90.6% pass 2012 GCE 'A' Level exam
By Sharon See | Posted: 01 March 2013 1511 hrs
SINGAPORE: The percentage of school students obtaining GCE 'A' Level passes for 2012 fell marginally - by 0.2 per cent, compared to the year before.
90.6 per cent of the cohort obtained at least three H2 passes with a pass in General Paper or Knowledge and Inquiry.
School candidates received their results from 2:30pm on Friday.
Private candidates will receive their results by post.
They may also access their results through the SEAB website at www.seab.gov.sg.
At Hwa Chong Institution, there were five pairs of twins receiving their 'A' Level results on Friday afternoon.
One pair said having a twin sometimes means double power.
Ang Jia Xi, said of her twin Ang Jia Wei: "We didn't do the same subjects, she took Biology, and I took Physics, she took Geography and I took Economics, so we didn't really share much in terms of notes. I think what we helped each other in is the moral support because you know, you have to do better than her - friendly competition."
Jia Wei added: "It's like having someone who's there, going through very similar things as you are. I think we like to talk to each other and debate about issues together, so that helps us to sharpen our way of thinking and to really consider both sides of an issue."
They say good things come in pairs, and such is true for Jia Xi and Jia Wei, who got eight and seven distinctions each.
The twins will be separated for the first time in their lives, now that Jia Xi is heading abroad on a government scholarship.
Jia Xi said: "We've been in the same class and the same school since kindergarten, so I think this opportunity to develop in our own ways will be good as well."
Hwa Chong said this year's results is its best in five years, with more than 60 per cent obtaining three or more distinctions.
Hwa Chong is one of several schools that have decided not to highlight the number of perfect scorers of nine distinctions in the cohort. This follows the Education Ministry's move away from focusing solely on academic results.
For Raffles Institution, it is the first time the school has produced 10 perfect scorers with nine distinctions.
Many students who have good grades also held leadership positions in their co-curricular activities while contributing to community service.
Aloysius Lim from Millennia Institute has a rare form of genetic vision loss, which makes it difficult for him to read.
He reads with a bubble magnifier and uses a magnifier CCTV during exams and for home study.
Despite the odds, Aloysius has consistently done well in class and participated actively in school events.
For the 'A' Levels, examiners gave him extra time to complete his papers and he scored A, B and D for his three H2 subjects.
He said: "Writing on the foolscap, sometimes I will write under the line, and sometimes I need more time to study. Whenever I feel like giving up, I just think of my parents, how they work hard and encourage me."
- CNA/ck/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Only 2 in 5 taxpayers need to file tax
Only 2 in 5 taxpayers need to file tax
Posted: 01 March 2013 1606 hrs
SINGAPORE: The annual tax filing season starts Friday, but only two in five taxpayers need to do so.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) says more than 1.13 million, or nearly 60 per cent of the 1.92 million taxpayer base are eligible for the No-Filing Service (NFS).
First introduced in 2007 to 45,000 taxpayers, the NFS has grown in scale to benefit 25 times as many taxpayers this year.
Taxpayers who have been informed by IRAS of their eligibility for NFS this year will not need to file a tax return, unless they have additional income to declare or changes to make to their personal reliefs.
The remaining 40 per cent of taxpayers who are not on NFS would have received a letter or SMS notification informing them to file via myTax.iras.gov.sg by 18 April.
These taxpayers will have to file a tax return this year, even if their employers have sent their salary details to IRAS under the Auto-Inclusion of Employment Income Scheme.
In his 2013 Budget Speech, Deputy prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has announced that all individuals who are tax resident in Singapore will enjoy a personal income tax rebate for Year of Assessment (YA) 2013.
But they do not need to apply for the personal income tax rebate.
IRAS will automatically grant the rebate to all eligible taxpayers and reflect the amount in their tax bill.
The amount of personal income tax rebate will depend on the person's age as at 31 December 2012 - those aged below 60 will get a tax rebate of 30 per cent while those aged 60 and above enjoy a tax rebate of 50 per cent - both capped at S$1,500.
- CNA/ck
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 01 March 2013 1606 hrs
SINGAPORE: The annual tax filing season starts Friday, but only two in five taxpayers need to do so.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) says more than 1.13 million, or nearly 60 per cent of the 1.92 million taxpayer base are eligible for the No-Filing Service (NFS).
First introduced in 2007 to 45,000 taxpayers, the NFS has grown in scale to benefit 25 times as many taxpayers this year.
Taxpayers who have been informed by IRAS of their eligibility for NFS this year will not need to file a tax return, unless they have additional income to declare or changes to make to their personal reliefs.
The remaining 40 per cent of taxpayers who are not on NFS would have received a letter or SMS notification informing them to file via myTax.iras.gov.sg by 18 April.
These taxpayers will have to file a tax return this year, even if their employers have sent their salary details to IRAS under the Auto-Inclusion of Employment Income Scheme.
In his 2013 Budget Speech, Deputy prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has announced that all individuals who are tax resident in Singapore will enjoy a personal income tax rebate for Year of Assessment (YA) 2013.
But they do not need to apply for the personal income tax rebate.
IRAS will automatically grant the rebate to all eligible taxpayers and reflect the amount in their tax bill.
The amount of personal income tax rebate will depend on the person's age as at 31 December 2012 - those aged below 60 will get a tax rebate of 30 per cent while those aged 60 and above enjoy a tax rebate of 50 per cent - both capped at S$1,500.
- CNA/ck
- wong chee tat :)
Banks moving towards mobile banking
Banks moving towards mobile banking
By Mike Firn | Posted: 01 March 2013 2243 hrs
SINGAPORE: Bankers and software designers are meeting in Singapore to discuss how to take advantage of smartphones and tablets to expand their business.
Banks are shifting investment, from brick and mortar branches packed with staff to slick IT solutions.
Singapore software company Tagit is tailoring solutions differently for emerging markets like Indonesia and the Philippines, and banks with established networks in developed countries like Japan and Australia.
Sandeep Bagaria, CEO of Tagit, explained: "If you think of emerging markets, the innovation is coming around 'how do I reach a large mass of people using the mobile application and then necessarily providing new innovative services?' In developed markets, it's 'how can I provide them with more facilities, more services than I would do before?'"
But analysts say the rise of internet and mobile banking does not mean high-street bank branches are going to disappear. They say it may even get better.
Ho Sui-Jon, IDC associate market analyst, said: "If I go to a branch I would expect to get an experience that I cannot get from an ATM or browser-based banking. So all these branches are being re-tailored towards what we call 'flagship branch models', where we are trying to augment experience-driven technology augmented features."
For customers used to sitting down with their local bank manager, the idea of putting an app on their mobile may not seem appealing.
Mr Bagaria assured consumers who fear losing their phones: "It's not that the mobile app gets activated just because the phone is there. I need to put in a token when I need to do a transaction so the security levels are similar. It doesn't matter that you've left your phone behind."
With research group IDC forecasting that users in Asia will own half the world's smartphones within three years, mobile banking is likely to be a core strategy of the region's lenders.
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
By Mike Firn | Posted: 01 March 2013 2243 hrs
SINGAPORE: Bankers and software designers are meeting in Singapore to discuss how to take advantage of smartphones and tablets to expand their business.
Banks are shifting investment, from brick and mortar branches packed with staff to slick IT solutions.
Singapore software company Tagit is tailoring solutions differently for emerging markets like Indonesia and the Philippines, and banks with established networks in developed countries like Japan and Australia.
Sandeep Bagaria, CEO of Tagit, explained: "If you think of emerging markets, the innovation is coming around 'how do I reach a large mass of people using the mobile application and then necessarily providing new innovative services?' In developed markets, it's 'how can I provide them with more facilities, more services than I would do before?'"
But analysts say the rise of internet and mobile banking does not mean high-street bank branches are going to disappear. They say it may even get better.
Ho Sui-Jon, IDC associate market analyst, said: "If I go to a branch I would expect to get an experience that I cannot get from an ATM or browser-based banking. So all these branches are being re-tailored towards what we call 'flagship branch models', where we are trying to augment experience-driven technology augmented features."
For customers used to sitting down with their local bank manager, the idea of putting an app on their mobile may not seem appealing.
Mr Bagaria assured consumers who fear losing their phones: "It's not that the mobile app gets activated just because the phone is there. I need to put in a token when I need to do a transaction so the security levels are similar. It doesn't matter that you've left your phone behind."
With research group IDC forecasting that users in Asia will own half the world's smartphones within three years, mobile banking is likely to be a core strategy of the region's lenders.
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Property prices yet to reach acceptable level: Tharman
Property prices yet to reach acceptable level: Tharman
By Lynda Hong | Posted: 01 March 2013 2332 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore property prices still have "some ways to go" before reaching an acceptable level, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview, Mr Tharman said Singapore's property is now in a wrong part of the cycle, and prices would become acceptable through a combination of income improvement and prices not going up further.
"Some correction in prices will not be out of order," he added.
With property prices at record highs, Singapore has imposed steps to cool the housing market since 2009. New stamp duties implemented in the latest round rose by much as 7 percentage points from January.
Mr Tharman is "pretty confident" that the government will get a handle on the situation, saying "we can prevent a real bubble from being formed which then eventually crashes, and that's our objective".
Singapore has allowed its currency to appreciate faster even as the economy expanded the least in three years.
The search for higher-yielding assets amid monetary easing in developed economies has fuelled record property prices in Singapore, sparking inflationary pressures and social tensions.
But Mr Tharman noted that monetary stimulus, like that of the US and Japan, is not needed in Singapore because of its full employment.
"We don't have an output gap, and evidence of that is in an extremely tight labour market," he said.
Singapore's jobless rate fell to a five-year low of 1.8 percent last quarter as companies hired more local workers after the government tightened the inflow of foreign labour.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Lynda Hong | Posted: 01 March 2013 2332 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore property prices still have "some ways to go" before reaching an acceptable level, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview, Mr Tharman said Singapore's property is now in a wrong part of the cycle, and prices would become acceptable through a combination of income improvement and prices not going up further.
"Some correction in prices will not be out of order," he added.
With property prices at record highs, Singapore has imposed steps to cool the housing market since 2009. New stamp duties implemented in the latest round rose by much as 7 percentage points from January.
Mr Tharman is "pretty confident" that the government will get a handle on the situation, saying "we can prevent a real bubble from being formed which then eventually crashes, and that's our objective".
Singapore has allowed its currency to appreciate faster even as the economy expanded the least in three years.
The search for higher-yielding assets amid monetary easing in developed economies has fuelled record property prices in Singapore, sparking inflationary pressures and social tensions.
But Mr Tharman noted that monetary stimulus, like that of the US and Japan, is not needed in Singapore because of its full employment.
"We don't have an output gap, and evidence of that is in an extremely tight labour market," he said.
Singapore's jobless rate fell to a five-year low of 1.8 percent last quarter as companies hired more local workers after the government tightened the inflow of foreign labour.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
More job opportunities for Singaporeans in aerospace industry
More job opportunities for Singaporeans in aerospace industry
By Brandon Tanoto | Posted: 27 February 2013 1859 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's aerospace industry produced a total output of S$8.7 billion last year - more than double the output a decade ago.
The industry accounts for nearly 20,000 jobs and a majority of them are skilled workers in areas like aerospace manufacturing, repair and overhaul, testing, as well as training, research and development.
It will also require over 6,300 new direct employees by 2015.
Speaking at the opening of the AeroSpace eXchange 2013 on Wednesday, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the growth of the industry will create many job opportunities for Singaporeans.
Meanwhile, the Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) has signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with industry associations to develop training programmes.
These organisations include BSI Group Singapore and VTOC "fokker" BV and educational institution German Institute of Science and Technology - TUM Asia.
Mr Lee noted that the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Institute of Technology, as well as local polytechnics offer specialised courses in aerospace and will supply a pipeline of engineers and associate engineers for the industry.
For instance, a new 10.6 hectares ITE Campus - set to open by the end of this year - will house a Boeing 737 aircraft to offer aerospace students practical and hands-on training on aircraft maintenance.
Mr Lee said the industry has always been "amongst the most productive industrial sectors" and that the government will help industries switch to higher productivity.
"Looking ahead, productivity and innovation must continue to be key drivers of our growth. To help firms overcome manpower challenges, the newly-introduced Budget 2013 contains a number of programmes such as the Wage Credit Scheme, PIC and PIC Bonus, enhanced PACT and Corporate Income Tax rebate, to help our companies transit to a productivity-driven business model," he said.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
By Brandon Tanoto | Posted: 27 February 2013 1859 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's aerospace industry produced a total output of S$8.7 billion last year - more than double the output a decade ago.
The industry accounts for nearly 20,000 jobs and a majority of them are skilled workers in areas like aerospace manufacturing, repair and overhaul, testing, as well as training, research and development.
It will also require over 6,300 new direct employees by 2015.
Speaking at the opening of the AeroSpace eXchange 2013 on Wednesday, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the growth of the industry will create many job opportunities for Singaporeans.
Meanwhile, the Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) has signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with industry associations to develop training programmes.
These organisations include BSI Group Singapore and VTOC "fokker" BV and educational institution German Institute of Science and Technology - TUM Asia.
Mr Lee noted that the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Institute of Technology, as well as local polytechnics offer specialised courses in aerospace and will supply a pipeline of engineers and associate engineers for the industry.
For instance, a new 10.6 hectares ITE Campus - set to open by the end of this year - will house a Boeing 737 aircraft to offer aerospace students practical and hands-on training on aircraft maintenance.
Mr Lee said the industry has always been "amongst the most productive industrial sectors" and that the government will help industries switch to higher productivity.
"Looking ahead, productivity and innovation must continue to be key drivers of our growth. To help firms overcome manpower challenges, the newly-introduced Budget 2013 contains a number of programmes such as the Wage Credit Scheme, PIC and PIC Bonus, enhanced PACT and Corporate Income Tax rebate, to help our companies transit to a productivity-driven business model," he said.
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
Liew Mun Leong retires as chairman of CMA
Liew Mun Leong retires as chairman of CMA
Posted: 01 March 2013 2336 hrs
SINGAPORE : CapitaMalls Asia's will have a new board chairman after the retirement of Mr Liew Mun Leong.
He will be replaced by Mr Ng Kee Choe after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 24 April.
Mr Liew is the former CEO of CapitaLand, the parent company of CapitaMalls Asia.
CapitaLand CEO Lim Ming Yan will replace Mr Liew as Chairman of CapitaMalls Asia's Corporate Disclosure Committee and Investment Committee, and as a member of the Executive Resource and Compensation Committee and Nominating Committee on 24 April 2013.
Mr Liew had been chairman of CapitaMalls Asia since the company was incorporated in October 2004.
- CNA/ch
- wong chee tat :)
Posted: 01 March 2013 2336 hrs
SINGAPORE : CapitaMalls Asia's will have a new board chairman after the retirement of Mr Liew Mun Leong.
He will be replaced by Mr Ng Kee Choe after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 24 April.
Mr Liew is the former CEO of CapitaLand, the parent company of CapitaMalls Asia.
CapitaLand CEO Lim Ming Yan will replace Mr Liew as Chairman of CapitaMalls Asia's Corporate Disclosure Committee and Investment Committee, and as a member of the Executive Resource and Compensation Committee and Nominating Committee on 24 April 2013.
Mr Liew had been chairman of CapitaMalls Asia since the company was incorporated in October 2004.
- CNA/ch
- wong chee tat :)
Small cars more popular after announcement of new car-buying measures
Small cars more popular after announcement of new car-buying measures
By Zhao Quan Yin, Olivia Siong | Posted: 02 March 2013 2209 hrs
SINGAPORE: It is the first weekend since the government announced the tightening of car loans and increases in additional registration fees for more expensive cars.
Some car dealers said the popularity of small cars has gone up.
A showroom which sells mostly small cars with an open market value of less than S$20,000 said it has seen a 30 per cent increase in potential car buyers, compared to weekends before the measures were announced. The fees for such cars remain unchanged.
As for other showrooms selling larger, luxury cars - dealers said they have not increased prices yet.
These showrooms still have some Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) left from the previous round of bidding, which are unaffected by the new measures.
Such cars would fetch 10 to 100,000 dollars more in additional registration fees.
Johnson Tay, sales director at Jack Cars, said the company has not seen a drop in interest for now.
He said: "Due to some finance companies, the interest rate and loan quantum has not been decreased yet. Most of the customers will still come to us because of this kind of current interest rate and loan quantum."
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
By Zhao Quan Yin, Olivia Siong | Posted: 02 March 2013 2209 hrs
SINGAPORE: It is the first weekend since the government announced the tightening of car loans and increases in additional registration fees for more expensive cars.
Some car dealers said the popularity of small cars has gone up.
A showroom which sells mostly small cars with an open market value of less than S$20,000 said it has seen a 30 per cent increase in potential car buyers, compared to weekends before the measures were announced. The fees for such cars remain unchanged.
As for other showrooms selling larger, luxury cars - dealers said they have not increased prices yet.
These showrooms still have some Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) left from the previous round of bidding, which are unaffected by the new measures.
Such cars would fetch 10 to 100,000 dollars more in additional registration fees.
Johnson Tay, sales director at Jack Cars, said the company has not seen a drop in interest for now.
He said: "Due to some finance companies, the interest rate and loan quantum has not been decreased yet. Most of the customers will still come to us because of this kind of current interest rate and loan quantum."
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Second-hand car dealers expect vehicle sales to fall
Second-hand car dealers expect vehicle sales to fall
By Ju Xin Hang | Posted: 27 February 2013 2118 hrs
SINGAPORE: Some second-hand car dealers have described the recent new measures taken to cool the automotive market as a "drastic" move.
They cautioned that the move may even cause used-car sales to fall by more than half.
Car dealers said that prospective car buyers are usually young people with limited income, or families with children, and they are usually customers who take car loans.
However, with the tightening of measures on car loans and registration fees, car dealers said this will have a significant impact on car buyers.
Mr Eddie Loo, Owner of CarTimes Automobile, said: "It will affect the used car market very badly. Because those who bought the used cars, definitely they have some financial difficulties so with this down payment of 40 per cent to 50 per cent, it will definitely drive all the customers away from the used car market or even from buying a car."
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
By Ju Xin Hang | Posted: 27 February 2013 2118 hrs
SINGAPORE: Some second-hand car dealers have described the recent new measures taken to cool the automotive market as a "drastic" move.
They cautioned that the move may even cause used-car sales to fall by more than half.
Car dealers said that prospective car buyers are usually young people with limited income, or families with children, and they are usually customers who take car loans.
However, with the tightening of measures on car loans and registration fees, car dealers said this will have a significant impact on car buyers.
Mr Eddie Loo, Owner of CarTimes Automobile, said: "It will affect the used car market very badly. Because those who bought the used cars, definitely they have some financial difficulties so with this down payment of 40 per cent to 50 per cent, it will definitely drive all the customers away from the used car market or even from buying a car."
- CNA/de
- wong chee tat :)
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