterprises, this service enables businesses to lease IT infrastructure such as processing power and storage, without losing control over sensitive data, under a pay-as-you-use model called PowerON Compute.
SingTel said it would be the first time the so-called "infrastructure-as-a-service" product will be offered under a hybrid cloud.
A hybrid cloud allows companies the flexibility to decide how much of its sensitive data it wants to manage in-house.
This is opposed to a public cloud where the data is housed externally.
SingTel will be partnering VMware to offer its hybrid cloud solution across Asia, and will be launching it in the coming months in other key Asian cities like Hong Kong.
SingTel currently offers it in Australia through Optus.
VMware chief executive officer Paul Maritz said: "Hybrid clouds provide customers with freedom of choice that will eventually give rise to applications that can be 'dragged and dropped' between clouds and delivered securely to any device, anywhere, at any time".
The telco is bullish on demand for cloud-computing services and has raised its 50 per cent annual growth forecast made last year September.
"We are starting to see more robust growth rates," Mr Chang said.
"That's because Singapore (is getting) more wired up to its fibre connectivity to all businesses. When that happens, (many) more people will be more open to the cloud services.
"The other thing is that there are more smart devices penetration (such as) smart phones and of course, the tablet revolution that's happening. That allows customers and businesses to consume all these cloud services more rapidly."
SingTel said that by tapping on processing power and storage on demand, businesses can reap cost savings of up to 73 per cent.
Mr Chang said: "They will also be able to preserve investments in existing computing infrastructure without changes to their IT operations.
"By improving their productivity and simplifying their processes, we seek to allow customers to increase their business agility, focus on their core business activities and reduce their costs significantly".
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
M&A activity in Asia set to rise: analysts
M&A activity in Asia set to rise: analysts
By Stella Lee | Posted: 28 March 2011 2322 hrs
SINGAPORE : Mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity in Asia is set to increase with stronger investor confidence in the market, analysts said on Monday.
They said the outlook for mergers and acquisitions is looking healthy for 2011.
Bankers said the M&A deal volume is increasing due to the narrowing gap between the price buyers expect to pay and that sellers hope to receive.
Other factors include better market sentiment, easier access to bank financing and private equity funds waiting on the sidelines since the 2008 market crash for good buying opportunities.
Chang Tou Chen, head of global banking, South-East Asia, HSBC, said: "As the M&A pie grows, I would expect that more and more transactions will be completed out of stock deals or stock mergers.
"The drivers for Asia will be confidence and availability of liquidity. On both counts, our clients are very confident about the future."
According to Thomson Reuters, announced mergers and acquisitions in Asia excluding Japan rose nearly 10 percent in the first three months of 2011 to US$129 billion.
China, Australia and India made up nearly half of the deals in the first quarter.
"A lot of M&A activity that we work on are cross-border activity - that's where opportunities for scale and synergy exist," said Mr Chang.
And the rise in M&A activity is not confined to just large companies. Small and mid-tier companies are also consolidating or becoming acquisition targets for larger players.
Benjamin Ong, executive director, M&A, KPMG Corporate Finance, said: "SMEs and mid markets are actively exploring M&A in order to build better platforms for themselves to compete in the international marketplace."
While total M&A deal volumes increased for Asian emerging markets in the first three months of 2011, Asian developed markets saw a 17 percent drop compared with the same period in 2010.
Bankers expect commodities, energy and natural resources to witness vigorous M&A activity this year.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Stella Lee | Posted: 28 March 2011 2322 hrs
SINGAPORE : Mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity in Asia is set to increase with stronger investor confidence in the market, analysts said on Monday.
They said the outlook for mergers and acquisitions is looking healthy for 2011.
Bankers said the M&A deal volume is increasing due to the narrowing gap between the price buyers expect to pay and that sellers hope to receive.
Other factors include better market sentiment, easier access to bank financing and private equity funds waiting on the sidelines since the 2008 market crash for good buying opportunities.
Chang Tou Chen, head of global banking, South-East Asia, HSBC, said: "As the M&A pie grows, I would expect that more and more transactions will be completed out of stock deals or stock mergers.
"The drivers for Asia will be confidence and availability of liquidity. On both counts, our clients are very confident about the future."
According to Thomson Reuters, announced mergers and acquisitions in Asia excluding Japan rose nearly 10 percent in the first three months of 2011 to US$129 billion.
China, Australia and India made up nearly half of the deals in the first quarter.
"A lot of M&A activity that we work on are cross-border activity - that's where opportunities for scale and synergy exist," said Mr Chang.
And the rise in M&A activity is not confined to just large companies. Small and mid-tier companies are also consolidating or becoming acquisition targets for larger players.
Benjamin Ong, executive director, M&A, KPMG Corporate Finance, said: "SMEs and mid markets are actively exploring M&A in order to build better platforms for themselves to compete in the international marketplace."
While total M&A deal volumes increased for Asian emerging markets in the first three months of 2011, Asian developed markets saw a 17 percent drop compared with the same period in 2010.
Bankers expect commodities, energy and natural resources to witness vigorous M&A activity this year.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
HDB to launch tender for Sengkang residential site
HDB to launch tender for Sengkang residential site
By Stella Lee | Posted: 29 March 2011 2207 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching the tender for a residential site at Buangkok Drive/Sengkang East Drive on Wednesday.
The site, which is slated for condominium development, can potentially yield 550 dwelling units.
It is being released for tender under the Confirmed List of the 1st Half 2011 Government Land Sales Programme.
Located to the east of Sengkang New Town, residents there will be served by the Buangkok MRT station.
The land parcel has an area of over 19,500 square metres, with a maximum gross floor area of about 58,600 square metres.
The site has a lease term of 99 years and the tender will close at noon on June 2.
Mr Ku Swee Yong, the CEO of International Property Advisor, said the supply was overwhelming for the area and may create problems, such as traffic congestion, later on.
He added: "Within 15 months from 1st Jan 2010 till today, we have a potential supply of almost 10,000 units of HDB and 6,000 units of private residences that will be completed in 2014-2015.
"And there are more Government Land Sales parcels coming up in the rest of this year - both on the confirmed and reserved lists and including ECs."
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Stella Lee | Posted: 29 March 2011 2207 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching the tender for a residential site at Buangkok Drive/Sengkang East Drive on Wednesday.
The site, which is slated for condominium development, can potentially yield 550 dwelling units.
It is being released for tender under the Confirmed List of the 1st Half 2011 Government Land Sales Programme.
Located to the east of Sengkang New Town, residents there will be served by the Buangkok MRT station.
The land parcel has an area of over 19,500 square metres, with a maximum gross floor area of about 58,600 square metres.
The site has a lease term of 99 years and the tender will close at noon on June 2.
Mr Ku Swee Yong, the CEO of International Property Advisor, said the supply was overwhelming for the area and may create problems, such as traffic congestion, later on.
He added: "Within 15 months from 1st Jan 2010 till today, we have a potential supply of almost 10,000 units of HDB and 6,000 units of private residences that will be completed in 2014-2015.
"And there are more Government Land Sales parcels coming up in the rest of this year - both on the confirmed and reserved lists and including ECs."
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
URA launches 2 residential sites for sale
URA launches 2 residential sites for sale
Posted: 29 March 2011 2154 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Urban Redevelopment Authority has launched two residential sites for sale by public tender under the Government Land Sales programme.
The sites at Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris Drive 4 and Sembawang Road/Jalan Sendudok can potentially yield a total of 970 housing units combined.
The 2.7-hectare land parcel at Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris Drive 4 has a maximum permissible gross land area of over 56,600 square metres and can potentially yield about 580 housing units.
The site is located close to Pasir Ris Park and is well connected to the rest of the island via the Tampines Expressway.
The 2.8-hectare land parcel at Sembawang Road/Jalan Sendudok has a maximum permissible gross land area of about 38,700 square metres which can potentially yield around 390 housing units.
The site is adjacent to the Sembawang Shopping Centre and near the Sembawang MRT Station.
The tenders for the Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris Drive 4 and Sembawang Road/Jalan Sendudok sites will close at noon on May 10 and May 26 respectively.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 29 March 2011 2154 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Urban Redevelopment Authority has launched two residential sites for sale by public tender under the Government Land Sales programme.
The sites at Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris Drive 4 and Sembawang Road/Jalan Sendudok can potentially yield a total of 970 housing units combined.
The 2.7-hectare land parcel at Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris Drive 4 has a maximum permissible gross land area of over 56,600 square metres and can potentially yield about 580 housing units.
The site is located close to Pasir Ris Park and is well connected to the rest of the island via the Tampines Expressway.
The 2.8-hectare land parcel at Sembawang Road/Jalan Sendudok has a maximum permissible gross land area of about 38,700 square metres which can potentially yield around 390 housing units.
The site is adjacent to the Sembawang Shopping Centre and near the Sembawang MRT Station.
The tenders for the Jalan Loyang Besar/Pasir Ris Drive 4 and Sembawang Road/Jalan Sendudok sites will close at noon on May 10 and May 26 respectively.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
MDA launches tender for 2 FM frequencies
MDA launches tender for 2 FM frequencies
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 29 March 2011 1205 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Media Development Authority (MDA) is conducting a public tender to allocate two FM frequencies - FM 89.3 and FM 92.0.
The frequencies will be used to operate commercial or not-for-profit radio stations in Singapore.
In a statement, MDA said the tender follows an earlier 'Expression of Interest' (EOI) exercise conducted in April last year.
More than 20 parties registered their interest at the close of the exercise.
The three-month public tender exercise will close on June 28.
As part of the tender exercise, MDA welcomes new ideas and it does not intend to limit the future station(s) to any particular genre, in order to encourage a variety of proposals.
The tender also aims to encourage new players to enter the market as well as to provide more choices for listeners.
MDA said it will evaluate the bids submitted based on three criteria.
They include programming innovation, characteristics and quality as well as financial standing and business plan.
Bidders must also show the ability to produce and promote local content that aids the development of Singapore's media industry.
In addition, not-for-profit radio stations will be evaluated on the social impact of their offerings.
MDA said the results of the tender will be made known by September.
If successful in their bids, the operators of FM 89.3 and 92.0 will add to the already vibrant radio industry here.
According to the Nielsen Media Index survey done in the period between July 2009 and June 2010, 93 per cent of the population aged 15 and above tuned in to radio in the past week.
There are now 20 FM radio stations in Singapore with 13 of them managed by MediaCorp.
MediaCorp Radio managing director Florence Lian said: "Radio at 75 years old is facing its next exciting phase. The number of proposals submitted during the 'Expression of Interest' (EOI) exercise shows how desired a medium it is. MediaCorp will definitely participate in the tender."
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 29 March 2011 1205 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Media Development Authority (MDA) is conducting a public tender to allocate two FM frequencies - FM 89.3 and FM 92.0.
The frequencies will be used to operate commercial or not-for-profit radio stations in Singapore.
In a statement, MDA said the tender follows an earlier 'Expression of Interest' (EOI) exercise conducted in April last year.
More than 20 parties registered their interest at the close of the exercise.
The three-month public tender exercise will close on June 28.
As part of the tender exercise, MDA welcomes new ideas and it does not intend to limit the future station(s) to any particular genre, in order to encourage a variety of proposals.
The tender also aims to encourage new players to enter the market as well as to provide more choices for listeners.
MDA said it will evaluate the bids submitted based on three criteria.
They include programming innovation, characteristics and quality as well as financial standing and business plan.
Bidders must also show the ability to produce and promote local content that aids the development of Singapore's media industry.
In addition, not-for-profit radio stations will be evaluated on the social impact of their offerings.
MDA said the results of the tender will be made known by September.
If successful in their bids, the operators of FM 89.3 and 92.0 will add to the already vibrant radio industry here.
According to the Nielsen Media Index survey done in the period between July 2009 and June 2010, 93 per cent of the population aged 15 and above tuned in to radio in the past week.
There are now 20 FM radio stations in Singapore with 13 of them managed by MediaCorp.
MediaCorp Radio managing director Florence Lian said: "Radio at 75 years old is facing its next exciting phase. The number of proposals submitted during the 'Expression of Interest' (EOI) exercise shows how desired a medium it is. MediaCorp will definitely participate in the tender."
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
Electricity tariff to increase 6.1% starting April
Electricity tariff to increase 6.1% starting April
By Mustafa Shafawi & Dylan Loh | Posted: 29 March 2011 1619 hrs
SINGAPORE: SP Services said households will pay more for their electricity from April, with their electricity tariff increasing by 6.1 per cent to 25.58 cents per kilowatt-hour.
On average, families in four-room HDB flats will pay about S$4.85 more a month for their electricity based on the new tariff.
Explaining the tariff increase, SP Services said the average fuel oil price increased sharply by 14 per cent to S$113.37 per barrel over the last three months.
At the same time, there was an annual review of the grid network cost or the cost of transporting electricity through the power grid, which resulted in network charges being lowered by 3 per cent for the year ahead.
It said the significant increase in fuel cost, however, more than offsets the reduced network charges.
The Energy Market Authority has approved the increase.
However, about 800,000 Singaporean HDB households can expect to receive S$194 million worth of Utilities-Save (U-Save) and Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates in April under the 'Grow & Share' Package announced in the Budget.
The Finance Ministry (MOF) said this is on top of the S$108 million in rebates that households will receive this year under the on-going GST Offset Package.
In total, it said the Government will be giving about S$300 million in U-Save and S&CC rebates this year.
This April, a Singaporean household will receive S$170 to S$220 worth of U-Save rebates and half to one month waiver of S&CC, depending on HDB flat type.
The rebates aim to help households, especially lower income households, cope with rising costs, including higher utilities bills due to the increases in electricity tariffs.
Those living in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats will enjoy utility rebates for at least five months.
Those living in bigger flats will benefit from at least a month of offset of their utilities bills on average.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
By Mustafa Shafawi & Dylan Loh | Posted: 29 March 2011 1619 hrs
SINGAPORE: SP Services said households will pay more for their electricity from April, with their electricity tariff increasing by 6.1 per cent to 25.58 cents per kilowatt-hour.
On average, families in four-room HDB flats will pay about S$4.85 more a month for their electricity based on the new tariff.
Explaining the tariff increase, SP Services said the average fuel oil price increased sharply by 14 per cent to S$113.37 per barrel over the last three months.
At the same time, there was an annual review of the grid network cost or the cost of transporting electricity through the power grid, which resulted in network charges being lowered by 3 per cent for the year ahead.
It said the significant increase in fuel cost, however, more than offsets the reduced network charges.
The Energy Market Authority has approved the increase.
However, about 800,000 Singaporean HDB households can expect to receive S$194 million worth of Utilities-Save (U-Save) and Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates in April under the 'Grow & Share' Package announced in the Budget.
The Finance Ministry (MOF) said this is on top of the S$108 million in rebates that households will receive this year under the on-going GST Offset Package.
In total, it said the Government will be giving about S$300 million in U-Save and S&CC rebates this year.
This April, a Singaporean household will receive S$170 to S$220 worth of U-Save rebates and half to one month waiver of S&CC, depending on HDB flat type.
The rebates aim to help households, especially lower income households, cope with rising costs, including higher utilities bills due to the increases in electricity tariffs.
Those living in 1-room and 2-room HDB flats will enjoy utility rebates for at least five months.
Those living in bigger flats will benefit from at least a month of offset of their utilities bills on average.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
New non-invasive treatment for prostate cancer
New non-invasive treatment for prostate cancer
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 29 March 2011 1806 hrs
SINGAPORE: A new non-invasive treatment option for prostate cancer has been developed that minimises the side effects and down time for patients.
Seven patients with low risk prostate cancer took part in Phase one of trials conducted by the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) last August.
Based on initial results, this non-invasive (magnetic resonance-guided focused) ultrasound method offers few complications.
In Singapore, prostate cancer is affecting its ageing population four times more frequently as compared to 30 years ago.
Existing treatment options for prostate cancer include surgical removal of the prostate gland and radiation therapy, and have lasting side effects.
However, the new treatment allows patients to resume their normal activities a couple of days after treatment, as compared to about two weeks for radical prostatectomy.
The new treatment allows doctors to visualise the tumour and surrounding tissue.
High levels of heat will then be concentrated on the cancerous tumour to destroy it, without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue.
Experts say the main benefit of the new technology is its accuracy in monitoring and adjusting treatments in real time.
The use of real-time 3D MR thermometry provides accurate monitoring of the treatment outcome and ability to adjust the treatment according to specific patient physiology in real time.
"When we treat, we are treating only the part of the gland with the cancer as opposed to the conventional treating methods like surgery or radical prostatectomy where the patients undergo surgery to remove the whole gland and those are associated with increased incidence of incontinence and impotence," said Dr Kwek Jin Wei, senior consultant radiologist for National Cancer Centre Singapore.
Phase two trials started last month and upon its successful completion, the option is expected to be made available to patients in about two years.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 29 March 2011 1806 hrs
SINGAPORE: A new non-invasive treatment option for prostate cancer has been developed that minimises the side effects and down time for patients.
Seven patients with low risk prostate cancer took part in Phase one of trials conducted by the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) last August.
Based on initial results, this non-invasive (magnetic resonance-guided focused) ultrasound method offers few complications.
In Singapore, prostate cancer is affecting its ageing population four times more frequently as compared to 30 years ago.
Existing treatment options for prostate cancer include surgical removal of the prostate gland and radiation therapy, and have lasting side effects.
However, the new treatment allows patients to resume their normal activities a couple of days after treatment, as compared to about two weeks for radical prostatectomy.
The new treatment allows doctors to visualise the tumour and surrounding tissue.
High levels of heat will then be concentrated on the cancerous tumour to destroy it, without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue.
Experts say the main benefit of the new technology is its accuracy in monitoring and adjusting treatments in real time.
The use of real-time 3D MR thermometry provides accurate monitoring of the treatment outcome and ability to adjust the treatment according to specific patient physiology in real time.
"When we treat, we are treating only the part of the gland with the cancer as opposed to the conventional treating methods like surgery or radical prostatectomy where the patients undergo surgery to remove the whole gland and those are associated with increased incidence of incontinence and impotence," said Dr Kwek Jin Wei, senior consultant radiologist for National Cancer Centre Singapore.
Phase two trials started last month and upon its successful completion, the option is expected to be made available to patients in about two years.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Slight haze expected in S'pore over next few days
Slight haze expected in S'pore over next few days
By Tan Qiuyi | Posted: 27 March 2011 1215 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore may experience slight haze over the next few days.
The National Environment Agency said satellite pictures over Sumatra detected isolated hot spots, but no smoke plumes were observed.
The 24-hour PSI reading at 4pm on Saturday was 35, which is within the "good" range.
Wet weather conditions are expected over the region in the next few days, although a slight haze may still be seen.
Callers to the MediaCorp hotline said the skies appear hazy, while others complained of a burning smell.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
By Tan Qiuyi | Posted: 27 March 2011 1215 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore may experience slight haze over the next few days.
The National Environment Agency said satellite pictures over Sumatra detected isolated hot spots, but no smoke plumes were observed.
The 24-hour PSI reading at 4pm on Saturday was 35, which is within the "good" range.
Wet weather conditions are expected over the region in the next few days, although a slight haze may still be seen.
Callers to the MediaCorp hotline said the skies appear hazy, while others complained of a burning smell.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
Private home prices down slightly in Feb: NUS Index
Private home prices down slightly in Feb: NUS Index
By Chris Howells | Posted: 28 March 2011 1412 hrs
SINGAPORE: Private home prices in Singapore saw a small decline last month, after the government introduced stringent measures in January to cool speculation.
The NUS Private Residential Price Index, which measures prices of non-landed private homes, fell 0.4 per cent compared with that of January.
Prices of properties outside of the central area softened 1.5 per cent from previous month.
But the index for central area homes saw an increase of one per cent.
In January, the government mandated higher stamp duties for sellers and asked banks to curb credit to those who already have outstanding mortgages.
Analysts said the latest data from the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies show that the cooling measures are beginning to have an impact.
Credo Real Estate Residential Services head Liang Thow Ming said: "I don't think it is extremely meaningful until we can see further trends from now onwards.
"But in a way, it does suggest that the market has taken a breather, as compared to how it was behaving last year and in January this year, and that the government measures might finally be seeing some impact".
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
By Chris Howells | Posted: 28 March 2011 1412 hrs
SINGAPORE: Private home prices in Singapore saw a small decline last month, after the government introduced stringent measures in January to cool speculation.
The NUS Private Residential Price Index, which measures prices of non-landed private homes, fell 0.4 per cent compared with that of January.
Prices of properties outside of the central area softened 1.5 per cent from previous month.
But the index for central area homes saw an increase of one per cent.
In January, the government mandated higher stamp duties for sellers and asked banks to curb credit to those who already have outstanding mortgages.
Analysts said the latest data from the National University of Singapore's Institute of Real Estate Studies show that the cooling measures are beginning to have an impact.
Credo Real Estate Residential Services head Liang Thow Ming said: "I don't think it is extremely meaningful until we can see further trends from now onwards.
"But in a way, it does suggest that the market has taken a breather, as compared to how it was behaving last year and in January this year, and that the government measures might finally be seeing some impact".
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
HDB launches 1,527 BTO flats in Jurong West and Sengkang
HDB launches 1,527 BTO flats in Jurong West and Sengkang
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 24 March 2011 1543 hrs
SINGAPORE: HDB has launched two new Build-To-Order projects, Boon Lay Fields in Jurong West and Compassvale Ancilla in Sengkang. A total of 1,527 new flats are being offered.
Prices at Compassvale Ancilla range from S$77,000 for a studio apartment to S$444,000 for a five-room flat.
Flats at Boon Lay Fields sell for between S$168,000 for a three-room unit and S$391,000 for a five-room flat.
The application period for submission of applications will be reduced to one week.
HDB will inform applicants of their ballot results within three weeks of the launch.
Selection of flats will start from the fourth week onwards, instead of the ninth week previously.
HDB said the faster turnaround will enable applicants to know their queue number for the current launch, before deciding whether to apply for the next BTO launch.
Eligible first-timers applicants earning not more than S$5,000 per month can also apply for the Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) of up to S$40,000.
The AHG can be used to offset the initial down-payment.
First-time flat buyers are estimated to use 24 to 30 per cent of their monthly household income to meet their monthly loan payments for flats in Boon Lay Fields and Compassvale Ancilla.
Both BTOs are estimated to be completed by 2014.
HDB said it has ramped up its new flat supply significantly to meet the demand from first-timer households.
Four more BTO projects are planned for launch in April and six more in May.
In the first half of this year, HDB plans to offer up to 14,000 new flats under BTO.
For the whole of 2011, HDB can offer up to 22,000 new flats under BTO, if demand is sustained.
The BTO supply will be supplemented by the housing units under the Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) and the Executive Condominium (EC) Housing Scheme.
For 2011, land sites for 4,000 DBSS flats and 4,000 EC units are scheduled for sale.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 24 March 2011 1543 hrs
SINGAPORE: HDB has launched two new Build-To-Order projects, Boon Lay Fields in Jurong West and Compassvale Ancilla in Sengkang. A total of 1,527 new flats are being offered.
Prices at Compassvale Ancilla range from S$77,000 for a studio apartment to S$444,000 for a five-room flat.
Flats at Boon Lay Fields sell for between S$168,000 for a three-room unit and S$391,000 for a five-room flat.
The application period for submission of applications will be reduced to one week.
HDB will inform applicants of their ballot results within three weeks of the launch.
Selection of flats will start from the fourth week onwards, instead of the ninth week previously.
HDB said the faster turnaround will enable applicants to know their queue number for the current launch, before deciding whether to apply for the next BTO launch.
Eligible first-timers applicants earning not more than S$5,000 per month can also apply for the Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) of up to S$40,000.
The AHG can be used to offset the initial down-payment.
First-time flat buyers are estimated to use 24 to 30 per cent of their monthly household income to meet their monthly loan payments for flats in Boon Lay Fields and Compassvale Ancilla.
Both BTOs are estimated to be completed by 2014.
HDB said it has ramped up its new flat supply significantly to meet the demand from first-timer households.
Four more BTO projects are planned for launch in April and six more in May.
In the first half of this year, HDB plans to offer up to 14,000 new flats under BTO.
For the whole of 2011, HDB can offer up to 22,000 new flats under BTO, if demand is sustained.
The BTO supply will be supplemented by the housing units under the Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) and the Executive Condominium (EC) Housing Scheme.
For 2011, land sites for 4,000 DBSS flats and 4,000 EC units are scheduled for sale.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
HDB receives 6 bids for Choa Chu Kang site
HDB receives 6 bids for Choa Chu Kang site
Posted: 22 March 2011 1841 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received six bids for the land parcel proposed for executive condominium (EC) housing at Choa Chu Kang Drive.
The 49,250 square metre site was launched for sale on January 21 and closed at noon on Tuesday.
The highest bid came from Camborne Developments at S$170.1 million, followed by a joint bid of S$159 million by FCL Tampines Court and Keong Hong Construction.
The lowest bid of about S$117.2 million was submitted by Mezzo Development.
The 99-year leasehold site has a maximum gross floor area of 49,251 square metres, which could yield about 490 units.
HDB said it will announce the award of the tender at a later date after the bids have been evaluated.
CBRE Research said the top bid of S$170.1 million reflects S$321 per square foot (psf) per plot ratio and translates to a breakeven cost of around S$650 psf.
Li Hiaw Ho, executive director, CBRE Research, said: "The subject site is situated at Choa Chu Kang Drive, adjacent to Mi Casa condominium which is currently under construction. It is just a few minutes' walk from Choa Chu Kang MRT station and Lot 1 shopping mall."
He added: "In January-February 2011, units in Mi Casa were sold at around S$800 psf. It is likely that the new EC project can fetch around S$700 psf on the average, a differential from the price of private condominiums to take into consideration the eligibility conditions attached to EC projects."
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 22 March 2011 1841 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received six bids for the land parcel proposed for executive condominium (EC) housing at Choa Chu Kang Drive.
The 49,250 square metre site was launched for sale on January 21 and closed at noon on Tuesday.
The highest bid came from Camborne Developments at S$170.1 million, followed by a joint bid of S$159 million by FCL Tampines Court and Keong Hong Construction.
The lowest bid of about S$117.2 million was submitted by Mezzo Development.
The 99-year leasehold site has a maximum gross floor area of 49,251 square metres, which could yield about 490 units.
HDB said it will announce the award of the tender at a later date after the bids have been evaluated.
CBRE Research said the top bid of S$170.1 million reflects S$321 per square foot (psf) per plot ratio and translates to a breakeven cost of around S$650 psf.
Li Hiaw Ho, executive director, CBRE Research, said: "The subject site is situated at Choa Chu Kang Drive, adjacent to Mi Casa condominium which is currently under construction. It is just a few minutes' walk from Choa Chu Kang MRT station and Lot 1 shopping mall."
He added: "In January-February 2011, units in Mi Casa were sold at around S$800 psf. It is likely that the new EC project can fetch around S$700 psf on the average, a differential from the price of private condominiums to take into consideration the eligibility conditions attached to EC projects."
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Singapore explores metrics guidelines for data centers
Singapore explores metrics guidelines for data centers
HP commissioned to carry out study looking at data center efficiency
Published 23rd March, 2011 by Penny Jones
HP is studying Singapore’s enterprise data centers to create energy efficiency benchmarks that can be used by Singapore’s government to set guidelines and even possibly regulation in future.
Figures on energy consumption and the performance of more than 20 companies with enterprise-sized data center operations will be recorded to devise the baseline, used to asses current and future builds.
Director of HP Critical Facilities Services Ed Ansett, who is based in Singapore, said legal requirements are the first aim of the Singapore Green Data Center Standard project but eventually the research could be used for regulating the data center industry.
“The NEA (National Environment Agency) will probably come out with some guidelines using the information but they mostly want to understand the status of data centers in Singapore, to benchmark a large number of these and then make some recommendations on improving energy efficiency,” Ansett said
At the moment there is no legal requirement for energy efficiency in Singapore but Ansett said a lot of large data center operators do measure power usage effectiveness (PUE).
Data center operators in Singapore have to be conscious of efficiency if they want to overcome high costs associated with power and cooling, according to Ansett.
“In tropical climates like Singapore cooling bills are disproportionately high when compared to commercial buildings in more temperate climates such as Australia,” Ansett said.
“Temperature and humidity is relatively constant and high all year round.”
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore is supporting the initiative and will use the data gathered to identify areas for standardization and highlight data center issues, HP said.
The study will highlight mechanical, electrical and operational issues in the data centers studied.
- wong chee tat :)
HP commissioned to carry out study looking at data center efficiency
Published 23rd March, 2011 by Penny Jones
HP is studying Singapore’s enterprise data centers to create energy efficiency benchmarks that can be used by Singapore’s government to set guidelines and even possibly regulation in future.
Figures on energy consumption and the performance of more than 20 companies with enterprise-sized data center operations will be recorded to devise the baseline, used to asses current and future builds.
Director of HP Critical Facilities Services Ed Ansett, who is based in Singapore, said legal requirements are the first aim of the Singapore Green Data Center Standard project but eventually the research could be used for regulating the data center industry.
“The NEA (National Environment Agency) will probably come out with some guidelines using the information but they mostly want to understand the status of data centers in Singapore, to benchmark a large number of these and then make some recommendations on improving energy efficiency,” Ansett said
At the moment there is no legal requirement for energy efficiency in Singapore but Ansett said a lot of large data center operators do measure power usage effectiveness (PUE).
Data center operators in Singapore have to be conscious of efficiency if they want to overcome high costs associated with power and cooling, according to Ansett.
“In tropical climates like Singapore cooling bills are disproportionately high when compared to commercial buildings in more temperate climates such as Australia,” Ansett said.
“Temperature and humidity is relatively constant and high all year round.”
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore is supporting the initiative and will use the data gathered to identify areas for standardization and highlight data center issues, HP said.
The study will highlight mechanical, electrical and operational issues in the data centers studied.
- wong chee tat :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Finance professionals unhappy with bonuses, looking for new jobs
Finance professionals unhappy with bonuses, looking for new jobs
By Rachel Kelly | Posted: 22 March 2011 2146 hrs
SINGAPORE: Bank bonuses may be on the rise but so is the number of employees in Singapore's financial sector looking to move.
A recent survey by the global career site, eFinancial careers, reveals that while 53 per cent of financial sector employees in Singapore received higher annual bonuses, 55 per cent were less than satisfied with the increase.
As a result, more than three out of five finance professionals here, some 62 per cent, are looking for new positions in 2011.
And that may be a blow to an industry that is already experiencing significant talent shortages as companies look to expand. Big global players, such as UBS, are looking to scale up operations in Singapore.
"We continue to hire strategically in accordance with the growth needs of the business. In the medium term, we expect to grow the number of client advisors in Asia Pacific from 900 to 1,200, in line with business needs," said Ms Moira Roberts, Head of Human Resources, UBS Singapore.
Since the beginning of 2010, UBS has increased its wealth management headcount in Asia by about 400.
Credit Suisse, which has more than doubled its Singapore headcount in the last five years, now has more than 5,500 employees here. Singapore is the bank's fourth-largest office in the world and by 2013 it will have the capacity to employ over 6,000 workers here.
George McFerran, Head of Asia Pacific at eFinancial Careers, said: "I think as firms try to hold on to people then increasing salary costs are going to be an issue but bonuses are normally paid based on performance and people hitting targets, and that will be the main driver for bonus increases going forward."
Experts added that an increasing number of firms are spreading bonus payouts throughout the year as a retention tool as people who were reluctant to move during the financial crisis start to loosen ties.
Peter Haglund, country manager at Manpower Staffing Services, said: "We see is them actually waking up because last year we didn't really have the same struggles, there is still an increased competition for talent, but it wasn't as tough as it now.
"The good thing about the banking sector is that it is viewed from many candidates as a sector they want to go into...we think they are waking up and some already have put practices in place through career development, through individual development and training programs."
UBS, for example, said training and career development has been important to the bank's success. It has a UBS Business University in Singapore which has, to date, conducted programmes spanning more than 24,000 training days and 2,000 events.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
By Rachel Kelly | Posted: 22 March 2011 2146 hrs
SINGAPORE: Bank bonuses may be on the rise but so is the number of employees in Singapore's financial sector looking to move.
A recent survey by the global career site, eFinancial careers, reveals that while 53 per cent of financial sector employees in Singapore received higher annual bonuses, 55 per cent were less than satisfied with the increase.
As a result, more than three out of five finance professionals here, some 62 per cent, are looking for new positions in 2011.
And that may be a blow to an industry that is already experiencing significant talent shortages as companies look to expand. Big global players, such as UBS, are looking to scale up operations in Singapore.
"We continue to hire strategically in accordance with the growth needs of the business. In the medium term, we expect to grow the number of client advisors in Asia Pacific from 900 to 1,200, in line with business needs," said Ms Moira Roberts, Head of Human Resources, UBS Singapore.
Since the beginning of 2010, UBS has increased its wealth management headcount in Asia by about 400.
Credit Suisse, which has more than doubled its Singapore headcount in the last five years, now has more than 5,500 employees here. Singapore is the bank's fourth-largest office in the world and by 2013 it will have the capacity to employ over 6,000 workers here.
George McFerran, Head of Asia Pacific at eFinancial Careers, said: "I think as firms try to hold on to people then increasing salary costs are going to be an issue but bonuses are normally paid based on performance and people hitting targets, and that will be the main driver for bonus increases going forward."
Experts added that an increasing number of firms are spreading bonus payouts throughout the year as a retention tool as people who were reluctant to move during the financial crisis start to loosen ties.
Peter Haglund, country manager at Manpower Staffing Services, said: "We see is them actually waking up because last year we didn't really have the same struggles, there is still an increased competition for talent, but it wasn't as tough as it now.
"The good thing about the banking sector is that it is viewed from many candidates as a sector they want to go into...we think they are waking up and some already have put practices in place through career development, through individual development and training programs."
UBS, for example, said training and career development has been important to the bank's success. It has a UBS Business University in Singapore which has, to date, conducted programmes spanning more than 24,000 training days and 2,000 events.
-CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
Eastman Kodak opens Asia-Pacific Solutions centre in Singapore
Eastman Kodak opens Asia-Pacific Solutions centre in Singapore
Posted: 22 March 2011 2137 hrs
SINGAPORE: Eastman Kodak announced Tuesday the opening of its Asia-Pacific Solutions centre in Singapore that will add more than 100 professionals to its R&D and business operations in Singapore over the next five years.
Kodak did not give the exact investment figure but it hinted that it will be less than S$100 million.
Used in inkjet printers, the technology known as MEMS - or microfluidics in micro-electromechanical systems - allows microscopic ink shoots that are undetectable to eye to be precisely printed on paper.
Eastman Kodak hopes to make the technology the focus of its R&D as it looks to expand its business operations here.
"The capabilities here are so good that it is now important for us as a company or for any company to embrace these capabilities and really utilize them as part of our toolkit if you will or business value proposition," said Mr Philip Faraci, president and CEO of Eastman Kodak.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 22 March 2011 2137 hrs
SINGAPORE: Eastman Kodak announced Tuesday the opening of its Asia-Pacific Solutions centre in Singapore that will add more than 100 professionals to its R&D and business operations in Singapore over the next five years.
Kodak did not give the exact investment figure but it hinted that it will be less than S$100 million.
Used in inkjet printers, the technology known as MEMS - or microfluidics in micro-electromechanical systems - allows microscopic ink shoots that are undetectable to eye to be precisely printed on paper.
Eastman Kodak hopes to make the technology the focus of its R&D as it looks to expand its business operations here.
"The capabilities here are so good that it is now important for us as a company or for any company to embrace these capabilities and really utilize them as part of our toolkit if you will or business value proposition," said Mr Philip Faraci, president and CEO of Eastman Kodak.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Caltex raises pump prices
Caltex raises pump prices
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 21 March 2011 1742 hrs
SINGAPORE: Caltex has increased the prices of petrol and diesel. Petrol prices went up by 3 cents a litre for all grades and diesel rose five cents a litre.
The change took effect from 3pm on Monday.
With the increase, Caltex's Platinum 98 with Techron costs S$2.245 a litre.
A litre of 95-grade fuel costs S$2.101.
Diesel costs S$1.653 a litre.
A check online found that both Shell and SPC have not increased their prices. And a spokesperson for Esso confirmed the company has not raised prices.
Petrol prices are hovering near levels last seen in June 2008, when a litre of 98-grade petrol costs about S$2.30.
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 21 March 2011 1742 hrs
SINGAPORE: Caltex has increased the prices of petrol and diesel. Petrol prices went up by 3 cents a litre for all grades and diesel rose five cents a litre.
The change took effect from 3pm on Monday.
With the increase, Caltex's Platinum 98 with Techron costs S$2.245 a litre.
A litre of 95-grade fuel costs S$2.101.
Diesel costs S$1.653 a litre.
A check online found that both Shell and SPC have not increased their prices. And a spokesperson for Esso confirmed the company has not raised prices.
Petrol prices are hovering near levels last seen in June 2008, when a litre of 98-grade petrol costs about S$2.30.
- CNA/ir
- wong chee tat :)
COEs fall in all except small cars category
COEs fall in all except small cars category
By Wayne Chan | Posted: 23 March 2011 1720 hrs
SINGAPORE: Premiums for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) fell in all but the small cars category, or category A - which went up by S$1,213 to S$43,813.
The biggest fall was in the big cars category, or category B, where the premium fell by S$4,892 to S$57,002.
The open category COE fell S$2,937 to S$59,073.
COEs for commercial vehicles dropped S$311 to S$29,690.
Motorcycle COEs fell S$70 to S$2,534.
Mr Ron Lim, general manager of sales and marketing at Tan Chong Motor said the rise in category A is due to aggressive bidding by taxi companies wanting to expand their fleets.
"In fact, they have been coming in quite aggressively over the last six months to secure all these category A COE. For example in this round alone, they make up almost 20% of the bids that went in," said Mr Lim.
As for the falls across the other categories, Mr Lim said it was almost expected.
"Because of the crisis in Japan, it created quite a lot of volatility in the market, especially the stock market, so the category B cars are more affected than the rest," said Mr Lim.
Mr Lim said the concern would be supplies of cars from Japan.
However, he said that most distributors should have sufficient stock to cover them over the next two to three months, and there should not be any impact unless there are further delays in Japan's production recovery.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
By Wayne Chan | Posted: 23 March 2011 1720 hrs
SINGAPORE: Premiums for Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) fell in all but the small cars category, or category A - which went up by S$1,213 to S$43,813.
The biggest fall was in the big cars category, or category B, where the premium fell by S$4,892 to S$57,002.
The open category COE fell S$2,937 to S$59,073.
COEs for commercial vehicles dropped S$311 to S$29,690.
Motorcycle COEs fell S$70 to S$2,534.
Mr Ron Lim, general manager of sales and marketing at Tan Chong Motor said the rise in category A is due to aggressive bidding by taxi companies wanting to expand their fleets.
"In fact, they have been coming in quite aggressively over the last six months to secure all these category A COE. For example in this round alone, they make up almost 20% of the bids that went in," said Mr Lim.
As for the falls across the other categories, Mr Lim said it was almost expected.
"Because of the crisis in Japan, it created quite a lot of volatility in the market, especially the stock market, so the category B cars are more affected than the rest," said Mr Lim.
Mr Lim said the concern would be supplies of cars from Japan.
However, he said that most distributors should have sufficient stock to cover them over the next two to three months, and there should not be any impact unless there are further delays in Japan's production recovery.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
13 Million Americans Leave the Door Open to Identity Theft on Social Networks
13 Million Americans Leave the Door Open to Identity Theft on Social Networks
ID Analytics' Survey Finds Millions of U.S. Adults Willing to Accept Requests from Anyone of the Opposite Sex; Only Half Trust Online Connections to Keep Their Data Private
While adult Americans are willing to accept online connection requests on social media networks, only half (50 percent) of those who are on social networking sites actually trust those connections to keep their data private. Despite this lack of trust, the survey also found that more than 24 million Americans on social networking sites keep their online profiles "mostly public," meaning anyone can see their personal details.
Other Key Findings:
Younger Men More Likely to Accept Invites—Directionally*, the study found men between the ages of 18 to 34 on social networks were the most likely to accept invites from anyone of the opposite sex compared to older men.
Grabbing All the Friends You Can Get—The survey also found that five percent of U.S. adults on social networks will accept any friend request they receive – regardless of who sends them.
What Type of Friend Matters—Not all social networks are created equal. U.S. adults who have joined an online social network were twice as likely to state that it is important to have as many business social media contacts as possible (39 percent), compared to personal connections on social networks (19 percent). This sheds some insight into possible avenues of approach by fraudsters.
"American's lack of caution in friending members of the opposite sex online is striking," said Thomas Oscherwitz, chief privacy officer for ID Analytics, Inc. "Friending someone online is not risk-free. Just as in the bricks-and-mortar world, it makes sense to exercise a bit of prudence. Most social networking profiles contain personal information that can be used by fraudsters, and when you friend someone, you are giving them access to this information."
Fraudsters can use information in social networking profiles to build the dossiers they need to beat challenge questions and other security measures on financial accounts. The key identity elements that consumers should be careful before exposing on social networks are:
Consumers can check their risk of identity fraud at MyIDScore.com. This free online service gives consumers immediate insight into whether their personal identifiable information is being used fraudulently to obtain assets, goods or services.
This survey was conducted by telephone within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of ID Analytics between February 9 and 13, 2011 among 1,011 U.S. adults, of whom 387 have joined social networking sites. Results were weighted for age, sex, geographic region and race where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. For complete methodology, including subgroup base sizes, please contact Liz Nelson or Jen Barlow at IDAnalytics@schwartzcomm.com.
*Caution should be used in analyzing these results due to small base sizes.
- wong chee tat :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Where are images files in Laserfiche?
We are working with our LaserFiche (LF) vendor to
upgrade our LaserFiche software. After the LaserFiche upgrade, we and some of the LaserFiche users perform some checks if there are any issues. This is important because the users are using the LaserFiche
software almost all the time and if there are any issues, we can settle
the issues quickly.
About 5 to 10 minutes later, we got calls from the same few users that they were unable to view the scanned images (tiff format) in LF client. Viewing the tiff generate error message: Failed to load Image and General Database error.(Error number: 9008). Strangely, the users were able to open and viewed the pdf documents in the client.
Looking at the error messages in the help section, it suggested that if the LaserFiche service is logged in using a Windows account and checked if the rights to access the database are given. That should not be the case because some users are actually able to add / remove / drage / drop the documents in the client itself.
Let us looked at the second suggestion. It mentioned that if using MSDE or SQL Server express, check to see that all expansion databases were attached. First of all, we are using not the Express version of the SQL server, but the 2008 version for the SQL Server. The databases were all included in the LaserFiche but why did the error message appeared and shown General Database Error? Very strange....
Our vendor suggested that the service itself was not running and recommended that the service should be restarted. It was thought that the services that connect the database were not running in the server and by restarting the services, it would work. Hmmm… Restarting the services still remained the same. The error messages remained the same.
We hunted around and figured that the scanned images were not recently scanned and therefore, the “link” was somehow not updated in the database itself. And thus the error message. Looking at the error message again, we took us a while to figure that the missing “link” was due to the old database was not attached. Bear in mind that the old database contained all the scanned images and other documents and all along we all thought it was attached!
We hunted for the databases and we found that there are 4 such databases in the data itself (about 4Gb in total). So we tried to attached it manually and try again.
We tried to access it again and found that the scanned images are able to load and the error message disappeared. We checked with our users again and they confirmed that the error message did not appeared.
- wong chee tat :)
About 5 to 10 minutes later, we got calls from the same few users that they were unable to view the scanned images (tiff format) in LF client. Viewing the tiff generate error message: Failed to load Image and General Database error.(Error number: 9008). Strangely, the users were able to open and viewed the pdf documents in the client.
Looking at the error messages in the help section, it suggested that if the LaserFiche service is logged in using a Windows account and checked if the rights to access the database are given. That should not be the case because some users are actually able to add / remove / drage / drop the documents in the client itself.
Let us looked at the second suggestion. It mentioned that if using MSDE or SQL Server express, check to see that all expansion databases were attached. First of all, we are using not the Express version of the SQL server, but the 2008 version for the SQL Server. The databases were all included in the LaserFiche but why did the error message appeared and shown General Database Error? Very strange....
Our vendor suggested that the service itself was not running and recommended that the service should be restarted. It was thought that the services that connect the database were not running in the server and by restarting the services, it would work. Hmmm… Restarting the services still remained the same. The error messages remained the same.
We hunted around and figured that the scanned images were not recently scanned and therefore, the “link” was somehow not updated in the database itself. And thus the error message. Looking at the error message again, we took us a while to figure that the missing “link” was due to the old database was not attached. Bear in mind that the old database contained all the scanned images and other documents and all along we all thought it was attached!
We hunted for the databases and we found that there are 4 such databases in the data itself (about 4Gb in total). So we tried to attached it manually and try again.
We tried to access it again and found that the scanned images are able to load and the error message disappeared. We checked with our users again and they confirmed that the error message did not appeared.
- wong chee tat :)
VirtualBox
Downloaded and tried out the new version of virtualbox, which is release on Feb 17th 2011. The change log is here.
I am currently testing with different OSes (Windows 2008 Server, etc) and on different platforms. I will post more later on.
- wong chee tat :)
I am currently testing with different OSes (Windows 2008 Server, etc) and on different platforms. I will post more later on.
- wong chee tat :)
Monday, March 21, 2011
Reports of sustained uptime in Japan continue
Reports of sustained uptime in Japan continue
No major data center outages reported following disaster
Published 18th March, 2011 by Yevgeniy Sverdlik
Many data center companies in Japan continued reporting throughout the week following a devastating earthquake and tsunami off Japan’s northeastern coast that their data centers continued normal operations. Ample fuel had been secured for many facilities’ backup generators to address rolling blackouts implemented by energy providers.
Jiro Fukuda of the Japan Data Center Council wrote in an email to DatacenterDynamics that there had not been any reports of major damage to data centers as of 17 March. “The Internet and other network services are being provided as usual,” he wrote.
“The discussion about the maintenance of long-term service continuance has already started [among] data center service providers,” Fukuda added.
JDDC is a data center industry consortium, consisting of representatives from the private sector, academia and the government.
Data center services provider Telehouse released a statement on 17 March, saying all 21 of its data centers in Japan were operational, including one in Sendai – the area most severely affected by the disaster.
The company said the data centers will stay operational throughout periodic three-hour rolling black-outs that have been implemented by Tohoku-Electric Power and Tokyo Electric Power.
“All facilities have a minimum 24-hour fuel supply plus regularly scheduled refueling (natural gas and/or diesel) and are expected to continue normal operations,” a Telehouse statement read.
HP and IBM, two large multinationals that act as both IT vendors and providers of data center services, also said their data centers continued normal operations.
HP CEO Leo Apotheker said during a press conference in San Francisco on 14 March that the company’s infrastructure in Japan “has not been really touched.”
IBM Japan spokesman Kazuhiro Kaneko wrote in an email to DatacenterDynamics on 15 March that “all IBM data centers have been working normally even just after the earthquake, and we keep delivering our services to the clients.”
Some services provided by the telecom Internet Initiative Japan were partly unavailable because of service disruptions experienced by some access-network carriers. IIJ said on 17 March that its own infrastructure continued operating as usual.
“IIJ's backbone network and service facilities are operating without disruption,” the company said.
IIJ services that were partially unavailable because of access-network carriers’ problems were Wide Area Network, Line management, FiberAccess, DSL and Mobile services.
Some of the company’s managed services, including security services, were affected by a “chaotic distribution channel”, delaying deliveries of network equipment.
Services affected by delivery disruptions include mobile, managed router, Internet-LAN, managed VPN Pro, managed firewall, IIJ DDoS and network intrusion detection, among others.
Delays in arrival of network-support staff could also play an effect on service availability, IIJ said.
- wong chee tat :)
No major data center outages reported following disaster
Published 18th March, 2011 by Yevgeniy Sverdlik
Many data center companies in Japan continued reporting throughout the week following a devastating earthquake and tsunami off Japan’s northeastern coast that their data centers continued normal operations. Ample fuel had been secured for many facilities’ backup generators to address rolling blackouts implemented by energy providers.
Jiro Fukuda of the Japan Data Center Council wrote in an email to DatacenterDynamics that there had not been any reports of major damage to data centers as of 17 March. “The Internet and other network services are being provided as usual,” he wrote.
“The discussion about the maintenance of long-term service continuance has already started [among] data center service providers,” Fukuda added.
JDDC is a data center industry consortium, consisting of representatives from the private sector, academia and the government.
Data center services provider Telehouse released a statement on 17 March, saying all 21 of its data centers in Japan were operational, including one in Sendai – the area most severely affected by the disaster.
The company said the data centers will stay operational throughout periodic three-hour rolling black-outs that have been implemented by Tohoku-Electric Power and Tokyo Electric Power.
“All facilities have a minimum 24-hour fuel supply plus regularly scheduled refueling (natural gas and/or diesel) and are expected to continue normal operations,” a Telehouse statement read.
HP and IBM, two large multinationals that act as both IT vendors and providers of data center services, also said their data centers continued normal operations.
HP CEO Leo Apotheker said during a press conference in San Francisco on 14 March that the company’s infrastructure in Japan “has not been really touched.”
IBM Japan spokesman Kazuhiro Kaneko wrote in an email to DatacenterDynamics on 15 March that “all IBM data centers have been working normally even just after the earthquake, and we keep delivering our services to the clients.”
Some services provided by the telecom Internet Initiative Japan were partly unavailable because of service disruptions experienced by some access-network carriers. IIJ said on 17 March that its own infrastructure continued operating as usual.
“IIJ's backbone network and service facilities are operating without disruption,” the company said.
IIJ services that were partially unavailable because of access-network carriers’ problems were Wide Area Network, Line management, FiberAccess, DSL and Mobile services.
Some of the company’s managed services, including security services, were affected by a “chaotic distribution channel”, delaying deliveries of network equipment.
Services affected by delivery disruptions include mobile, managed router, Internet-LAN, managed VPN Pro, managed firewall, IIJ DDoS and network intrusion detection, among others.
Delays in arrival of network-support staff could also play an effect on service availability, IIJ said.
- wong chee tat :)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
More banks moving to Changi Business Park
More banks moving to Changi Business Park
Posted: 17 March 2011 2044 hrs
SINGAPORE: Changi Business Park is fast turning into a banking hub with several banks already relocating there to expand and consolidate their operations away from the city centre.
Swiss banking group Credit Suisse is joining other banks such as Citi, Standard Chartered and DBS to establish a presence in Changi Business Park.
The move comes as the bank consolidates its local operations from several locations as Singapore becomes its global support function centre.
The bank said its existing premises at One Raffles Link will continue to house client-facing and front office functions.
Credit Suisse Singapore CEO Lito Camacho said: "in our industry, the competition for talent has gotten very intense.
"These days, it's not just about compensation; it's not just about specific benefits and so on.
"It's about providing a holistic environment. I think it allows our staff to feel and be proud of this human institution as opposed to an institution that is out there to make money".
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 17 March 2011 2044 hrs
SINGAPORE: Changi Business Park is fast turning into a banking hub with several banks already relocating there to expand and consolidate their operations away from the city centre.
Swiss banking group Credit Suisse is joining other banks such as Citi, Standard Chartered and DBS to establish a presence in Changi Business Park.
The move comes as the bank consolidates its local operations from several locations as Singapore becomes its global support function centre.
The bank said its existing premises at One Raffles Link will continue to house client-facing and front office functions.
Credit Suisse Singapore CEO Lito Camacho said: "in our industry, the competition for talent has gotten very intense.
"These days, it's not just about compensation; it's not just about specific benefits and so on.
"It's about providing a holistic environment. I think it allows our staff to feel and be proud of this human institution as opposed to an institution that is out there to make money".
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
HDB receives 9 bids for Sengkang site
HDB receives 9 bids for Sengkang site
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2300 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received nine bids for a residential site at Sengkang Square/Compassvale Road at the close of tender on Tuesday.
The highest bid came from Keppel Land Realty at S$286.8 million. This translates to about S$502 per square foot per plot ratio.
The next highest bid of S$274.3 million was submitted by joint bidders Sunmaster Holdings, Garden Estates and TID Residential.
The 99-year leasehold land parcel has a site area of 17,700 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 53,100 square metres.
Executive director of CBRE Research, Li Hiaw Ho, said he expects the new residential project on the site to be able to fetch around S$1,000 per square foot.
He added that a ready pool of upgraders in Sengkang, Hougang and Punggol new towns will be attracted to the project.
A similar development, H2O Residences at Fernvale Link, was recently launched, with more than 200 units sold over two weekends.
The Sengkang Square site was launched for public tender on January 21 and is slated for a condominium housing development with some 530 dwelling units.
HDB said it will evaluate the bids and announce the final results within the next two weeks.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2300 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received nine bids for a residential site at Sengkang Square/Compassvale Road at the close of tender on Tuesday.
The highest bid came from Keppel Land Realty at S$286.8 million. This translates to about S$502 per square foot per plot ratio.
The next highest bid of S$274.3 million was submitted by joint bidders Sunmaster Holdings, Garden Estates and TID Residential.
The 99-year leasehold land parcel has a site area of 17,700 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 53,100 square metres.
Executive director of CBRE Research, Li Hiaw Ho, said he expects the new residential project on the site to be able to fetch around S$1,000 per square foot.
He added that a ready pool of upgraders in Sengkang, Hougang and Punggol new towns will be attracted to the project.
A similar development, H2O Residences at Fernvale Link, was recently launched, with more than 200 units sold over two weekends.
The Sengkang Square site was launched for public tender on January 21 and is slated for a condominium housing development with some 530 dwelling units.
HDB said it will evaluate the bids and announce the final results within the next two weeks.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Japan Quake May Have Slightly Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis, Theoretical Calculations Suggest
Japan Quake May Have Slightly Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis, Theoretical Calculations Suggest
ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2011) — The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan March 11, 2011 may have slightly shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis.
Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake -- the fifth largest since 1900 -- affected Earth's rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).
The calculations also show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 centimeters (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude. Earth's figure axis should not be confused with its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of Earth's axis in space -- only external forces such as the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and planets can do that.
Both calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
In comparison, following last year's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, Gross estimated the Chile quake should have shortened the length of day by about 1.26 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 8 centimeters (3 inches). A similar calculation performed after the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake revealed it should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches. How an individual earthquake affects Earth's rotation depends on its size (magnitude), location and the details of how the fault slipped.
Gross said that, in theory, anything that redistributes Earth's mass will change Earth's rotation.
"Earth's rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents," he said. "Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of a year, or about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan quake."
Gross said that while we can measure the effects of the atmosphere and ocean on Earth's rotation, the effects of earthquakes, at least up until now, have been too small to measure. The computed change in the length of day caused by earthquakes is much smaller than the accuracy with which scientists can currently measure changes in the length of the day. However, since the position of the figure axis can be measured to an accuracy of about 5 centimeters (2 inches), the estimated 17-centimeter shift in the figure axis from the Japan quake may actually be large enough to observe if scientists can adequately remove the larger effects of the atmosphere and ocean from the Earth rotation measurements. He and other scientists will be investigating this as more data become available.
Gross said the changes in Earth's rotation and figure axis caused by earthquakes should not have any impacts on our daily lives. "These changes in Earth's rotation are perfectly natural and happen all the time," he said. "People shouldn't worry about them."
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- wong chee tat :)
ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2011) — The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan March 11, 2011 may have slightly shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis.
Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake -- the fifth largest since 1900 -- affected Earth's rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).
The calculations also show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 centimeters (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude. Earth's figure axis should not be confused with its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of Earth's axis in space -- only external forces such as the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and planets can do that.
Both calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
In comparison, following last year's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, Gross estimated the Chile quake should have shortened the length of day by about 1.26 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 8 centimeters (3 inches). A similar calculation performed after the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake revealed it should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches. How an individual earthquake affects Earth's rotation depends on its size (magnitude), location and the details of how the fault slipped.
Gross said that, in theory, anything that redistributes Earth's mass will change Earth's rotation.
"Earth's rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents," he said. "Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of a year, or about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan quake."
Gross said that while we can measure the effects of the atmosphere and ocean on Earth's rotation, the effects of earthquakes, at least up until now, have been too small to measure. The computed change in the length of day caused by earthquakes is much smaller than the accuracy with which scientists can currently measure changes in the length of the day. However, since the position of the figure axis can be measured to an accuracy of about 5 centimeters (2 inches), the estimated 17-centimeter shift in the figure axis from the Japan quake may actually be large enough to observe if scientists can adequately remove the larger effects of the atmosphere and ocean from the Earth rotation measurements. He and other scientists will be investigating this as more data become available.
Gross said the changes in Earth's rotation and figure axis caused by earthquakes should not have any impacts on our daily lives. "These changes in Earth's rotation are perfectly natural and happen all the time," he said. "People shouldn't worry about them."
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- wong chee tat :)
HDB to launch tender for Pasir Ris DBSS site
HDB to launch tender for Pasir Ris DBSS site
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2242 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching the tender for sale of a residential land at Pasir Ris Central under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
The tender, which will be launched on March 16, will close at noon on May 31.
The 16,388-square-metre site has a maximum allowable gross floor area of over 45,800 square metres.
HDB estimates that 460 dwelling units can be built on the site, which is located near the Pasir Ris MRT station and bus interchange.
The lease is for 103 years, including a 48-month construction period.
So far this year, HDB has sold one DBSS land parcel in Clementi town with an estimated yield of 770 units.
Other than the current site, another two DBSS sites will be launched for tender within the next few months.
One land parcel is at Fernvale Link, which can yield 790 units, and the other is at Bendeemer Road, where about 700 units can be built.
HDB plans to launch enough sites for 4,000 or more DBSS flats this year, provided there is sustained demand.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2242 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching the tender for sale of a residential land at Pasir Ris Central under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
The tender, which will be launched on March 16, will close at noon on May 31.
The 16,388-square-metre site has a maximum allowable gross floor area of over 45,800 square metres.
HDB estimates that 460 dwelling units can be built on the site, which is located near the Pasir Ris MRT station and bus interchange.
The lease is for 103 years, including a 48-month construction period.
So far this year, HDB has sold one DBSS land parcel in Clementi town with an estimated yield of 770 units.
Other than the current site, another two DBSS sites will be launched for tender within the next few months.
One land parcel is at Fernvale Link, which can yield 790 units, and the other is at Bendeemer Road, where about 700 units can be built.
HDB plans to launch enough sites for 4,000 or more DBSS flats this year, provided there is sustained demand.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Watch out for the online 'boyfriend'
Watch out for the online 'boyfriend'
By Tanya Fong | Posted: 16 March 2011 0617 hrs
SINGAPORE - Some say it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.
But 19 Singaporean women who lost both money and their hearts on dating websites might disagree.
They had fallen prey to a resurgence of "Internet love scams", Channel NewsAsia has learnt.
Between October last year and January, the women - mostly from their late 20s to their 50s as well as a 73-year-old - were cheated of $787,000 in total by their online "boyfriends", police said.
The men, mostly foreigners, befriended the women through dating or social networking sites such as be2.com, zoosk.com, tagged.com and wayn.com.
After building a romance online with their victims, the fraudsters asked for money to be sent overseas for various reasons, such as being held at customs on their way to Singapore to meet the women.
One woman in her 30s lost $300,000 when she fell for the "marriage ruse" - her virtual boyfriend asked for a loan to process his father's inheritance and promised to come to Singapore to marry her.
Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Miss Tan, told Channel NewsAsia in an exclusive interview that she was cheated of $13,000 over three months by a man she befriended last August on dating website tagged.com.
The 40-year-old human resource manager chatted online every night, sometimes via webcam, with the so-called director of a London-based electronics firm.
"I felt he was sincere, and the relationship was real," she said.
He first asked if she would like to donate money to a church group in Africa.
She donated about $200 through a remittance house.
He then asked her to invest in his company. "I did my checks and the company existed. When I asked why his name wasn't on the board of directors, he said he was a sleeping partner and even had 'his lawyer' on the webcam," said Miss Tan.
After more than $10,000 was transferred, her "boyfriend" disappeared.
Channel NewsAsia contacted California-based tagged.com which has 100 million users worldwide and a spokesman said it takes the issue "very seriously". "Tagged is committed to the safety and security of its users in every country and always stands ready to assist law enforcement to resolve any abuse complaints," he said.
Police believe most of the fraudsters may be African, although the women might be led to believe they are Caucasians.
And enforcement is difficult when there are fake identities and personal details.
Police spokesman Deputy Superintendent Lau Kian Keong said: "Be careful when befriending strangers online. Don't put yourself in a vulnerable position or reveal personal details about yourself or transfer money to them through banks or remittance agencies."
In Singapore, matching and dating site eSynchrony.com only allows clients to date locally.
It also blocks overseas IP addresses and requires subscribers to register with their identity card or employment pass.
- TODAY /ls
- wong chee tat :)
By Tanya Fong | Posted: 16 March 2011 0617 hrs
SINGAPORE - Some say it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.
But 19 Singaporean women who lost both money and their hearts on dating websites might disagree.
They had fallen prey to a resurgence of "Internet love scams", Channel NewsAsia has learnt.
Between October last year and January, the women - mostly from their late 20s to their 50s as well as a 73-year-old - were cheated of $787,000 in total by their online "boyfriends", police said.
The men, mostly foreigners, befriended the women through dating or social networking sites such as be2.com, zoosk.com, tagged.com and wayn.com.
After building a romance online with their victims, the fraudsters asked for money to be sent overseas for various reasons, such as being held at customs on their way to Singapore to meet the women.
One woman in her 30s lost $300,000 when she fell for the "marriage ruse" - her virtual boyfriend asked for a loan to process his father's inheritance and promised to come to Singapore to marry her.
Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Miss Tan, told Channel NewsAsia in an exclusive interview that she was cheated of $13,000 over three months by a man she befriended last August on dating website tagged.com.
The 40-year-old human resource manager chatted online every night, sometimes via webcam, with the so-called director of a London-based electronics firm.
"I felt he was sincere, and the relationship was real," she said.
He first asked if she would like to donate money to a church group in Africa.
She donated about $200 through a remittance house.
He then asked her to invest in his company. "I did my checks and the company existed. When I asked why his name wasn't on the board of directors, he said he was a sleeping partner and even had 'his lawyer' on the webcam," said Miss Tan.
After more than $10,000 was transferred, her "boyfriend" disappeared.
Channel NewsAsia contacted California-based tagged.com which has 100 million users worldwide and a spokesman said it takes the issue "very seriously". "Tagged is committed to the safety and security of its users in every country and always stands ready to assist law enforcement to resolve any abuse complaints," he said.
Police believe most of the fraudsters may be African, although the women might be led to believe they are Caucasians.
And enforcement is difficult when there are fake identities and personal details.
Police spokesman Deputy Superintendent Lau Kian Keong said: "Be careful when befriending strangers online. Don't put yourself in a vulnerable position or reveal personal details about yourself or transfer money to them through banks or remittance agencies."
In Singapore, matching and dating site eSynchrony.com only allows clients to date locally.
It also blocks overseas IP addresses and requires subscribers to register with their identity card or employment pass.
- TODAY /ls
- wong chee tat :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
NTU revamps its curriculum structure for 2011's incoming freshmen
NTU revamps its curriculum structure for 2011's incoming freshmen
By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 15 March 2011 1835 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has unveiled a major revamp of its curriculum structure that will involve more choice, greater flexibility and fewer hours in the classroom for this year's incoming freshmen.
Currently, students at NTU already have some element of cross faculty studies. For instance, engineering students spend about 25 per cent of their time on electives.
However, under the new structure, they will spend at least 30 per cent of curriculum time on inter-disciplinary elective modules.
These include 29 new options in Liberal Studies, as well as a compulsory core option in Environmental Sustainability, on top of the roughly 800 electives already available.
NTU is also introducing a new Renaissance Engineering Programme which melds engineering with business management modules.
The aim, it says, is to "groom an exclusive breed of engineering leaders into future CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) and CTOs (Chief Technology Officers)".
It will also start two new double degrees in Business and Computer Engineering, and Business and Computer Science.
The new structure will not apply to existing students, but they may be able to take up some of the new courses.
NTU says on average, a new student may end up taking three or four fewer modules across his four years in NTU.
But while changes will mean fewer hours in the classroom, the university says there will be no dilution in content or academic rigour.
Instead, more time will be devoted to independent study and group learning.
Teaching methods will change too, with greater attention to the use of IT and tutorials in place of large lectures.
Faculty staff too, are expected to take on more research activities.
President-Designate and Provost, Professor Bertil Andersson says the revamp is needed to keep up with a world that has become more multi-cultural and globalised.
"We have to admit that maybe our undergraduate courses have been more conservative. Maybe we teach in the same way as we did 20, 25 years ago. And I think there's a big change that has to be done. We have to educate young people for the knowledge of tomorrow," said Professor Andersson.
The changes are part of a three-year review, called the Blue Ribbon Commission on Undergraduate Education, by NTU.
And they are aimed at developing graduates that are creative, have strong leadership skills, and possess a social conscience.
Beyond the academic aspects, it also calls for a change in campus environment.
This means new types of classrooms to facilitate student-lecturer exchange and group discussions, as well as more residential halls and recreational spaces.
Some of these plans were laid out in NTU's campus masterplan, announced earlier in the year.
NTU says the last revamp of the curriculum was in 2003, when it introduced more inter-disciplinary elements, and more avenues for undergraduate research and overseas exposure.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 15 March 2011 1835 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has unveiled a major revamp of its curriculum structure that will involve more choice, greater flexibility and fewer hours in the classroom for this year's incoming freshmen.
Currently, students at NTU already have some element of cross faculty studies. For instance, engineering students spend about 25 per cent of their time on electives.
However, under the new structure, they will spend at least 30 per cent of curriculum time on inter-disciplinary elective modules.
These include 29 new options in Liberal Studies, as well as a compulsory core option in Environmental Sustainability, on top of the roughly 800 electives already available.
NTU is also introducing a new Renaissance Engineering Programme which melds engineering with business management modules.
The aim, it says, is to "groom an exclusive breed of engineering leaders into future CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) and CTOs (Chief Technology Officers)".
It will also start two new double degrees in Business and Computer Engineering, and Business and Computer Science.
The new structure will not apply to existing students, but they may be able to take up some of the new courses.
NTU says on average, a new student may end up taking three or four fewer modules across his four years in NTU.
But while changes will mean fewer hours in the classroom, the university says there will be no dilution in content or academic rigour.
Instead, more time will be devoted to independent study and group learning.
Teaching methods will change too, with greater attention to the use of IT and tutorials in place of large lectures.
Faculty staff too, are expected to take on more research activities.
President-Designate and Provost, Professor Bertil Andersson says the revamp is needed to keep up with a world that has become more multi-cultural and globalised.
"We have to admit that maybe our undergraduate courses have been more conservative. Maybe we teach in the same way as we did 20, 25 years ago. And I think there's a big change that has to be done. We have to educate young people for the knowledge of tomorrow," said Professor Andersson.
The changes are part of a three-year review, called the Blue Ribbon Commission on Undergraduate Education, by NTU.
And they are aimed at developing graduates that are creative, have strong leadership skills, and possess a social conscience.
Beyond the academic aspects, it also calls for a change in campus environment.
This means new types of classrooms to facilitate student-lecturer exchange and group discussions, as well as more residential halls and recreational spaces.
Some of these plans were laid out in NTU's campus masterplan, announced earlier in the year.
NTU says the last revamp of the curriculum was in 2003, when it introduced more inter-disciplinary elements, and more avenues for undergraduate research and overseas exposure.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Quake moved Japan by 2.4 meters
Quake moved Japan by 2.4 meters
Posted: 13 March 2011 1109 hrs
WASHINGTON: Japan's recent massive earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, appears to have moved the island by about 2.4 meters (8 feet), the US Geological Survey said Saturday.
"That's a reasonable number," USGS seismologist Paul Earle told AFP. "Eight feet, that's certainly going to be in the ballpark."
Friday's 8.9 magnitude quake unleashed a terrifying tsunami that engulfed towns and cities on Japan's northeastern coast, destroying everything in its path in what Prime Minister Naoto Kan said was an "unprecedented national disaster."
The quake and its tectonic shift resulted from "thrust faulting" along the boundary of the Pacific and North America plates, according to the USGS.
The Pacific plate pushes under a far western wedge of the North America plate at the rate of about 3.3 inches per year, but a colossal earthquake can provide enough of a jolt to dramatically move the plates, with catastrophic consequences.
"With an earthquake this large, you can get these huge ground shifts," Earle said.
"On the actual fault you can get 20 meters (65 feet) of relative movement, on the two sides of the fault."
He said similar movements would have been seen for Chile and Indonesia.
In December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off Sumatra caused a tsunami that killed an estimated 228,000 people.
An 8.8 quake off the coast of Chile in February 2010 killed more than 500.
There was not a similar ground shift in the 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in February 2010, Earle said.
"A magnitude 7.0 is much smaller than the earthquake that just happened in Japan," he said. "We've had aftershocks (in Japan) larger than the Haiti earthquake."
Kenneth Hudnut, a USGS geophysicist, said experts read data including from global positioning systems to determine the extend of the shift.
"We know that one GPS station moved (eight feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," he told CNN.
- AFP/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 13 March 2011 1109 hrs
WASHINGTON: Japan's recent massive earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, appears to have moved the island by about 2.4 meters (8 feet), the US Geological Survey said Saturday.
"That's a reasonable number," USGS seismologist Paul Earle told AFP. "Eight feet, that's certainly going to be in the ballpark."
Friday's 8.9 magnitude quake unleashed a terrifying tsunami that engulfed towns and cities on Japan's northeastern coast, destroying everything in its path in what Prime Minister Naoto Kan said was an "unprecedented national disaster."
The quake and its tectonic shift resulted from "thrust faulting" along the boundary of the Pacific and North America plates, according to the USGS.
The Pacific plate pushes under a far western wedge of the North America plate at the rate of about 3.3 inches per year, but a colossal earthquake can provide enough of a jolt to dramatically move the plates, with catastrophic consequences.
"With an earthquake this large, you can get these huge ground shifts," Earle said.
"On the actual fault you can get 20 meters (65 feet) of relative movement, on the two sides of the fault."
He said similar movements would have been seen for Chile and Indonesia.
In December 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off Sumatra caused a tsunami that killed an estimated 228,000 people.
An 8.8 quake off the coast of Chile in February 2010 killed more than 500.
There was not a similar ground shift in the 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in February 2010, Earle said.
"A magnitude 7.0 is much smaller than the earthquake that just happened in Japan," he said. "We've had aftershocks (in Japan) larger than the Haiti earthquake."
Kenneth Hudnut, a USGS geophysicist, said experts read data including from global positioning systems to determine the extend of the shift.
"We know that one GPS station moved (eight feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," he told CNN.
- AFP/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Scientists already making discoveries in wake of Japan's temblor
Scientists already making discoveries in wake of Japan's temblor
March 12, 2011 By Eryn Brown
Friday's 8.9-magnitude temblor off the east coast of Japan ranks as one of the 10-largest earthquakes ever recorded. Though scientists have just begun to pore over the data, they have already made some surprising discoveries about one of the most quake-prone regions on Earth.
Here's what experts have learned about the earthquake thus far.
Q: What caused it?
A: The earthquake occurred because a portion of the Pacific Plate is being pushed into and underneath the North American plate, forming a so-called subduction zone that built up so much pressure it ruptured, slipping as much as 60 feet.
"This was a planetary monster," said Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center at USC.
The earthquake occurred along a patch of an undersea fault that's about 220 miles long and 60 miles wide. Because the fault broke at a shallow depth, it shifted the sea floor, triggering tsunamis throughout the Pacific Ocean.
Q: Was it a surprise?
A: Yes and no. Seismologists said the quake was larger than they thought was possible in that part of the world. "We thought about the Big One as an 8.5 or so," said Susan Hough, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif. Such an earthquake would have been about one-third as strong as an 8.9 quake.
"But it's not like an 8.9 hit Kansas," she added. "We know Japan is an active subduction zone."
What tripped scientists up was a lack of recent activity in the area, Jordan said. The last earthquake of this magnitude along this plate boundary occurred in the year 869. Seismologists had been debating the fault's potential to break, but they had little data to go on.
"The question was whether that section had locked - accumulating strain - or was it slipping slowly," Jordan said. "We now know that this is a plate boundary that was locked."
Q: You mean there were no hints at all?
A: Brian Atwater, a USGS seismologist based in Seattle, said that Japanese GPS data collected since the 1990s showed that the coast of Japan was being pulled inland at a rate of about 25 feet per century, another indication that the plates were stuck and energy was building between them.
"That's like money in the bank in terms of producing an earthquake," he said. "The more time that passes, the more the bank account fills up. This fault had not been a big spender for a long time."
Q: There was a lot of seismic activity off Japan's coast last week, including a magnitude 7.2 quake on Wednesday. Should that have been a warning sign?
A: In hindsight, it's clear that there were foreshocks, experts said. But if the smaller quakes had petered out, they would have looked like business as usual. "It wasn't that big a deal for that part of the world," Hough said. "There's always activity going on. But those are the kind of earthquakes that happen on a weekly basis. You can't go on high alert every time this happens."
"These were foreshocks," agreed USC's Jordan, "but we couldn't have known."
Q: Should we expect more earthquakes?
A: Aftershocks in the region have been ongoing, including 10 in the first hour alone. Jordan and Hough said that these could be quite damaging and might even create another rupture along the complex system of plate boundaries that extend toward Tokyo.
It's not unusual to see far-flung increases in seismic activity after large earthquakes, Jordan said. In part, that's because the Earth oscillates after a big quake much like when a musician hits a gong, and such vibrations can change the stresses on faults "in a small way."
But Hough said there's no reason to think that this earthquake will trigger a series of other catastrophic quakes around the world. Sometimes it seems like big quakes come in clusters, but it's just a coincidence, she said: "It's not like there's some global supercluster getting out of hand."
Q: Will this change the way scientists look at earthquakes around the world?
A: It already has, by expanding the list of places where magnitude 9 "megaquakes" could happen, Hough said. "We had a sense that these couldn't happen along any subduction zone - that it took a certain geometry, a bigger zone," she said. "One lesson is that these are possible in more places than we thought."
Q: Does this change our understanding of earthquakes in Southern California and elsewhere on the West Coast?
A: Not really. The San Andreas fault is not a subduction fault. It's a strike-slip fault, where one plate moves sideways relative to the other, that is broken into two segments. Hough said that a rupture over the length of the entire 800-mile-long fault, which she believes would result in a magnitude 8.3 quake, is unlikely because there's a stretch in the middle where the fault is able to creep, releasing energy. A full break of either section of the San Andreas would result in a quake of about a magnitude 8, she estimates. The events in Japan don't alter those estimates.
Comparisons to faults in the Pacific Northwest may be more apt. There, as in Japan, the plate boundary is a subduction zone.
Q: This sounds a lot like the 9.3 earthquake that struck Sumatra in 2004, generating a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in 14 countries.
It's similar to that quake but significantly smaller. The stretch of the plate boundary involved in the Sumatra quake was 700 to 900 miles long, Hough said.
Q: The 1995 Kobe quake in Japan killed more than 6,000 people. Was it almost as big as this one?
A: Not even close. Its magnitude was 6.9 and its fault area was 100 times less than this quake's, Jordan said. But it was deadly because it came so close to the city of Kobe.
"Earthquakes are like real estate," he said. What matters is "location, location, location."
(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
- wong chee tat :)
March 12, 2011 By Eryn Brown
Friday's 8.9-magnitude temblor off the east coast of Japan ranks as one of the 10-largest earthquakes ever recorded. Though scientists have just begun to pore over the data, they have already made some surprising discoveries about one of the most quake-prone regions on Earth.
Here's what experts have learned about the earthquake thus far.
Q: What caused it?
A: The earthquake occurred because a portion of the Pacific Plate is being pushed into and underneath the North American plate, forming a so-called subduction zone that built up so much pressure it ruptured, slipping as much as 60 feet.
"This was a planetary monster," said Thomas Jordan, director of the Southern California Earthquake Center at USC.
The earthquake occurred along a patch of an undersea fault that's about 220 miles long and 60 miles wide. Because the fault broke at a shallow depth, it shifted the sea floor, triggering tsunamis throughout the Pacific Ocean.
Q: Was it a surprise?
A: Yes and no. Seismologists said the quake was larger than they thought was possible in that part of the world. "We thought about the Big One as an 8.5 or so," said Susan Hough, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, Calif. Such an earthquake would have been about one-third as strong as an 8.9 quake.
"But it's not like an 8.9 hit Kansas," she added. "We know Japan is an active subduction zone."
What tripped scientists up was a lack of recent activity in the area, Jordan said. The last earthquake of this magnitude along this plate boundary occurred in the year 869. Seismologists had been debating the fault's potential to break, but they had little data to go on.
"The question was whether that section had locked - accumulating strain - or was it slipping slowly," Jordan said. "We now know that this is a plate boundary that was locked."
Q: You mean there were no hints at all?
A: Brian Atwater, a USGS seismologist based in Seattle, said that Japanese GPS data collected since the 1990s showed that the coast of Japan was being pulled inland at a rate of about 25 feet per century, another indication that the plates were stuck and energy was building between them.
"That's like money in the bank in terms of producing an earthquake," he said. "The more time that passes, the more the bank account fills up. This fault had not been a big spender for a long time."
Q: There was a lot of seismic activity off Japan's coast last week, including a magnitude 7.2 quake on Wednesday. Should that have been a warning sign?
A: In hindsight, it's clear that there were foreshocks, experts said. But if the smaller quakes had petered out, they would have looked like business as usual. "It wasn't that big a deal for that part of the world," Hough said. "There's always activity going on. But those are the kind of earthquakes that happen on a weekly basis. You can't go on high alert every time this happens."
"These were foreshocks," agreed USC's Jordan, "but we couldn't have known."
Q: Should we expect more earthquakes?
A: Aftershocks in the region have been ongoing, including 10 in the first hour alone. Jordan and Hough said that these could be quite damaging and might even create another rupture along the complex system of plate boundaries that extend toward Tokyo.
It's not unusual to see far-flung increases in seismic activity after large earthquakes, Jordan said. In part, that's because the Earth oscillates after a big quake much like when a musician hits a gong, and such vibrations can change the stresses on faults "in a small way."
But Hough said there's no reason to think that this earthquake will trigger a series of other catastrophic quakes around the world. Sometimes it seems like big quakes come in clusters, but it's just a coincidence, she said: "It's not like there's some global supercluster getting out of hand."
Q: Will this change the way scientists look at earthquakes around the world?
A: It already has, by expanding the list of places where magnitude 9 "megaquakes" could happen, Hough said. "We had a sense that these couldn't happen along any subduction zone - that it took a certain geometry, a bigger zone," she said. "One lesson is that these are possible in more places than we thought."
Q: Does this change our understanding of earthquakes in Southern California and elsewhere on the West Coast?
A: Not really. The San Andreas fault is not a subduction fault. It's a strike-slip fault, where one plate moves sideways relative to the other, that is broken into two segments. Hough said that a rupture over the length of the entire 800-mile-long fault, which she believes would result in a magnitude 8.3 quake, is unlikely because there's a stretch in the middle where the fault is able to creep, releasing energy. A full break of either section of the San Andreas would result in a quake of about a magnitude 8, she estimates. The events in Japan don't alter those estimates.
Comparisons to faults in the Pacific Northwest may be more apt. There, as in Japan, the plate boundary is a subduction zone.
Q: This sounds a lot like the 9.3 earthquake that struck Sumatra in 2004, generating a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in 14 countries.
It's similar to that quake but significantly smaller. The stretch of the plate boundary involved in the Sumatra quake was 700 to 900 miles long, Hough said.
Q: The 1995 Kobe quake in Japan killed more than 6,000 people. Was it almost as big as this one?
A: Not even close. Its magnitude was 6.9 and its fault area was 100 times less than this quake's, Jordan said. But it was deadly because it came so close to the city of Kobe.
"Earthquakes are like real estate," he said. What matters is "location, location, location."
(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
- wong chee tat :)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Woodleigh MRT Station to open on June 20
Woodleigh MRT Station to open on June 20
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 08 March 2011 1735 hrs
SINGAPORE : SBS Transit has said that Woodleigh, the last unopened station along the North East Line, will begin revenue service on Monday June 20, thanks to an increase in new developments that have come up in the area.
With its opening, residents in new developments like 'Blossoms@Woodleigh' and 'Parc Mondrian' can hop onto the 20-kilometre line to get to places like Punggol and HarbourFront in less than 19 minutes.
They can also transfer to other MRT lines at Serangoon, Dhoby Ghaut or Outram Park stations to get to other suburban towns such as Jurong, Tampines or even Woodlands.
Besides residents, the new station will also be able to serve students and staff from the nearby Stamford American International School, which is slated to open next year.
On the same day that Woodleigh Station opens, Damai LRT Station, which is located in Punggol New Town, will also begin service, following the increase in residential developments in its vicinity.
With the opening of Damai Station, all the seven stations on the Punggol East LRT system will be operational.
As such, the Punggol East LRT system will operate in both directions for passenger convenience and to cater to ridership growth.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 08 March 2011 1735 hrs
SINGAPORE : SBS Transit has said that Woodleigh, the last unopened station along the North East Line, will begin revenue service on Monday June 20, thanks to an increase in new developments that have come up in the area.
With its opening, residents in new developments like 'Blossoms@Woodleigh' and 'Parc Mondrian' can hop onto the 20-kilometre line to get to places like Punggol and HarbourFront in less than 19 minutes.
They can also transfer to other MRT lines at Serangoon, Dhoby Ghaut or Outram Park stations to get to other suburban towns such as Jurong, Tampines or even Woodlands.
Besides residents, the new station will also be able to serve students and staff from the nearby Stamford American International School, which is slated to open next year.
On the same day that Woodleigh Station opens, Damai LRT Station, which is located in Punggol New Town, will also begin service, following the increase in residential developments in its vicinity.
With the opening of Damai Station, all the seven stations on the Punggol East LRT system will be operational.
As such, the Punggol East LRT system will operate in both directions for passenger convenience and to cater to ridership growth.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
IT show 2011 boasts 830 exhibitors
IT show 2011 boasts 830 exhibitors
By Zhao Quan Yin & Wayne Chan | Posted: 10 March 2011 2342 hrs
SINGAPORE: 830 exhibitors are showing off their wares at the IT Show 2011, with 20 per cent of the products in Singapore for the first time.
One of the rarities in the show is a S$4,500 iPad casing, studded with 8,000 Swarovski crystals.
iPod and iPhone accessories, particularly the type that allows users to wear their devices around their necks, were cleaned out in two hours.
Also, a new over-the-top box unveiled by StarHub allows users to play internet and multimedia content on their televisions.
The show is on at Suntec Singapore till Sunday.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
By Zhao Quan Yin & Wayne Chan | Posted: 10 March 2011 2342 hrs
SINGAPORE: 830 exhibitors are showing off their wares at the IT Show 2011, with 20 per cent of the products in Singapore for the first time.
One of the rarities in the show is a S$4,500 iPad casing, studded with 8,000 Swarovski crystals.
iPod and iPhone accessories, particularly the type that allows users to wear their devices around their necks, were cleaned out in two hours.
Also, a new over-the-top box unveiled by StarHub allows users to play internet and multimedia content on their televisions.
The show is on at Suntec Singapore till Sunday.
- CNA/cc
- wong chee tat :)
Pine Grove's DC may deter property developers: analysts
Pine Grove's DC may deter property developers: analysts
By Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 10 March 2011 2351 hrs
SINGAPORE : Experts have said Pine Grove's high development charge (DC) of S$460 million may be a deal breaker for property developers.
They add that the site's DC has increased by 9.5 per cent, in line with the DC rate hike earlier this month.
Including the DC, analysts said Pine Grove's total cost for a buyer works out to S$2.16 billion or S$1,152 per square foot per plot ratio.
A lush green view is what Pine Grove resident Lisa Chong is giving up if the site - worth an estimated S$1.7 billion - is sold.
Upon the sale, Ms Chong and her family will be receiving more than S$2 million.
Pine Grove home owners will receive between S$2.1 million and S$2.75 million for each of the units, which range in size from 1,163 square feet to 1,938 square feet.
Ms Chong said: "Probably part of it will go towards our new place, wherever that is going to be, and we would probably try to invest the rest."
Analysts said Pine Grove's hefty price tag will squeeze out small and single property developers.
Christina Sim, director of investment at Cushman & Wakefield, said: "For such a huge project, you will be looking at a consortium of developers because it is far too big a risk for a single developer to undertake. We will probably be looking at the big developers who might team up to buy this plot."
With the market looking robust, experts said property developers are now stocking up on their land banks.
And private property owners are cashing in on the trend.
Currently, there have been at least eight collective sale tenders and two done deals so far this year.
Meanwhile, Ms Chong is positive that Pine Grove's third enbloc attempt will be a success.
She said: "At the end of the day, it is still a prime location. We are on the major bus routes, we are relatively close to the CBD by expressway and we are also close to town, we are not in an overly noisy neighbourhood so...we hope for the best."
But analysts said DC rates have increased significantly in the last four years, which have thinned profit margins for some enbloc property residents.
Ms Sim said: "We were looking at as high of a profit margin of 50 to 100 per cent, but now if you get a margin of 15 to 30 per cent, I think you are considered quite lucky."
Analysts said the DC rate increase is the government's way of keeping the enbloc property market in check.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
By Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 10 March 2011 2351 hrs
SINGAPORE : Experts have said Pine Grove's high development charge (DC) of S$460 million may be a deal breaker for property developers.
They add that the site's DC has increased by 9.5 per cent, in line with the DC rate hike earlier this month.
Including the DC, analysts said Pine Grove's total cost for a buyer works out to S$2.16 billion or S$1,152 per square foot per plot ratio.
A lush green view is what Pine Grove resident Lisa Chong is giving up if the site - worth an estimated S$1.7 billion - is sold.
Upon the sale, Ms Chong and her family will be receiving more than S$2 million.
Pine Grove home owners will receive between S$2.1 million and S$2.75 million for each of the units, which range in size from 1,163 square feet to 1,938 square feet.
Ms Chong said: "Probably part of it will go towards our new place, wherever that is going to be, and we would probably try to invest the rest."
Analysts said Pine Grove's hefty price tag will squeeze out small and single property developers.
Christina Sim, director of investment at Cushman & Wakefield, said: "For such a huge project, you will be looking at a consortium of developers because it is far too big a risk for a single developer to undertake. We will probably be looking at the big developers who might team up to buy this plot."
With the market looking robust, experts said property developers are now stocking up on their land banks.
And private property owners are cashing in on the trend.
Currently, there have been at least eight collective sale tenders and two done deals so far this year.
Meanwhile, Ms Chong is positive that Pine Grove's third enbloc attempt will be a success.
She said: "At the end of the day, it is still a prime location. We are on the major bus routes, we are relatively close to the CBD by expressway and we are also close to town, we are not in an overly noisy neighbourhood so...we hope for the best."
But analysts said DC rates have increased significantly in the last four years, which have thinned profit margins for some enbloc property residents.
Ms Sim said: "We were looking at as high of a profit margin of 50 to 100 per cent, but now if you get a margin of 15 to 30 per cent, I think you are considered quite lucky."
Analysts said the DC rate increase is the government's way of keeping the enbloc property market in check.
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
Medtronic opens manufacturing facility in Singapore
Medtronic opens manufacturing facility in Singapore
By Stella Lee | Posted: 10 March 2011 2143 hrs
SINGAPORE : Medtronic, the largest maker of heart devices globally, opened a new manufacturing facility in Singapore on Thursday.
The unit, in which Medtronic will have invested a total of S$71 million by the end of this year, will give a further boost to Singapore's standing as a biomedical sciences hub.
The Singapore facility, which will make sophisticated cardiac devices, will employ more than 120 people by the end of 2011.
According to research firm Frost and Sullivan, annual sales of medical devices in Asia-Pacific will amount to US$6.3 billion by next year, accounting for a quarter of the global total.
The researcher said that by next year, medical device sales in Asia-Pacific will be growing almost twice as fast as global demand for these products.
Medtronic, which opened its regional headquarters in China recently, expects revenue from its Asian operations to grow substantially.
William A Hawkins, chairman and chief executive of Medtronic, said: "So today if you look at emerging markets, it makes up 9 per cent or 10 per cent of our total revenues, and we are projecting that in the next five years that it will double to say 20 per cent of our business for the emerging markets."
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
By Stella Lee | Posted: 10 March 2011 2143 hrs
SINGAPORE : Medtronic, the largest maker of heart devices globally, opened a new manufacturing facility in Singapore on Thursday.
The unit, in which Medtronic will have invested a total of S$71 million by the end of this year, will give a further boost to Singapore's standing as a biomedical sciences hub.
The Singapore facility, which will make sophisticated cardiac devices, will employ more than 120 people by the end of 2011.
According to research firm Frost and Sullivan, annual sales of medical devices in Asia-Pacific will amount to US$6.3 billion by next year, accounting for a quarter of the global total.
The researcher said that by next year, medical device sales in Asia-Pacific will be growing almost twice as fast as global demand for these products.
Medtronic, which opened its regional headquarters in China recently, expects revenue from its Asian operations to grow substantially.
William A Hawkins, chairman and chief executive of Medtronic, said: "So today if you look at emerging markets, it makes up 9 per cent or 10 per cent of our total revenues, and we are projecting that in the next five years that it will double to say 20 per cent of our business for the emerging markets."
- CNA/ms
- wong chee tat :)
Psoriasis condition more than skin deep
Psoriasis condition more than skin deep
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 12 March 2011 1553 hrs
SINGAPORE: Experts have urged those who are suffering from psoriasis -- a non-contagious but incurable inflammatory skin condition -- to come forward to seek treatment.
Psoriasis leads to the thickening of the skin and scaling, and affects about one per cent of Singapore's population.
Thirty-six-year-old Shawn Wong, a psoriasis patient of 21 years, said the condition caused him to be constantly depressed, as he had to cope with the social stigma and endure pain.
"You have a lot of things to be mindful of, in terms of putting on the lotion and psychologically," the marketing professional said.
"You have to be careful not to be affected by stares; people may wonder what the red patches on your skin are, and if they are contagious. From there, you get emotionally affected and distressed by it."
Psoriasis has been shown to affect health-related quality of life to an extent similar to effects of other chronic diseases like hypertension and congestive heart failure or type 2 diabetes.
According to The National Skin Centre, there are about 2,000 new cases each year.
There are about 50,000 persons affected by psoriasis in Singapore.
There are five main types of psoriasis are plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular and erythrodermic.
The most common form, plaque psoriasis, is commonly seen as red and white scaly patches appearing on the skin.
While psoriasis may appear at any age, research suggests it is more likely to affect those in their 20s and 30s.
Experts stressed that while the disease is incurable, it is not contagious.
They said they hope the public will be more compassionate to patients.
Psoriasis Association of Singapore president Colin Theng said: "Just imagine walking around with red patches all over yourself.
"Patients are affected mentally, feel very embarrassed and depressed about their (condition). There are often times they want to isolate themselves from other people for fear of what people would think".
Eighty per cent of the new cases reported here each year are scalp psoriasis patients, and the patients can now turn to a more effective treatment in the form of a gel called Xamiol.
Experts say it's easy to use and a quick improvement was seen as early as one to two weeks of treatment.
The standard treatment is to use coal tar, salicyclic acid and steroid lotions which can be messy and time-consuming for patients.
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 12 March 2011 1553 hrs
SINGAPORE: Experts have urged those who are suffering from psoriasis -- a non-contagious but incurable inflammatory skin condition -- to come forward to seek treatment.
Psoriasis leads to the thickening of the skin and scaling, and affects about one per cent of Singapore's population.
Thirty-six-year-old Shawn Wong, a psoriasis patient of 21 years, said the condition caused him to be constantly depressed, as he had to cope with the social stigma and endure pain.
"You have a lot of things to be mindful of, in terms of putting on the lotion and psychologically," the marketing professional said.
"You have to be careful not to be affected by stares; people may wonder what the red patches on your skin are, and if they are contagious. From there, you get emotionally affected and distressed by it."
Psoriasis has been shown to affect health-related quality of life to an extent similar to effects of other chronic diseases like hypertension and congestive heart failure or type 2 diabetes.
According to The National Skin Centre, there are about 2,000 new cases each year.
There are about 50,000 persons affected by psoriasis in Singapore.
There are five main types of psoriasis are plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular and erythrodermic.
The most common form, plaque psoriasis, is commonly seen as red and white scaly patches appearing on the skin.
While psoriasis may appear at any age, research suggests it is more likely to affect those in their 20s and 30s.
Experts stressed that while the disease is incurable, it is not contagious.
They said they hope the public will be more compassionate to patients.
Psoriasis Association of Singapore president Colin Theng said: "Just imagine walking around with red patches all over yourself.
"Patients are affected mentally, feel very embarrassed and depressed about their (condition). There are often times they want to isolate themselves from other people for fear of what people would think".
Eighty per cent of the new cases reported here each year are scalp psoriasis patients, and the patients can now turn to a more effective treatment in the form of a gel called Xamiol.
Experts say it's easy to use and a quick improvement was seen as early as one to two weeks of treatment.
The standard treatment is to use coal tar, salicyclic acid and steroid lotions which can be messy and time-consuming for patients.
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Renovated ROM, ROMM ready by June
Renovated ROM, ROMM ready by June
Posted: 12 March 2011 1715 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Registry of Marriages (ROM) and Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) will resume operations at the newly-renovated Registries of Marriages Building at Canning Rise from June 14, 2011.
Couples planning to get married from this date can opt to solemnise their marriage at the upgraded building.
Bookings for the solemnisation rooms can be done from March 14, 2011.
Couples can file their notice of marriage at the ROM website or for Muslim marriages, at the ROMM website.
The couples may also choose to have their marriage solemnised at an external venue of their choice.
Both registries have been operating at a temporary office at the Ministry of National Development Building (MND) at Maxwell Road since January 26, 2010 while the building at Canning Rise was undergoing renovation.
The registries will continue to serve marrying couples at the MND Building until the move back to Canning Rise.
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 12 March 2011 1715 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Registry of Marriages (ROM) and Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) will resume operations at the newly-renovated Registries of Marriages Building at Canning Rise from June 14, 2011.
Couples planning to get married from this date can opt to solemnise their marriage at the upgraded building.
Bookings for the solemnisation rooms can be done from March 14, 2011.
Couples can file their notice of marriage at the ROM website or for Muslim marriages, at the ROMM website.
The couples may also choose to have their marriage solemnised at an external venue of their choice.
Both registries have been operating at a temporary office at the Ministry of National Development Building (MND) at Maxwell Road since January 26, 2010 while the building at Canning Rise was undergoing renovation.
The registries will continue to serve marrying couples at the MND Building until the move back to Canning Rise.
-CNA/wk
- wong chee tat :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tough crystal nut cracked: Correct prediction of all three known crystal structures of a sulfonimide
Tough crystal nut cracked: Correct prediction of all three known crystal structures of a sulfonimide
March 10, 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- It's not just the type of molecules a material is made of, the way in which they are arranged in space is important too. For many organic molecules, multiple crystal structures are known, and their physical properties can differ significantly. For example, a drug can be effective in one crystalline form but much less effective in another because it doesn't dissolve fast enough. Unfortunately, it has not been possible until recently to reliably predict crystal structures by using computer simulations. Frank Leusen and his co-workers at the University of Bradford (UK) are making significant progress on this front. As the scientists report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they successfully used a quantum mechanical approach to predict the three known crystal structures of a sulfonamide.
Small differences in the production conditions, such as variations in pressure or temperature, can be enough to cause fine chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals, pigments, explosives, or agrochemicals, to crystallize in a different form. This can lead to problems with the production process or to undesirable product properties. It is correspondingly important to know which crystal structures are possible.
Scientists use computational chemistry methods to obtain information about molecular structures and crystallization processes. However, taking all of the parameters into account would exceed current computational capacities. “Precise, reliable predictions of the crystal structures of organic molecules have remained somewhat of a Holy Grail for crystallography,” says Leusen.
An international project regularly organizes blind studies in which research groups are asked to predict crystal structures. In 2007, Leusen and two co-workers were able to successfully predict the crystal structures of all four test compounds by using a quantum mechanical approach. A team led by Leusen then took on another test compound, a sulfonamide, which was the subject of a blind study in 2001; none of the participating teams was able to predict the crystal structure at the time. Interestingly, two additional, previously unknown crystal structures of this sulfonamide were discovered after the study. “By using the computational process developed by Marcus Neumann at Avant-garde Materials Simulation in Freiburg, Germany, we were able to correctly predict all three crystal structures,” says Leusen.
“Even though it is currently not possible to predict the outcome of a specific crystallization experiment under specific boundary conditions,” explains Leusen, “our results demonstrate that precise calculations of the lattice energy are sufficient to model crystallization thermodynamics and thus predict the different crystal structures of small organic molecules.”
More information: Frank J. J. Leusen, Molecule VI, a Benchmark Crystal-Structure-Prediction Sulfonimide: Are Its Polymorphs Predictable? Angewandte Chemie International Edition, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201007488
Provided by Wiley (news : web)
- wong chee tat :)
March 10, 2011
(PhysOrg.com) -- It's not just the type of molecules a material is made of, the way in which they are arranged in space is important too. For many organic molecules, multiple crystal structures are known, and their physical properties can differ significantly. For example, a drug can be effective in one crystalline form but much less effective in another because it doesn't dissolve fast enough. Unfortunately, it has not been possible until recently to reliably predict crystal structures by using computer simulations. Frank Leusen and his co-workers at the University of Bradford (UK) are making significant progress on this front. As the scientists report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they successfully used a quantum mechanical approach to predict the three known crystal structures of a sulfonamide.
Small differences in the production conditions, such as variations in pressure or temperature, can be enough to cause fine chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals, pigments, explosives, or agrochemicals, to crystallize in a different form. This can lead to problems with the production process or to undesirable product properties. It is correspondingly important to know which crystal structures are possible.
Scientists use computational chemistry methods to obtain information about molecular structures and crystallization processes. However, taking all of the parameters into account would exceed current computational capacities. “Precise, reliable predictions of the crystal structures of organic molecules have remained somewhat of a Holy Grail for crystallography,” says Leusen.
An international project regularly organizes blind studies in which research groups are asked to predict crystal structures. In 2007, Leusen and two co-workers were able to successfully predict the crystal structures of all four test compounds by using a quantum mechanical approach. A team led by Leusen then took on another test compound, a sulfonamide, which was the subject of a blind study in 2001; none of the participating teams was able to predict the crystal structure at the time. Interestingly, two additional, previously unknown crystal structures of this sulfonamide were discovered after the study. “By using the computational process developed by Marcus Neumann at Avant-garde Materials Simulation in Freiburg, Germany, we were able to correctly predict all three crystal structures,” says Leusen.
“Even though it is currently not possible to predict the outcome of a specific crystallization experiment under specific boundary conditions,” explains Leusen, “our results demonstrate that precise calculations of the lattice energy are sufficient to model crystallization thermodynamics and thus predict the different crystal structures of small organic molecules.”
More information: Frank J. J. Leusen, Molecule VI, a Benchmark Crystal-Structure-Prediction Sulfonimide: Are Its Polymorphs Predictable? Angewandte Chemie International Edition, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201007488
Provided by Wiley (news : web)
- wong chee tat :)
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